Shyness can mean feeling uncomfortable, self-conscious, nervous, bashful, timid, or insecure. People who feel shy sometimes notice physical sensations like blushing or feeling speechless, shaky, or breathless. Shyness is the opposite of being at ease with yourself around others.
For some people, however, shyness can lead to social anxiety and a crippling fear that results in deliberate isolation to avoid associating with others. Extremely shy individuals are typically low in self-esteem and largely preoccupied with what others think of them.
Most of the time, no. But when it becomes anxiety, watch out.
Shyness emerges from a few key characteristics: self-consciousness, negative self-preoccupation, low self-esteem and fear of judgment and rejection.
Can Shyness Turn Into Social Anxiety? Shyness can turn into social anxiety if it causes someone to routinely avoid, worry, or analyze social interactions. If someone feels anxious about their shyness, they may develop negative thought patterns about inferiority or incompetence.
Shy people want to build connections with people but they're too anxious or lack social skills. Their fears of making mistakes control their actions. They feel hesitant and awkward when interacting with others and often turn inward to shelter themselves from social situations.
Emotional and behavioral symptoms
Worry about embarrassing or humiliating yourself. Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers. Fear that others will notice that you look anxious. Fear of physical symptoms that may cause you embarrassment, such as blushing, sweating, trembling or having a shaky voice.
Social anxiety disorder is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and other daily activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends. The good news is social anxiety disorder is treatable.
Shyness is partly a result of genes a person has inherited. It's also influenced by behaviors they've learned, the ways people have reacted to their shyness, and life experiences they've had.
Their shyness may also be a result of their symptoms. A person with Inattentive ADHD type can easily feel embarrassed due to inattention, so they may choose to stay quiet and avoid any possible wrongdoings or mistakes ❌.
Shyness and autism are two distinct conditions that can sometimes be confused with each other, especially when it comes to children. While both conditions can result in social difficulties, they are fundamentally different in their nature and causes.
Covert narcissism is also known as shy, vulnerable, or closet narcissism. People with this subtype tend not to outwardly demonstrate arrogance or entitlement. Instead, they might put themselves down and seem anxious about what others think of them, rather than exuding charm or confidence.
What Causes Shyness? Shyness emerges from a few key characteristics: self-consciousness, negative self-preoccupation, low self-esteem and fear of judgment and rejection. Shy people often make unrealistic social comparisons, pitting themselves against the most vibrant or outgoing individuals.
synonyms: diffident, timid, unsure.
Shyness doesn't always go away over time, but children can learn to be more confident and comfortable interacting with other people.
Shyness is a trait that can be a result of environmental factors. These factors can stem from emotional abuse, ridicule and other forms of child abuse, but not always. Some shyness is inherited.
Myth 5: Shy people have low self-esteem
Shyness can affect how you see yourself and may make you feel insecure in some aspects. While a person with low self-esteem might act shy or have a tendency to keep to themselves, it doesn't mean that someone who experiences shyness is also experiencing low self-esteem.
The Main Differences Between Shyness And Social Anxiety
Shyness typically goes away after a person adjusts to being in a situation or begins to feel comfortable around a new person. Social anxiety, on the other hand, is present before, during, and after situations.
Avoidance of social activities is also much less common with those who are shy. Although most with social anxiety experience symptoms of shyness, being shy does not mean you will have social anxiety. Less than 25% of shy individuals in the US have symptoms that meet the diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder.
First choices in medications
Though several types of medications are available, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often the first type of drug tried for persistent symptoms of social anxiety. Your health care provider may prescribe paroxetine (Paxil) or sertraline (Zoloft).
Extreme social anxiety: A person with extreme social anxiety may experience more intense symptoms of social anxiety, such as a panic attack, in social situations. Because of this, people with extreme social anxiety usually avoid social situations at all costs.
Anxiety disorders don't necessarily get worse with age. But the number of people dealing with them may change across the lifespan.
Social awkwardness is common in those who have social anxiety disorder. Those with social anxiety disorder know and recognize social cues, so they will experience anxiety because of their fear of messing up in public. This can lead to a lot of embarrassment.
Quiet people are more likely to be introverts than extroverts and tend to be more creative and sensitive than the average person. They also tend to be private people who don't like being in large crowds or socializing much at all unless it's necessary for work or school.