I found this eye-opening article from the Huffington Post very intriguing and wanted to share it with you.
Think you can spot an introvert in
a crowd? Think again. Although the stereotypical introvert may be the one at
the party who's hanging out alone by the food table fiddling with an iPhone,
the "social butterfly" can just as easily have an introverted
personality.
People are frequently unaware that they’re introverts -–
especially if they’re not shy -- because they may not realize that being an
introvert is about more than just cultivating time alone. Instead, it can be
more instructive to pay attention to whether they're losing or gaining energy
from being around others, even if the company of friends gives them pleasure.
“Introversion
is a basic temperament, so the social aspect -- which is what people focus on
-- is really a small part of being an introvert," Dr. Marti Olsen Laney,
psychotherapist and author of "The Introvert Advantage," said in a Mensa discussion.
"It affects everything in your life.”
Despite
the growing conversation around introversion, it
remains a frequently misunderstood personality trait. As recently as 2010, the
American Psychiatric Association even considered classifying "introverted personality" as a disorder by listing it in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), a manual used to diagnose mental
illness.
But more
and more introverts are speaking out about what it really means to be a "quiet" type. Not
sure if you're an innie or an outie? See if any of these 23 telltale signs of
introversion apply to you.
1. You
find small talk incredibly cumbersome.
Introverts are notoriously small
talk-phobic, as they find idle chatter to be a source of anxiety, or at least
annoyance. For many quiet types, chitchat can feel disingenuous.
2. You go
to parties -– but not to meet people.
If you're an introvert, you may sometimes enjoy going to
parties, but chances are, you're not going because you're excited to meet new
people. At a party, most introverts would rather spend time with people they
already know and feel comfortable around. If you happen to meet a new person
that you connect with, great -- but meeting people is rarely the goal.
3. You
often feel alone in a crowd.
Ever feel like an outsider in the
middle of social gatherings and group activities, even with people you know?
"If you tend to find yourself feeling alone in a crowd, you
might be an introvert," says Dembling. "We might let friends or
activities pick us, rather than extending our own invitations."
4.
Networking makes you feel like a phony.
Networking (read: small-talk with the end goal of advancing your
career) can feel particularly disingenuous for introverts, who crave
authenticity in their interactions.
"Networking is stressful if we do it in the ways that are
stressful to us," Dembling says, advising introverts to network in small,
intimate groups rather than at large mixers.
5. You've
been called "too intense."
Do you have a penchant for philosophical
conversations and a love of thought-provoking books and movies? If so, you're a
textbook introvert.
"Introverts like to jump into the deep end," says
Dembling.
6. You're
easily distracted.
While extroverts tend to get bored easily when they don't have
enough to do, introverts have the opposite problem -- they get easily
distracted and overwhelmed in environments with an excess of stimulation.
7.
Downtime doesn’t feel unproductive to you.
One of the most fundamental
characteristics of introverts is that they need time alone to recharge their
batteries. Whereas an extrovert might get bored or antsy spending a day at home
alone with tea and a stack of magazines, this sort of down time feels necessary
and satisfying to an introvert.
8. Giving
a talk in front of 500 people is less stressful than having to mingle with
those people afterwards.
Introverts
can be excellent leaders and public speakers -- and although they're
stereotyped as being the shrinking violet, they don't necessarily shy away from
the spotlight. Performers like Lady
Gaga, Christina Aguilera and Emma Watson allidentify
as introverts, and an estimated 40
percent of CEOs have
introverted personalities. Instead, an introvert might struggle more with
meeting and greeting large groups of people on an individual basis.
9. When
you get on the subway, you sit at the end of the bench -– not in the middle.
Whenever possible, introverts tend
to avoid being surrounded by people on all sides.
"We're likely to sit in places where we can get away when
we're ready to -- easily," says Dembling. "When I go to the theater,
I want the aisle seat or the back seat."
10. You
start to shut down after you’ve been active for too long.
Do you start to get tired and unresponsive after you've been out
and about for too long? It's likely because you’re trying to conserve energy.
