blivet radio
The Radio weblog of Hal Rager

Saturday, February 22, 2003

Caring for Your Introvert This is via Dori at Backup Brain. I find the two hours 'off' for one hour 'on' to be about right. This is about the same thing as my 'dog people' and 'cat people.' [Dog people, like dogs, tend to love to be around their own kind. Cat people are similar, they love to be around their own kind. When they want to be and then they're just as likely to wander off someplace alone.] And no, don't take it 'personal.' "What is introversion? In its modern sense, the concept goes back to the 1920s and the psychologist Carl Jung. Today it is a mainstay of personality tests, including the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring. Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."" (more) 10:32:30 PM    comment   trackback []