Maria always struggled with shyness, withdrawing from social interactions and fearing judgment, especially in public speaking situations. As she grew older, her shyness began to limit her ability to make friends and advance in her career. One day, she made a small but significant choice: she volunteered to share an idea during a team-building event.…

My boss is an introvert. I am an extrovert. We are very different in our approaches to problems and life. For example, when there is conflict, I want to work it out immediately. I want to turn up the volume on the issue and get it resolved relationally. My introvert boss wants to turn down the volume…

Rachel walked into the room. Crowds were not easy for her to manage. She worries that she will be embarrassed if she says the wrong thing. This is one reason Rachel tries to avoid events with lots of people.  She doesn’t want to be noticed and prefers to be a wallflower. Rachel has a personality traits known…

When you want to be socially engaged and yet are finding it difficult to do so, you can feel lonely. And when you feel lonely, you tend to isolate and interpret peoples’ actions as negative towards you. The brain actually goes negative and believes it needs to guard you against social threats. The key to…

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