Anyone have any suggestions to get over extreme shyness?

I have always been very shy but since I have had a baby even though I am happy, I have had feelings of anxiousness and severe shyness. Its come to the point where I am too scared to take my son to playgroup and other places where I would have to interact with people who I do not know. How do I overcome this? I don't understand why I am like this.Anyone have any suggestions to get over extreme shyness?
Shyness is a psychological state that causes a person to feel discomfort in social situations in ways that interfere with enjoyment or that cause avoidance of social contacts altogether.



When shyness is intense, it can often lead to social anxiety disorder or to avoidant personality disorder, both characterized by the avoidance of interpersonal contacts accompanied by significant fears of embarrassment in social interaction.



Extreme shyness can take many forms, and can show up differently in different people. Some very shy people have problems being in large gatherings, yet feel comfortable in small groups. Some shy people only feel acute discomfort with persons they have just met, while others are never comfortable around people, even those they have known a long time.



Psychologists who specialize in the treatment of shyness disorders have discovered that avoiding social situations can actually make the problem worse. Many psychologists who treat people afflicted by shyness recommend a program of repeated and gradually increasing exposure to the feared situation, combined with helping the client learn new ways of thinking.



Various psychological therapies have been used to treat extreme shyness, most of them with limited success. The most successful approaches use some variation of cognitive therapy, or behavioral therapy, or both of these, combined with graduated and increasing exposure to the feared situation.



Extreme shyness is not normal for adult male, and some cases there's a report that things getting worse, thats mean there a possibility that u wont socialize at all. And the worse case scenario is that your son will behave the same as you were and that is something that u don't want to happen....Anyone have any suggestions to get over extreme shyness?
i believe you may need to see a doctor or a coucellor because you seem shyer than normal and perhanps they can give you some medication, and have a talk with you.



Goodluck with it all = )
maybe because your insecure. remember you have a son already, you must be a model to your son. be confident. theres nothing to lose if your going to try and meet new people.
You may have a anxiety disorder. I would talk to a doctor. Sometimes the anxiety can get worse after having a baby. Zoloft works for these types of things for some people but see a doctor for sure. Don't be embarrassed, it's not a ';wierd'; thing. It's a a medical condition that can be treated usually
social anxiety medication, ask your doctor
yup. a doctor dude. a doctor.
See shyness, and social anxiety, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris on page 9.