It's actually very common for a student to shake when he has to get up in front of class, but, for Joey, he couldn't talk. He severely over reacted and stressed out, especially when tired. I didn't over react quite as much as him, but I was still quiet and withdrawn. Neither of us are social at all. We are both shy. Because being extroverted is the norm, it took a long time for introverted people to be partially accepted. It's the same as with another personality trait: attractions. It took a long time for "homosexuals" to be partially accepted and will undoubtedly take a long time for "child-lovers" to be partially accepted. For a long time, "normal" people (expressives) tried to cure people of their shyness. Being introverted was discouraged like a bad habit. Today we say we're more understanding, but are we?

Today we have the term "Social Anxiety Disorder" to describe an "inherited temperamental bias to over react to new things." If a child has it, then most likely that means one of the parents does too. Doctors are quick to say "this isn't shyness," yet the tests for it are the same as those to find shyness. People in this country love to label everyone with disorders. Why? It's an easy way to place parameters on normal. Deviate and you're sick, in need of drugs to make you fit in. Social phobia is just a step above shyness. A person's difficulty interacting can be measured in degrees, but stepping over an accepted set limit shouldn't make it suddenly a disease.

From an expressive standpoint, they imagine that shy people "desperately want to talk, but they can't." They teach shy children that it's not acceptable, that it's bad not to talk. They attempt to force the child to change. If they don't willingly, they give them drugs. Yet, is it really such a curse to be shy? Throughout history, it is the most introverted people who have had the most talent. Expressives have risen to power easily, but have they invented new things? We shouldn't want them talentless just because they are uncomfortable in certain situations and more comfortable in others. Shy people also tend to be more philosophical, so I don't count shyness as a curse, but as a blessing.

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