Status Updates From Shy: A Memoir

"These days people who worry about their flaws can pay a medical expert to tidy them up. If only there was a medical procedure remove the chronic embarrassment that accompanies shyness." There is! It's called a sympathectomy. Surprised with all the author's research she didn't come across it.

"Was this another difference between shy people, including shy extroverts like me, and introverts? Perhaps introverts didn't have as much invested in what others thought of them, and consequently didn't feel the same level of shame about their inability to behave like social butterflies." Nope! We just feel guilty about not wanting to.

"A reluctance to visit anyone unless I had received a clear invitation, had continued to the present day. Most of the time social spontaneity was out of the question. Stupid and self-limiting, but so deeply ingrained I couldn't seem to break out of it."

"Dr Scott was adamant. The shy may represent one of many groups of modern-day folk-devils about whom there is a moral panic.... The dominant message...is that non-shyness is normal and acceptable why shyness is deviant and undesirable, carrying with it the risk of social exclusion."

"At the same time, shy people report feeling as if everyone else seems to know the unspoken rules of interaction and thus are able to provide a more poised, socially competent performance. This feeling of relative incompetence is central to the experience of shyness."

"In Shyness and Society: The Illusion of Competence Dr Scott wrote: The shy person is extremely concerned about the risk of making a faux pas and exposing what they see as secret flaws in their characters, most notably their perceived lack of social skills."