Everything introverts do in the outside world causes them to expend energy,
after which they'll need to go back and replenish their stores in a quiet
environment, says Dembling. Short of a quiet place to go, many introverts will
resort to zoning out.
11.
You're in a relationship with an extrovert.
It's true that opposites attract,
and introverts frequently gravitate towards outgoing extroverts who encourage
them to have fun and not take themselves too seriously.
"Introverts are sometimes drawn to extroverts because they
like being able to ride their 'fun bubble,'" Dembling says.
12. You'd
rather be an expert at one thing than try to do everything.
The
dominant brain pathways introverts use is one that allows you to focus and
think about things for a while, so they’re geared toward intense study and
developing expertise, according
to Olsen Laney.
13. You
actively avoid any shows that might involve audience participation.
Because really, is anything more terrifying?
14. You
screen all your calls -- even from friends.
You may not pick up your phone
even from people you like, but you’ll call them back as soon as you’re mentally
prepared and have gathered the energy for the conversation.
"To me, a ringing phone is like having somebody jump out of
a closet and go 'BOO!,'" says Dembling. "I do like having a long,
nice phone call with a friend -- as long as it's not jumping out of the sky at
me."
15. You
notice details that others don't.
The upside
of being overwhelmed by too much stimuli is that introverts often have a keen
eye for detail, noticing things that may escape others around them. Researchhas found that introverts exhibit increased
brain activity when processing visual information, as compared to extroverts.
16. You
have a constantly running inner monologue.
“Extroverts don’t have the same
internal talking as we do,” says Olsen Laney. “Most introverts need to think
first and talk later."
17. You
have low blood pressure.
A 2006 Japanese study found that introverts tend to have
lower blood pressure than their extroverted counterparts.
18.
You’ve been called an “old soul” -– since your 20s.
Introverts observe and take in a
lot of information, and they think before they speak, leading them to appear
wise to others.
"Introverts tend to think hard and be analytical,"
says Dembling. "That can make them seem wise."
19. You
don't feel "high" from your surroundings.
Neurochemically speaking, things
like huge parties just aren’t your thing. Extroverts and introverts differ
significantly in how their brains process experiences through
"reward" centers.
Researchers
demonstrated this phenomenon by
giving Ritalin -- the ADHD drug that stimulates dopamine production in the
brain -- to introverted and extroverted college students. They found that
extroverts were more likely to associate the feeling of euphoria achieved by
the rush of dopamine with the environment they were in. Introverts, by
contrast, did not connect the feeling of reward to their surroundings. The study
"suggests that introverts have a fundamental difference in how strongly
they process rewards from their environment, with the brains of introverts
weighing internal cues more strongly than external motivational and reward
cues," explained LiveScience's Tia Ghose.
20. You
look at the big picture.
When describing the way that introverts think, Jung explained
that they're more interested in ideas and the big picture rather than facts and
details. Of course, many introverts excel in detail-oriented tasks -- but they
often have a mind for more abstract concepts as well.
"Introverts do really enjoy abstract discussion," says
Dembling.
21.
You’ve been told to “come out of your shell.”
Many
introverted children come to believe that there's something "wrong"
with them if they're naturally less outspoken and assertive than their peers.
Introverted adults often say that as children, they were told to come out of
their shells or participate more in class.
22.
You’re a writer.
23. You
alternate between phases of work and solitude, and periods of social activity.
Introverts can move around their introverted “set point” which
determines how they need to balance solitude with social activity. But when
they move too much -- possibly by over-exerting themselves with too much
socializing and busyness -- they get stressed and need to come back to
themselves, according Olsen Laney. This may manifest as going through periods
of heightened social activity, and then balancing it out with a period of
inwardness and solitude.
"There's a recovery point that seems to be correlated with
how much interaction you've done," says Dembling. "We all have our
own private cycles."
After reading this article, I could easily name several people I know (myself included) to whom a number of these characteristics apply. Very interesting take on personality differences!
Thoughts?
