Re: the OP
I think shyness, especially when extreme, makes it difficult to determine introversion vs extroversion, both because a lot of the traits of shyness and introversion overlap and because shyness hinders an extrovert's natural tendencies to some degree. In distinguishing the two, I'd say it's largely a matter of comfort and confidence. The healthy introverts I know will rarely or never seek out large groups of people for social events, but they're perfectly fine with talking to people when necessary, like to ask someone for help or something. The shy ones will tend to avoid even necessary interactions out of fear rather than indifference.
I'm severely shy and it made it difficult to know for sure that I was introverted, because I engage in social activities often, I live with 6 people and love it, and I'm often loud and talkative with my good friends, although I also enjoy many "introverted" activities. In the end I'd say that I'm moderate-to-slightly introverted although shyness makes me appear severely introverted to people who don't know me well. It also helped to look at the type as a whole....I know I'm definitely not an ESTP (or an ENTP for that matter).
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