Imagine that you are surrounded by millions of sharks that keep circling you. There is only you, the ocean, and a bunch of hungry sharks that want to eat your face off. What would you do ? Personally I would freak out, try to escape, or accept my fate. You may be wondering how in the world do sharks correlate with overcoming shyness, and how I learned to be less awkward. Funnily enough, being surrounded by millions of sharks is the best way to explain what shyness feels like, especially if you have never felt shy before. Not everyone feels the same way when they are shy, some people only feel minimally uncomfortable, while others would rather become a hermit then talk to strangers or people they don’t feel comfortable with. I am part of the please-let-me-become-a-hermit group. Even though I “overcame” shyness, I can’t help but feel at least a little uncomfortable. Shyness combined with awkwardness equals an “anti-social” hermit person.
Overcoming shyness and awkwardness was a struggle. It wasn’t because I was scared to put myself out there and become a “normal” person, (someone who is a social butterfly,) but it was because I didn’t know where to start. I knew I should have started off small, so that is exactly what I did. I started by saying hello to random people that I meet, rather it is in the hallways at school or in an isle at a grocery store. When you start off by saying hello to others, they are less likely to strike up a conversation, but more likely to
Susan Cain demonstrated in her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking, the ability of reserved, restrained people have to compared to those communicative people despite what many people believe. The author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’ Stop Talking, Susan Cain started her career in “corporate law and consulting” (Lit Lovers). Cain studied at Princeton University and Harvard law. She worked many years in “corporate law and consulting” from working as an attorney to becoming the president of The Negotiation Company. After many years in this career field, Susan Cain left her career to become a writer within her home alongside her family.
Social phobia, the fear of social situations. More than simple shyness. This is an extreme fear of being scrutinized by others, or humiliated by one’s own actions. Aerophobia, the fear of flying and can often be confused with Acrophobia, it’s often paired with claustrophobia. Agoraphobia , the fear of inescapable situations.
As an adolescent I tended to be very discreet and shy at times, especially around girls my age. Overall I was a very awkward child. While attending a coed elementary school at Monroe it was very intimidating. There were girls that were always trying to talk to me and I just wasn’t sure how to react to the situation. I went home several days telling my parents that I needed to move schools.
A cube seen from only one side is a square. I have spent twelve years of my life in the same institution and had a small but well-loved group of friends. In contrast, a close friend of mine attended three different schools in the same time, and I saw how that affected him, he was more social, friendly and empathetic. Looking back I now realize that I need to learn how to be more outgoing to better my communication skills as life presents us new challenges and working well with others is an integral part to solving them. I came to the United States to both see the world from another perspective and reflect upon the different ideologies and thought processes that have developed in the presence of such a great number of differing cultures.
I am extremely shy and try not to talk to people I do not know, but if I become comfortable around someone then I will talk a lot more. I believe that true friends are one of the most important things to have in life. As a result, I would rather have a small group of well known friends as opposed to a large group of somewhat known friends. When speaking, I feel that the smaller the group I am trying to talk to, the harder it is. For example, talking to new people at school causes me to feel stressed mainly because the people I am talking to will probably know somewhat about me, but public speaking comes easy to me because I know that the majority of the people I speak to will not speak to me ever
Shyness Behavioral Plan Target Problem Behaviors: • Shy • Apprehensive • Hesitant • Introverted • Nervous • Timid • Unsocial Goals/Desired Behaviors: • Raise Self-Esteem • Increase Confidence • Improve Social Skills • Instill calming techniques and skills • Encourage participation Strategies: • Teacher or Parents will require the male-client to say simple greetings like “Hello” or “How are you?” throughout their day • Parents will remind the male-client before any social gathering, activities, or events to utilize his coping skills which will reduce the feeling of anxiety • Parents will expose the male-client to opportunities and let him choose when he would like to participate • Teacher and Parents will always remind the male-client
I have always been a very social person my entire life. That all changed when I had to interact with people in a language I was not comfortable with. This made me very shy and to myself. On the inside I wanted to make tons of friends, but to everyone else I seemed antisocial. I realized I had to force myself out of my comfort zone and start engaging into conversations.
The argument of whether shyness is social anxiety is different or the same is a tough one, since they are so similar it is hard to tell. Shyness is usually the concept people are identified with when a one avoids social situations. Shyness and social anxiety can be classified as the same since most definitions of both use the fear of social situations. The American Psychological Association says that “Shyness is the tendency to feel awkward worried or tense during social situations” and Thomas A. Richards of the Social Anxiety Institute says that “Social anxiety is. the fear of interacting with others”.
A person with social anxiety disorder finds it hard to interact in social situations, more commonly in unfamiliar situations, and thus has a very limited social circle. It becomes hard for a person to cope with social encounters, often causing distress and other negative emotional and physiological reactions (Nardi, 2003). There are various explanations of how one develops this disorder (Melinda Smith, 2014). Shyness plays