purplecthulhu

I found these wise words on fjm's LJ:

if someone who appears to you to be outgoing, tells you that they are shy, believe them. What you are seeing is their performance face, their coping mechanisms. It may come over as arrogance, be expressed as sarcasm, be over ebullient, or talking too much. It may exhaust them so much that they can't think too straight about the reality of a situation while they are "performing". It may not be a good coping mechanism. But it is not proof that they have lied about their shyness.

[Quoted with permission]

Having said that, I have an admission to make...

I am shy.

Bear fjm's insightful words in mind in this context.