Are you introverted?

[Kore]

I'm very introverted. Being in groups is draining to me. There are only a few people I can be around for long periods of time without feeling like I need to get away & recharge. My husband & closest friends.

I'm becoming more outgoing as I get older. I don't care as much about looking dumb to people. And Louisiana has trained me to be friendly. When I leave the state, I have to make a conscious effort to not make eye contact & say hello to passing strangers. Apparently, people think that's weird?

[Mrs. ChanandlerBong]

I have good friends and do get together with newer friends for play dates.

After any of these outings I need to be by myself ( or just me and my kids) for a good stretch of time.  I love texting and hate talking the on phone. Even with my husband. I can fake being outgoing and I think most people IRL would be shocked that I prefer to not be around people.

[chedominique]

I am definitely an introvert and my H is border line introvert. I use to be shy, but I worked on it over the years because of my job. I dreaded phone conversations and meeting people too. Now, I have to work my self up while having a mini freak out in my head (especially presentations) before I can interact with others.  I will be doing this tomorrow before my presentation: 



I'm still quiet (and awkward) but I have to get to know you first for me to completely open up. Everyone's first impression of me is usually "snob" because I'm quiet. And the worst part of it all is that I'm soft spoken. I feel sorry for the girls that met me from the ATL GTG.

At home, I'm loud and I talk a lot, LOL.

[DaisyCakes]

Yep...and I'm a teacher. Prozac helps.

[rex]

Yes, and shy. I am so happy I have a job where I don't have to talk on the phone or to large amounts of people.

I am mostly okay with it. It's hard living in a culture where extroversion is what is valued and admired.

When I do meet someone I am friendly and often described as "sweet" but I've never had a moment where I just clicked with someone and we became friends almost immediately. It takes awhile for me to really warm up and talk. I do keep friends for a long time once I make them, and don't waste my time on having several acquaintances.

My H is such a nice, friendly and calm extrovert. Being out with him makes me 10x more comfortable.

[falada45]

Yep. I'm very shy and introverted. I have to know someone a looooooong time before I feel comfortable around them and I tend to suck in groups. People generally think I'm a bitch the first time they meet me.

[simplyinpenguin]

I'm painfully introverted. People have to beg me to go out with them and I still say no. Probably once or twice a year I'll venture out with friends, but I'm always in my house.

H is both. But he likes to be out of the house more than not so we get bliss.

[alicenelson]

Total introvert. Awkward. Uncomfortable. Try not to draw attention to myself. I'm not good at initiating or maintaining conversations. I'm working on it, though. It's just so exhausting. On the other hand, I'm a great listener!

[BaliHai]

I identify as introverted (I agree with the PP who said introverts are energized by alone time vs. extroverts being energized by social interaction), but I am getting more and more "used to" people as I get older and get more comfortable with myself. I have several older people in my life who are 100% comfortable in their own skin, never afraid they're making fools of themselves, and I admire them beyond words and tell myself I'll get there someday. At the end of the day, though, I would take me and my bed, Kindle, and cats 100 times over any social event.

Eta: H is 70/30, mostly extrovert. He will talk to strangers on purpose and is a social butterfly amongst people he's met at least once before, but every once in a while he gets quiet/reserved around new people.

[mssue]

Yes, definitely. In fact, I was just thinking about this a couple of hours ago because I have been living in California for 4 years working in a male dominated field and it is really hard for me to find new friends. Like others here, it takes me awhile to warm up to people. In fact, I've been told at work that people think I come off cold and kind of unemotional, but I am really far from it. I like to go out, but usually just with a small group of friends and if I go to a party where I don't know people it's really awkward for me and I don't stay around for long.

[fuckyourcouch]

I am a puzzle wrapped in an enigma.

Actually when I take Myers Briggs tests I am a weird combo of being intensely skeptical and to myself, but somehow extroverted at the same time. I don't really like being extroverted I am just good at it, and unless we are really good friends you don't get the real version of my personality/sense of humor

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2013 17:56:32 GMT -5 goaskalice said:

So, I'm more of the exhausted by people introvert than don't want to hang out with people introvert.

This is me. I compensate by being as social as I can stand. I DO NOT want to slide into hermit-dom.

I think this place enables the extreme (like verging on agoraphobic) introverts. :/

[Gato]

I am very introverted.  This will be an amazing week, because my family (except the baby) is away in Texas.  Seven whole nights all to myself!  I would be a little downcast if a friend called me up wanting to go out. lol.

