Many years ago, I was asked to take on the duties of a substitute Reader at a Christian Science informal group I attended, which meant that some weeks I would need to read the weekly Bible Lesson-Sermon to the congregation.
But for about as long as I can remember, any activity that required speaking in public, even talking to a clerk at a store, was fraught with anxiety for me. When I was a child, being asked to respond to the teacher at school was extremely difficult.
Many of my life decisions were influenced by this apparent inadequacy, even to the extent that I avoided certain job opportunities and weighed personal friendships in the light of this problem.
