Hey everyone,
23.M.UK
Sorry this is quite long, I have been a member reading your entries for a w=
hile now but this is my first
time posting a message and have quite a bit that I want to get out in the o=
pen. So here goes….
I was interested to read a lot of what has been said by the various people =
that have posted their
messages because I have been suffering because of my shyness too. It is co=
mforting in some ways to
know that there are a lot of other people who feel the same kind of anxiety=
as I do but everyone has
levels of shyness and therefore different problems to overcome.
I don't know if I am the same as anyone else out there but my shyness is al=
most entirely situation
specific. By which I mean most of the time I am very comfortable being wit=
h groups, meeting new
people or being the centre of attention in informal environments, it has re=
latively no effect on me.
However the problem occurs when it comes to giving any kind of formal speec=
h… by which I am
talking about presentations to a class or a job interview as main examples.=

I began university after a year travelling and knew that I wasn't confident=
in presentation situations
after a few minor ones at high school which i struggled through (it was ter=
rifying!). I was determined
that I would start a fresh, not knowing these people that I was going into =
my new classes with I was
going to pretend that I had always been confident in these situations. Tha=
t was all very well in theory
but when it came up to our first class critique I sat watching the others h=
andle it so well. I got hot and
stressed I knew I was going to mess it up…. I chickened out and fled the ro=
om.
Having found out that the course was going to involve a lot of these types =
of presentations/critiques I
changed course as soon as possible! My parents wanted to know the reason an=
d I let them in on my
secret and they were very supportive. I had to drop out of university in my=
final year because it came
too much and the councillors, therapists and hypnotists my parents had paid=
for me to see were very
unsure of what they could do to aid me and in the end couldn't do anything =
beneficial.
Since then I have been working on a construction site. I got the job becaus=
e of my sisters fiancé….
Meaning no interview!
Now I have moved away from that area with my girlfriend (who knows my situa=
tion) and I am
currently unemployed because I am dreading going through the interview proc=
ess. I had applied for
the police force and got through the entrance exam easily but then found ou=
t that the next stage was a
role-play scenario and I didn't go to it because i knew that I would not be=
able to past that test.
I have now found a career in the medical industry I am keen to pursue but I=
am worried about the
training that I may encounter and whether this will involve a presentations=
! I feel that I will never get
the job I know I can do or deserve because this childish embarrassment is h=
olding my back.
The only advice I have been given is to try and progress by gradually build=
ing up the situations level
by level to become accustomed to it. But having moved to a new area I canno=
t find the opportunities to
do this and even if the opportunity was there I cannot see myself wanting t=
o actually trying it out.

Most of my friends have no idea about this phobia/shyness because of my usu=
al confidence so have
no advice from them; therefore I am depending on you guys to give me some k=
ind knowledge of a
miracle cure!
Thanks for your time