[circa1978]

Yes but it tends to come across as bitchy. I work in marketing and before that I was a reporter, so I'm pretty good at faking at work but I'll never be someone who chats with people in line at the grocery store or say, meets my neighbors.

[snickers]

I like to socialize and be around people, but it drains me. I always need time to regenerate after being around people, and I need to be completely alone after being in a large group. Being social comes naturally to me though, just tiring.

[underwaterrhymes]

No, I'm an extrovert. H is too.

I used to be significantly more introverted when I was younger, though.

[aprilsails]

I am very much an extrovert as is my whole family. DH is an introvert and has had a hard time with my family over the years other than on those occasions when he's good and drunk. Poor guy.

[pantsoffdanceoff]

I'm shy when first meeting people, but I'm so self-aware of it that I overcompensate and talk A LOT. Once I've made a friend it takes me a long time to really open up to them about the nitty-gritty details of my life.

[KaraOrNot]

Introverted, shy, and awkward. Not a good combo. I am a counselor and have to be "on" all day. I am completely drained after work. I don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. Poor vocational choice on my part!

[sark]

I actually just walked by this book in the library last week and picked it up on a whim:

The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World


Aside from acknowledging that I am introverted and cringing at my awkward social skills, I've not given a lot of thought to being an introvert. This book talks about a lot of the same stuff that you guys are talking about- social situations being energy draining, the bitchiness (there's a chapter entitled, "We Didn't Know You Were An Introvert, We Thought You Were Just A Bitch"), that introvert =/= shy. 

While not groundbreaking, the book does have some good points and things to think about.  

[Deleted]

I am extraordinarily extroverted.

[bluetopaz]

This sums me up fairly well.

[jennifertx]

Yes and DH is an extrovert also. Opposites attract I guess. I can totally relate to so many things others have said about people thinking you are snobby, being asked to speak up, NEEDING time alone to recharge, etc.

[sawyerthedestroyer]

It took me two years of lurking here before I started posting somewhat regularly. I'm very shy and spend a lot of time observing people and just listening before I join in. I have a hard time making friends because I just don't know what to talk about. I hate phone calls, I don't like crowds, people exhaust me.

H is an extrovert. He can talk to anyone and doesn't get how hard it is for me to make even simple phone calls.

[Deleted]

I am such an introvert that people have stopped asking me to do things I am down to two friends and I have a hard time even maintaining those relationships because I would rather sit at home with my dogs and knit. I am an 80 year old lady inside and my mid-twenties friends don't like that.

[RoxMonster]

I'm an introvert. I much prefer to be alone or with just one other person...and my dog. I like my dog more than most people.

For instance, today I: went for a long walk by myself out a deserted trail, went to lunch by myself and read, took my Nook up to a river overlook and read by myself, and sat out on my patio writing with my dog. It was heaven.

My H is 100% extroverted. He can talk to anyone and everyone and loves being around people. We balance each other nicely. FWIW, I have to talk a lot to other people for my job (teacher) and I do that fine, but I have to come home and have some decompression/alone time to destress after the day or I get cranky.

[joshlyman]

Jun 4, 2013 22:21:50 GMT -5 bluetopaz said:

This sums me up fairly well.

OMG it's me.

[litebright]

I like socializing and groups/crowds don't bother me too much. But I still don't have many friends.

I think I'm just self-involved. Or too busy. Or something. I have a hard time sustaining friendships, like actually making the effort to see someone on a regular basis is hard for me. I mean, I have reasons (or excuses, depending on your POV) -- working PT, two kids, trying to use free time for working out and sitter-time for reconnecting with DH, feeling guilty about spending money going out often or leaving DH alone with the kids "too much", etc. But it has been bothering me lately because I think I might be a crappy friend.

It doesn't bother me if I don't see someone for weeks or months, I still feel like they're a friend and we can pick up where we left off -- but I think a lot of people don't really consider it a "friendship" at that point, they want something more regular.

I felt like I had friends when I was working and friends as a SAHM, but now that I'm doing each one of those part-time, at home, I'm in some ways more isolated than I was as a SAHM-only. I talk to a lot more adults but I get face-time with significantly fewer.

[speedracer]

yes

[joshlyman]

I will add that I do like socializing - it's just that I like socializing with specific people, and as a result I have a very small group of friends that I am super close with. But I also need time to decompress. It's a balancing act.

I HATE big parties, talking on the phone, networking events ect.