Despite inviting any smarmy comments which may spring forth on this thread about AvPD, I too am a lifelong sufferer of it. However, like yourself, I've found that just being an honest person with conservative thinking helps go a long way in dealing with it on a personal and social level. I'll never be the "life-of-the-party" ... heck, I probably won't even get invited to "the party"!(/laughs) ... but at least I won't have to go thru all the mental anguish the next day, waking up and saying to myself: "Oh man, what the hell did you just do last night?" ... /chuckle
Cheers,
MM
Yes, that's definitely one benefit. I was heading in the wrong direction with alcohol during my teen/early adult years and getting into some situations that I normally would have avoided. After a few years of dabbling in alcohol to ease my inhibitions and making some unwise choices, I saw it was getting me nowhere and I stopped heading down that road.
Also, I think God must have did this to me on purpose, but he gave me three kids--all of whom are outgoing--the oldest one especially. There have been a few times when I've wanted to crawl into the floor, but with kids you are just forced to deal with some situations and you have to roll with the punches. Through them I've made some acquaintances and friends which is nice because after grade school and my jobs outside the home ended you lose touch with some of the people that were once close.
Thanks for sharing a little about yourself. We are definitely not the only ones out there that have experienced such extreme self-consciousness.