Influence of Shyness on Personal Development and Happiness

Influence of Shyness on Personal Development and Happiness “I have severe difficulty socializing to others”; “They think I’m unfriendly but in reality, I do want to connect to them but I don’t really know how”; “My anxiety always gets in the way, that’s why I’m painfully conscious around people”. These are some of the thoughts shared by people who are shy or those who feel uncomfortable when attention is on them because they are afraid of falling short of the standard of the superficial authority or of their perfectionist expectations on how things are supposed to be. Shyness, regarded as a personal attribute for a person, is also considered to be a psychiatric disease (Lane, 2008). This condition may vary in different degrees to what extent a person would display its symptoms, such as uneasiness and avoiding the things he fears to deal with. It could also be experienced inwardly without showing its complications to others but the one who suffers, when hiding his difficulties, could probably add worries and problems to his psychological self. Unusual situations are the common circumstances that trigger shyness. Also, the person’s environment may contribute to his shyness. If he is psychologically maltreated, there is a high risk that degree of shyness and avoidance to others would increase. But, the deeper root of shyness can be explained by genetics. There has been progress in determining suspected genes involved in personality but only a little development in confirming relationships between these. A gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is examined and identified to be related with shyness (Ebstein et al., 2003). According to WHO, embarrassment, excessive shyness, timidity, self consciousness and, social-phobia and lack of self-confidence are also symptoms of a disease called erethism. Erethism is a clinical condition in which appears in cases of mercury poisoning.
Moreover, shyness is sometimes inappropriately interchanged with introversion, high

References: Carducci, B. (January – February 2000). “Shyness: the new solution.” Retrieved July 15, 2011, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=38&did=47642272. Corey, G. (1986). I never knew I had a choice (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole. Heider, F. (2958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: Wiley. Howard, V. L. (1958). Word power: talk your way to leadership. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. James, R. (2009). Century of research confirms impact of psychosocial factors on health. Manhattan: Brentwood Inc. Lane, C. (2008). Shyness: how normal behavior became a sickness. Yale University Press. McMahon, F. B. & McMahon, J. W. (1986). Psychology: the hybrid science. Chicago, Illinois: The Dorsey Press. Merill, F. E. (1965). Society and culture: an introduction to sociology (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Plotnik, R. (1996). Introduction to psychology. Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole. Popenoe, D. (1977). Sociology (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Rifkin, H. (2009). Invest in people skills to boost bottom line. New York, New York: McGraw–Hill. Whitten, Meredith (2001). All about shyness. Belmont, California: Psych Central. World Health Organization (1976). Environmental health criteria 1: mercury. Geneva: World Health Organization. Zimbardo, P. G., & Radl, S. L. (1982). The shy child: a parent’s guide to preventing and overcoming shyness from childhood and adulthood. New York, NY: McGraw–Hill.