Are you shy?

I am not shy. I'll say anything to anyone that needs to be said.

However, I can be a bit reserved. There are things I just don't talk about with people I don't know well.

 

This fits me pretty well. I find people interesting and enjoy social interaction (in moderation). I don't enjoy large group things as much, though, because the ol' group-dynamics thing sets in and I won't even try to keep up with all the extroverts who feel they have to entertain everybody.

 

I guess I'm pretty shy. I never feel drained talking to people, but I usually hesitate to talk to strangers. I've been getting much better, though. Usually I open up really fast once I get to know someone, especially if I trust them. Before then, I can talk freely but not about the most important parts about me. After that trust barrier you can't get me to shut up.

 

I would say both.

I find it very hard to communicate. I am also very self-conscious..though I also find at times people to be draining. I will say that I have a clear preference towards introversion, while still maintaining some Extroverted qualities. Though I am indeed shy and find starting conversations incredibly difficult.

 

I consider myself both shy and introverted.

 

I'm not shy, I'd label it as uncomfortable. I'm not afraid to talk to people but I feel awkward and incapable of doing so. Perhaps I haven't trained that part of my personality enough to be comfortable talking to others. I'm a pretty extreme introvert, even when I'm surrounded by people I think about all the things I could be doing if I was by myself, or I hide in the corner, and sit on my laptop. So I don't think I've exposed myself to enough social situations.

 

Yes-I feel this way too. Sometimes I can be a little shy if I don't know anyone but if I'm with familiar people, I can be pretty friendly and talkative. In a large group with extroverts, I usually lay low.

 

I used to be terribly shy and I do still have occasions where I'm not comfortable talking to people. Although now it's become less of me being shy and more of me simply not being interested. I'm not sure whether that's better or worse.

 

I was miserable for a year due to me being so introverted. I would sit in high school all day and sometimes go 24 hours without saying a single word. I realized this was no way to live, so I joined poetry slam club, I founded debate club, and kicked my fear of public speaking in the face. Over-exposure was terrifying, but it helped.

Well, I'm still terrified... But I make it work somehow.

Anyone with complete fear of public speaking or social interactions in general should give my method a try. I'm still working on donating blood to get rid of my extreme fear of needles..

 

No, I guess I didn't word that very well. I haven't slept. What I meant to say is that because I'm an introvert and I haven't exposed myself to enough social situations, then I am uncomfortable when I do put myself in them.

 

You may be on to something there. I am a filmmaker/producer/director by trade and so I always had to perform many duties that required lots of very visible social interaction. I found I was quite good at this and that experience probably influences how I relate to and interact with people.

 

I assume that my uncomfortableness is related to my level of exposure but I've never tested it because I am so introverted. I don't talk to new people very often or put myself in social situations where I don't know at least one person very well.

 

Correlation doesn't imply causation, but after debate club and poetry slam competitions I became much less introverted. The uncomfortableness was still there, but it's much easier to speak in crowds and with new people.

I'd say that they helped, very much so.

 

In my experience, introversion is a perspective. Introverts think more than they let out, or tend to ponder more than they express, more concerned with what is going on in their own minds than the world around them. Extroverts let out more than they had thought about, or tend to speak first and ponder later... usually while speaking, more concerned with what is going on in the world around them than in their own minds.

Shyness is a common side effect of introversion, due to not being able to keep up with the extroverts socially, feeling self conscious, or any other reasons that could be caused by thinking more than expressing. Children can be very cruel, but sometimes so can parents or family members. It only takes one really bad experience to start pushing an introvert into shyness.

If an introvert hadn't had any negative experiences to push them into shyness, they needn't be shy. The inverse is also true. Sometimes introverts are forced into positions where they have to overcome shyness. In either case, the introvert is still an introvert.

 

^^