Introvert Or Extrovert?

[firewatcher]

Introvert ="the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". Introverts find social situations draining and prefer one on one interactions with others. Generally needs time alone to recharge.

Extrovert = "the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self." Extroverts thrive and truly need social interaction to be happy. Generally feels best when with others and dislikes being alone.

Again, just curious since the two brains are apparently wired differently. Has dysautonomia changed your wiring, or are introverts more prone to "overstimulation" or a change in brain chemistry from illness???????

http://www.healthleader.uthouston.edu/archive/Mind_Body_Soul/2005/introvertsvsextroverts-1221.html

[Ernie]

Hi,

I am naturally an extrovert but since I became disabled I don't have the energy of the capacity to have a social life. I also lost my social circle because of being so sick.

When I was homebound and bedbound for 7 years I found it extremely difficult because I need to see people every day. Now I can leave the house and do so. I feel so much better.

[firewatcher]

Hi,

I am naturally an extrovert but since I became disabled I don't have the energy of the capacity to have a social life. I also lost my social circle because of being so sick.

When I was homebound and bedbound for 7 years I found it extremely difficult because I need to see people every day. Now I can leave the house and do so. I feel so much better.

Ernie, I understand how this would effect your social life tremendously, but do you still "need" the companionship of others like you did? Or have you found that your preference has actually changed? If you are still energized and feel better in the presence of others, you are still an extrovert!

[Ernie]

Hi,

I still need to be with other people. Without seeing and talking with other people it's like part of me is dead. But even if I can now leave the house it exhaust me to talk and to listen. Even talking on the phone is exhausting. I still do it because for me it is so important to have friends and socialise.

[Guest tearose]

I think there should be another category.

I was and am extroverted however, living with a physical disability that makes you measure each energy expenditure, count each step, plan for each day...it can be, has been isolating by the mere fact that it takes time at home alone to maintain the body.

I suppose I have been forced into isolation/introversion at times and have learned graciously how to live with it.

[Sunfish]

i always have been & always will be an extrovert. this doesn't diminish, negate, or presuppose the reality that my illness & disability has DRASTICALLY changed the appearance & reality of my day-to-day life. someone who doesn't know me might easily look at my day-to-day "schedule" & deem me an introvert, but anyone who knows me well knows i still thrive on interaction with others. due to some very singular life realities that i share with very few others (not by choice, but b/c very few people are in the same situation), there are most certainly times & situations that bring out the introvert in me, but when it gets right down to it i'm still a "people person"...an extrovert. i'm an extrovert to the point that i will pay a HUGE cost to spend time with people even if it means days in bed afterward. i'm sure you get my point by now.

quite honestly i've never been a fan of the classifications b/c, as much as i clearly fall in the "extrovert" category, i'm also someone who absolutely NEEDS my "me time". i always have & guess that i always will. while it may not define my personality to the degree that "extrovert"-ness does, i would say that i am JUST as dependent on it. i crave it & need it, particularly if my "people time" hasn't included any sort of deep conversation/ introspection. which, i suppose, may be the crux of it. unfortunately over the years i've come to find that many extrovert-centered activities don't include depth of conversation or relationship. being superficial is just as much NOT who i am as any other part about me. more than needing "people time" or "me time" i need & crave & thrive on the deep conversation, introspective living, etc. i am an intense person who lives intensely & has a hard time with the fact that much of the world does not. on any type or variety of personality testing - you know the ones with scales ranking extrovert & introvert, amongst other things? - i always score on the extrovert (or other applicable term of similar meaning) side of the spectrum but always pretty darn close to the middle/ center, such that my introvert side (or again, whatever similar term is being used) is also very high scoring. in fact i tend to be very close to the middle on/ in any categories used, even those related to other things, which has always seemed to be a good fit both to me & others around me who know me well in one or more realms of living. just an added tidbit of melissa i suppose....

i'm sure some of you reading this would suppose that my intensity is a direct result of my health situation, my brushes with death, etc. but it's not. has that brought it out even more? heightened its intensity? how could it have not, right? of course. i wouldn't argue with that for a second. but it's not where it started. b/c long before i had any health issues, much less anything that could be considered life-threatening or terminal, i was an intense person. at times, almost to a fault. b/c, as i mentioned already, much (if not most) of the world, doesn't operate on the level that i love & crave. at times i've taken it personally when others don't want this level of relationship &/or conversation when, in reality, it's just that many people don't desire the level of relationship with anyone that i like to have to everyone (well, not EVERYone, but you get my drift).

so how's that for a long convoluted answer? and while i definitely see what you're saying tearose, and can say "me too" wholeheartedly about the reality of graciously learning to change the way we live & thrive in light of our physical realities, i differ on the opinion that there should be a different category b/c when it gets down to it you're talking about adapting to your situation / reality despite not having changed who you really are, and the question is about our innate personality WITHOUT consideration of how our health situations/ realities might dictate our day-to-day living, ya know? at least that was/ is my interpretation of what is being asked.....that it's asking us what category we would fall in if we didn't have any health constraints (allowing of course for the part of the question wherein our health has actually changed our innate operating systems/ personalities). anyone can feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

of course just my two cents......

melissa, the extrovert with a strong introvert side too (who has been some version of this same framework since the day i was born)

[jump]

I've always been an introvert, and I would still consider myself more of an introvert than an extrovert, but there's no question my illness has made me vastly more extroverted than before. I never used to feel the need to rely on others to help me through tough times; I was never the kind of person to call a friend when I was feeling down. Since becoming sick, I've learned how important it can be to stay in touch with people as a way of staying cheerful and optimistic. Also, since becoming sick, I've really had to learn to speak up for myself and fight for my needs, something I NEVER, EVER did before. I definitely use my voice now much more than I ever did before. I suppose these are small gifts that come with illnes; the silver-lining so to speak. I think before I was shy and introverted to a fault perhaps. Now, out of necessity, I am more balanced.

jump

[firewatcher]

Thanks everyone who has and are still voting! I was again looking for some pattern (I do that alot )

I just wondered if there was a predisposition to ANS dysfunction because of a genetic sensitivity to certain brain chemicals. Introverts supposedly have a higher blood-flow to certain parts of the brain as well as stronger reactions to dopamine. Fascinating stuff really, it just doesn't help.

[mountainsunflower]

Interesting topic... I love to be around people and still enjoy it- I don' think that will ever change- it is who i am. I try hard to surround myself with positive people and hope they except all of me. I do agree with tearose- being forced into introversion and learning to live with it graciously- well said!!! I have learned to cherish my quiet, alone time.

[ladyt]

hi..

I have always been in the middle.. i love being sosial, but really need my alone time too.. That is now i gett a lot of that, alone time.

[ramakentesh]

I was probably more of an introvert before the illness. now because the illness limits my ability to do things at times, Im finding that as a way of telling it that it hasnt beaten me, I go out of my way to talk to people and meet new people - like just at the shop or something. Because every part of my body wants me not to do it because now its so much harder.

its like '**** you! Im going to do what I want to do' - obviously when its too bad I cant, but when im doing ok I make a point of doing this/