Introvert vs Extrovert

Absolutely.

While I'm noted as an extrovert...and I agree with it for the most part. (including on tests)
And I'm "a bit" of a talker... (and at times hyper)

But I also don't mind being by myself for great lengths of time.
I don't need to have people around...I can even go places by myself.
And like you, when I get into a dark mood...I prefer to just funk and zone.

It fully depends on my mood...I don't fear either way.
As in some fear to be alone.
Or some fear crowds.

I thrive on the energy of people...but I also enjoy the silence.
Both empowers me.

Each side has something to be desired.
There is no rule.

 

You should see me at the end of the school day. I am a motor mouth. I need about twenty minutes alone to ratchet down, or else I will verbally vomit all over my husband.

Barring my persistent social anxiety, I'm very much an extrovert. I love meeting new people, hanging out with others, and being in front of groups. I enjoy public speaking (I better, since I typically have 100 sets of eyes on me in a day). I've always been the outgoing sort. I come by it honestly--both of my parents are extroverts. My family is the kind of family where everyone talks over everyone else; by contrast, my husband's family is very, very quiet, and they're sometimes not very good at interacting even with each other.

On the Myers-Briggs, I'm persistently an E(NTJ).

 

Myers-Briggs pinned me as INFP the last time I took the test. I'm not 100% sure of the NFP but the I is definitely me. I can be very social with family and those I already know. Not so with new. I get along fine in a group of 6 or 60,000. In a group of 60,000 if feel safely anonymous. I'm comfortable in a group of six, especially if I already know a few of the. But drop me in a group of 25, and I am absolutely terrified. Sometime I hide that pretty well, but my insides are in knots.

 

I am an introvert who was raised to interact openly with other people and appear as an extrovert. I have tested as ENTP and INTJ in two different administrations of the Meyer Briggs personality test.

I know I need my alone time. I also know I do best not in isolation.

 

Interesting.

Despite my extroversion, I enjoy typically introverted pursuits when not working--video games, writing, reading, and other things done in solitude. I think it brings balance to my life. That said, I did want to be Cyndi Lauper when I was two, so I think I've probably been an extrovert my entire life.

 

I'm a textbook introvert.

Every time I've done Myers-Briggs testing, my introversion tilts towards 100%.

This sums me up well:

This sometimes leads people to misjudge me; it sometimes frustrates people. I think it often renders me virtually invisible. If it weren't for places like the TFP, I'd be left to my own inner world.

I'm taxed by interactions with any number of people; it's just that larger groups tax me far greater. Verbal and non-verbal communication (speaking and being present with people in real-time) is exhausting to me. Conversely, I can spend hours on end in solitude, and I'll lose track of time. It's my baseline. It's where I achieve my equilibrium.

This likely contributes to some of the things I struggle with. I'm often hobbled by inaction. I often ruminate instead of taking action, rather than ruminate before taking it.

I often feel I don't belong anywhere in the world. I see the stuff that most people do, and I can't see myself doing it.

So I revert to my inner world. Even then, I tend to have a love/hate relationship with it.

I haven't embraced my introversion, or really used it to my advantage. I often feel it has become a cross I must bear.

 

I feel you--on the flip side of things. Writing and reading are things I love, things I could do constantly--if it weren't for the nagging need to get out and be with others. If I spend too much time at home, wrapped up in that inner world, I get snippy as hell. The interactions I have online don't seem to count towards it. I need to be out, with people, but fortunately, just going to a third place like a coffee shop or pub seems to do the trick.

 

That's interesting. I usually find that I force myself to go out with people (coffee shop/pub) to assuage concerns I have about my social/spiritual health regarding connecting with people. But it's often done with at least a part of me seeing it as a chore. I'm not so bad at this anymore, but I used to avoid social situations because I would dread the physical and emotional drain it would have on me. Now I realize that I have to take the bad with the good, as a lack of social interaction is a bad thing regardless of what I feel while participating in it.

I've come to realize that if I put in at least one or two outings a month I will maintain a level of sociability that I can live with without feeling like I'm wearing myself too thin. Doing martial arts two or three times a week has been a great help, because it doesn't have the same negative impact as most social situations, but it does have much of the same positive benefits.

That said, I do find that interacting on TFP and Facebook makes up for a lack of direct social connection. The effect isn't the same, of course. It takes hours of such interaction to make up any sort of effect that would compare to direct social interaction, but the online stuff doesn't have the same drawbacks on my energy levels.

On the other hand, as indicated, I haven't really delved into the glory of my introversion. I spend too much time ruminating in circles, much of which includes regretting I'm not more extroverted. So I become this disengaged fence-sitter much of the time.

Yeah, I need to work on self-acceptance and all that shit.

 

It definitely helps.

 

I think that many extroverts look at introversion as some kind of defect. Even many of us that are one view it that way.

Nice phraseology. Perhaps (seasonal allusion) ...and the glory of your introversion shall be revealed...

I understand. I have such envy for the ease with which extroverts can socially just "deal with it." But they don't see it as any imposition.

 

It's because we aren't "team players." We don't like to lead, and we don't like to be led. Yeah, that sounds pretty "defective." (Maybe a defection!)

It's like learning how to use the Force. Or something.

I tend to envy introverts who can get by with extroversion when it comes down to it. I've tried it but it's extremely difficult for me. I believe there is a wide spectrum of introversion, and I'm most certainly on the "severe" end. I'm sure there are many who have a harder time than I do. I've been fortunate enough to have a past that includes having taken risks such as getting into drama in high school, going to business school, etc. I could have a much more solid shell than I do, but I've kept things fairly open so that I can get outside of myself if need be.

 

I'm typically rated as a ENTP...but I'm often introverted and shy. You should have seen me in HS...I didn't know how to talk to anyone. Read in my room constantly.
So you can change...either way.
Or even moment by moment.

Some day I'll learn to keep my mouth shut...again