In my book The Shyness Guide, I say that when you learn to accept your shyness, you become less shy. It's true. When you're no longer concerned about being shy, you no longer experience anxiety, so it's easier to talk to people. Simple as that. But that isn't all you gain from accepting your shyness. … Continue reading Shy confidence and its rewards
Psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s warning about Incels and/or Shy Loners
Writing since the 1970s, Philip Zimbardo is one of the few psychologists who has devoted much of his career to shyness. In a Mar 31, 2016 post in Psychology Today, "The New Shyness -How virtual reality has made social Isolation more seductive than ever before", Zimbardo provided a very interesting update. He says shyness is … Continue reading Psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s warning about Incels and/or Shy Loners
Shyness vs Everything else |the problem with diagnoses
When I was a boy, I was intensely shy, more avoidant than anyone else I met then in any of the schools I attended. No one in the working-class neighborhood of the North-American steel town where I grew up had heard of 'autism', but my behavior fit autism pretty well. If I got myself assessed … Continue reading Shyness vs Everything else |the problem with diagnoses
Rescuing Shyness|Why being a loner may be good for your health
The above refers to a Feb 28/2018 “Best of BBC Future” post by Christine Ro. After acknowledging that there has been a lot of research into the negative psychological effects of 'social isolation' (for example, the Royal College of General Practicioners in the UK say that research has found loneliness to have a risk level … Continue reading Rescuing Shyness|Why being a loner may be good for your health
The Wildness in Shyness
The following is a slightly revised version of a discussion in my book, The Shyness Guide, of the enigmatic question - “What is Shyness”. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo, founder of the Stanford Shyness Institute in California, has devoted much of his life to shyness. In his 1978 book, Shyness - What It is, What to Do … Continue reading The Wildness in Shyness
Are you an introvert and an extrovert?
In my book The Shyness Guide, I've written about C.G. Jung's different conception of 'introvert/extrovert' - different, that is, from the view of most people today. In his 1921 book Psychological Types, he proposed that there are four principal functions: Two perceiving functions: Sensation and Intuition Two judging functions: Thinking and Feeling We … Continue reading Are you an introvert and an extrovert?
Shyness Re-emerging
Are you aware that shyness seems to be increasing? Besides the fact that surveys, at least in North America, have for some time revealed the number of people who perceive themselves to be shy increasing (usually over 50% now), in sociologist Eric Klinenberg's 2012 bestselling book, Going Solo - The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of … Continue reading Shyness Re-emerging
Skol republished|A return to the 23rd century and the future of shy people
If I could have written only one book in my life, it would have been Skol. Yet the first version of the book, published in 2015, did not sell at all. Yes, this story of the future of shy people, told through one shy young man's odyssey across three centuries, remained the most unread of … Continue reading Skol republished|A return to the 23rd century and the future of shy people
Where did insensitive people come from?
In my book The Shyness Guide I discuss psychologist Elaine Aron's concept of the "highly sensitive person". She came to the conclusion that that her HSP diagnosis was necessary because of the profound difference in the sensitivity of people. There is a sensitive/insensitive divide in us. Dr Aaron would caution me to say – ‘more … Continue reading Where did insensitive people come from?
