Some discussion of it begins here: http://psychologicalselfhelp.org/Cha...chap5_108.html , good information on shyness and social anxiety.

I take things in small steps if need be myself. And whenever I do make the difficult phone call, survive being anxious, take a healthy risk - I try to see this as building new habits.

For me, when I go through experiences like what you've listed, I see it as both caused by childhood and other difficult experiences, and by my own choices and habits. Plus physical stuff is always in the mix.

No matter what the source, I've decided it is important and that my own perceptions are valuable. If something is hard for me, that is the way it is, and then I can build some new habits and make changes.