# Am I shy and I don't know it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-shy-and-i-dont-know-it/436222>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 4, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-shy-and-i-dont-know-it/436222 "2008-02-04T16:57:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-shy-and-i-dont-know-it/436222/1 "2008-02-04T16:57:47Z")

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I am not a shy person, at least, I don’t think I am. Yet, quite often when I’m talking to someone about something I believe very strongly in, I get a little knot in my throat that I have to gulp down. Sometimes I even start shivering like I’m cold.

I don’t know if either is noticeable to the person I’m talking to, but it really hinders my ability to express myself. The thing is, I’m not nervous. I mean, consciously, I’m perfectly confident in myself. Yet, my body exhibits signs of nervousness.

Is there something going on behind the scenes here? What can I do about it? Take a deep breath?

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**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-shy-and-i-dont-know-it/436222/2 "2008-02-04T17:09:55Z")

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I have the same problem. Even when I don’t feel nervous, my body likes to freak out a bit. So far, I haven’t found any successful way to combat this.