Shyness has been a handicap all my life. I was always labeled as "shy." I have always been angry at many of my teachers who have reinforced that I was "shy," in front of my classmates. Once a teacher stared at me in front of the whole class and said in front of all the other students, "do you ever talk?" I've had students in a classroom clap when I talked. Shyness to  me is the worst thing in the world. I would rather be called a slut than "shy," because of my bad experiences. Many years later, I over talk a lot to cover up my shyness. I raise my hand in class consistently because I am so scared of being centered out as different. I cover up my shyness and "act as if I am not shy." That has helped tremendously but deep inside, I still feel scared and little. I have extreme fear of people and now as an adult, I often appear standoffish to others. I am a really nice, caring person but I have this fear of people that doesn't ever seem to go away. Feeling "shy" has been a word that I am far to familiar with. It has limited me in having good relationships, in job opportunities and my dreams. Until today, the most effective strategies has been as I mentioned earlier is (1) acting as if I am not shy and (2) facing my fears with people. The second strategy is definitely difficult, especially initially, but with repeated practice, it gets easier. However, I noticed that it is real easy to fall back into a shy mode if I don't continue to interact with others.