I'd never heard of this before - but after reading your posts and doing a lil google search the symptoms sound so familiar - that was me up until I was around 20 - now I'd say I'm just very introverted and have learnt to prefer my own company. I have a few close friends who I love socialising with. I think now I'm not terrified of new social events, i just get nervous. Previously there was shaking, sweating, blushing if anyone spoke to me, lightheadness - it was a nightmare! I'm not sure what helped or what caused the change.

As for friends at work - I was at my last job for 3 years and I only started making good friends in the last year! People I'm now friends with say they used to think I was a stuck-up bitch - not realising that I was just scared of being judged on anything about me and thought I had nothing worthwhile to say. So yes - I too was sitting up at lunch with earphones and a book - I really feel where you are coming from!

Not sure if this helps - but I'm telling you this to let you know that there are people out there like you (even though I only just diagnosed myself!).

Also I don't consider myself "cured" in anyway, because introversion is still a big part of my personality - but you just need to develop some coping strategies for various situations and that should help you feel more comfortable.