Shyness at school/work

I’ve always been the quiet kid and being labelled this way has just made me grow to think that’s how I’ll always be. I don’t like being shy, no one does. It’s just accumulating social anxiety that prohibits you from developing any social skills. Now i’m in college and also work part time and I do feel like in a way I have improved and my social anxiety is slowly going away. I used to get panic attacks when talking to new groups of people at times but now I’m more relaxed. I just don’t know how to break out of that shell and how to start making meaningful conversations with colleagues at work. With my friends I’m fine as I’ve known them for years and can be myself, but when I’m at work I feel bad for not talking much and I’m sure my colleagues think I hate them but it’s genuinely that I’m just terrible at small talk. They often talk about the most random stuff and I try to join in but I often feel like my input is not needed or adds no value. What can I do to improve my social skills and build relationships with new people?

I’ve always been the quiet kid and being labelled this way has just made me grow to think that’s how I’ll always be. I don’t like being shy, no one does. It’s just accumulating social anxiety that prohibits you from developing any social skills. Now i’m in college and also work part time and I do feel like in a way I have improved and my social anxiety is slowly going away. I used to get panic attacks when talking to new groups of people at times but now I’m more relaxed. I just don’t know how to break out of that shell and how to start making meaningful conversations with colleagues at work. With my friends I’m fine as I’ve known them for years and can be myself, but when I’m at work I feel bad for not talking much and I’m sure my colleagues think I hate them but it’s genuinely that I’m just terrible at small talk. They often talk about the most random stuff and I try to join in but I often feel like my input is not needed or adds no value. What can I do to improve my social skills and build relationships with new people?

Agree with what the previous user said about CBT, I'll try and elaborate:-

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or (CBT) is a proven way of tackling and (eventually) overcoming fears and phobias; in this context shyness qualifies as a fear / phobia.

It works by taking "baby-steps" out of your comfort zone; the idea is that you may feel somewhat uncomfortable given the task ahead... but no where near the extent that it's overwhelming or terrifying. You can only do this one day at a time... so you're not going to have that in-depth conversation about Euro 2021 or the new Love Island series just yet

I'm not sure how much you interact with your colleagues... but assuming you normally make a b-line to your desk in the morning, you could make a start by making it your mission to say a confident "Hi" or "morning" to at least one colleague when you arrive at work (no need to start a conversation just yet, just a greeting on its own is plenty). When that becomes easier, you then build on that, with maybe a "Hi, how are you" or "Hey, how's it going" or How was your weekend?", they'll tell you and then you offer some random comment on whatever they say, and you can leave it there. You just keep building up on what you've done when whatever stage you're at becomes easier.

Don't worry about topics too much for now, that comes later when you're more comfortable at interacting with people.

Thanks for your response, I really appreciate it! I work in a big retail shop and I'm also new so it's a bit overwhelming at the moment. Having to meet people all the time and make small talk all day kills me. In a way it feels like exposure therapy because I'm putting myself out there but I might also look into CBT. I was considering meds to help with the anxiety part but I think my anxiety is getting better it's just the social skills I need to work on and being more confident when talking to others. At this point I'm just faking it till I make it!