I, too, have been and still am afraid of people ever since I was a child. My family called it "being shy" and tried to make me overcome it by dragging me to parties and social activities. It made for awkward moments, like going left when everybody else was going right at a group dance presentation. Needless to say, all the laughing and pitiful looks from the audience didn't help.
I found my most peaceful times in the company of books, inside those stories I could imagine myself as one of the characters...a different person. After high school I took a year off before going to college. My mom volunteered me to a summer church project teaching kids in poor communities catechism and basic lessons. Having to face many challenges (my social anxiety being always the first in line), I realized that by imagining myself as one of the characters from the stories I've read I can cope with the anxiety. It is both a way to protect myself and a way to let my strengths and talents be useful and shine.
During college I had a professor, well-known for being a terror, who challenged his students non-stop. It was from him I learned to "speak"...to voice out my thoughts, even if everyone will not agree with them. From him and the countless characters (fiction and non-fiction) from books, tv shows, films, etc., I realized that the only opinion that mattered is my own. The only voice I should be listening to is the one from inside me...the one who knows who I truly am, what I can do and what I determine to become.
It's not an easy path nor does it guarantee victory in life's battles, but knowing you can stand up whenever you fall and that mistakes are not shame, but rather opportunities for growth...one can and will always have the choice - to give up or be someone better, one step at a time.
Whenever you feel afraid of others, remember - "They are also human. They can also feel joy and sadness, excitement and anxiousness, bravery and fear, ignorance and love."