I think is part hereditary, because my brother is even more painfully shy than me.. maybe we got it from my grandfather, he is so quiet... and part is my personality I guess...

I always been so friendly and always have a lot of friends.. My case is weird. At school I was so popular, my problem is that I am quiet and with some people is so hard for me to trust and talk to them.

I'm not too sure about why I started being shy, but I know I always have been. I know I was picked on a lot in preschool & elementary school, so that kinda discouraged me when it came to making friends. Over the years this just got worse, and now the only one I'm comfortable talking to is my pet rabbit, Rocky.

My mom was very shy as a kid. I was too. I was also picked on in elementary - jr high for being short. That made it a bit diffucult for me to talk to people.

i think its a bit of everything my mum is shy also. i think it also has to do with low self esteem as i have always been put down for something or other all my life. as a child i had lots of friends at school but i grew up with them and i stuck to the same ones throughout school. i would go to their houses sometimes but i lived so far away from any other kids that i spent most of my time alone. my pets are ace tho like someone else sed they dont tell your secrets they listen and love you no matter what and somehow they understand you in their own little way. they are a great comfort to many shy people i think

According to my Ma and Aunt I've always been shy... One story I've heard a million times was when I was in first grade. I had been sick and was going home apparently a group of classmates called for me to make sure everything was okay but I didn't respond. At first my Ma thought I was snubbing them but later on saw the pattern. "You never thought of yourself as highly as everyone else does" she'd say. Whether this is natural or genetic I'm not certain. But I do know that I have many similar traits to my grandfather whom, is a seemingly quiet, shy guy.

I think mine was caused by a lot of crap early on in life...i look at my baby pics and I always look like I'm ready to jump up and take over the world...i didn't look shy at all!

i have anxiety so i am very shy to talk to certain people i some times avoid people all together

i grew up with some very social older siblings. i often felt afraid to talk or defend myself for fear of being ridiculed. but since i moved away from my family in the early 90's i've worked on counting on myself and not basing my self esteem on everyone else's treatment of me. that has helped me a lot. i still don't trust very easily and assume people will be unkind rather than nice, but i'm working on that.

I can relate. I think most of my shyness is due to the way my grandmother treated me. I know (now) she loved me, but for some reason, I always felt stupid around her. I never felt like I measured up to my older sister or younger brother in her sight. No matter what I said, I always felt like she thought the worst of it. So I just learned to be quiet. I think b/c of the way (I thought) she felt, I thought the world felt the same, so why talk to anyone... Now it seems that I just make people uncomfortable, so that makes it difficult for them to get to really know me. Sometimes it makes me lonely, but sometimes it's ok. I don't mind being quiet (I think it's part of my personality and I'm ok with that), I just wish people didn't act like I had six heads and fourteen feet.

I think I'm shy because I'm insecure. I can't make eye contact...I feel uncomfortable in most social situations and especially one-on-one time with people...and I have a great personality that nobody ever sees...because what if they think I'm dumb...or something. I realize I'm paranoid...but I want it to go away.

yeah...i'm more shy around people that intimidate me: good lookers, richies, mean people, etc. but i can be silly emily when i'm around people that i feel aren't going to judge me or think i'm a loser.

i feel much the same way. i have times when i feel confident and can be be goofy etc, like when i'm with my kids or teaching my students. but when i'm around people with better looks, stronger personalities, more lucrative jobs etc (which seems like most of the time to me) i feel like i'm not worth their time. i figure it's about me not comparing myself to others so much and reaminding myself i'm okay the way i am.

Yes! I constantly compare myself to others...and I hatehatehate being in the same room as a pretty girl because I feel like I'm always being compared and people are going to dislike me because I'm not perfect.

I had a thought the other day... why am i shy? I came up with a theory - I am shy because i never accepted myself (yawn i know your thinking) - but seriously... the reason i dont like who i am is cuz i never gave it a chance - try living your life as you can only live it - what you said or did today was exactly what you should have said or done - when you look at it like that you will find that socializing is much easier - when you are doing it your way there is nothing to compare it too - this may sound wierd but its working for me - we think we are shy because we are living our lives in comparison of others

I hear it's caused by a trauma, which is what I agree with. I think it happened to me when I was little.