Well... I'd guess that in many ways, if you had something that made you ACTUALLY socially inept, that you wouldn't really be aware of it.

AvPD isn't social phobia. They're similar, but they aren't the same. And if you are actually awkward - why are you awkward? What's causing the awkwardness? No one chooses to be awkward, so there's likely things below that are causing it.

Like... I totally believe that I am in fact inferior to others. My instincts are to go to that. But enough people have said enough things and I worked really hard and I can look at it on the one hand and go "... Actually I'm not, you know." and logically I know that I'm not. But I still fully feel and believe that I am. It doesn't make any sense, but it's how it is.

"What if my attempts are going to be met with rejection, disapproval, and being shamed..." Most people really don't reject or disapprove or shame people all that often. So if you solidly believe that that's how people will respond to you... yeah, AvPD could fit you really well.

And maybe knowing could help you. Or maybe it won't. Personally, I enjoy knowing. (Keep in mind, I'm only diagnosed bipolar 2!) I find that it gives me areas to research and read about, and it tends to make me think about other things and figure out how it all fits. Sometimes that helps me when I'm working on making changes, and I can remind myself that my brain just isn't working properly and that it needs to be retrained.