Introverts unite!

[Plasticweld]

Extreme, eh? Sounds frightening! Careful, you'll scare the introverts away from this thread lol.

I don't mind answering all those questions if I know the person, and in fact enjoy it. I think the difference pops up in that to an extrovert talking with a new person is just fun and not nerve wracking. And what Crowley said...social interaction with anyone but your closest friends (and sometimes even them) is very draining while for extroverts it is energizing.

That's why I like message boards, it's easy to socialize on here and I enjoy talking with new people because I have plenty of time to think of my response. Except for when people start to debate. Debates make me sad.

My wife explained it best. While out shopping "which I hate" I was sitting on a bench in the middle of the mall watching the world go by while she shopped. about 10 feet away from me sat a woman by herself who looked like she was deep in thought. I of coarse being fascinated by people decided I would engage her in conversation and find out of course what she was thinking.

She sat a safe distance away, or so she thought. I started a conversation about clothing styles "which I know nothing about" and she responded. We chatted just a little bit and then I asked her if anything was troubling her as she looked like she had a lot on her mind.

Hot flashes, going through menopause. We talked for maybe 20 minutes I shared some of what my wife went through and how it effected our relationship. She talked about her family and husband and how the "change" of life was effecting them.

My wife comes back to find me thoroughly engaged with a stranger talking about her going through menopause and about her family like we were long lost friends.


She is convinced she can not leave me anywhere.


I am a pretty big guy, but most see me as a friendly non threating guy. I am hard of hearing and read lips, I have also studied body language for years as a hobby and some of my favorite books are about the art of interrogation for the police departments. I consider myself very, very intuitive when speaking with people and reading what their saying along with hearing it even though I am hard of hearing.


Because I honestly care about people, because I honestly want to know about them and really, really listen I get lots of people to share with me. Having been involved in the ministry for years I don't know whether I just come across right or have the right signals when speaking but I make friends out of complete strangers in a matter of minutes.

My wife calls me extreme, I am just a guy who love to talk and meet people. I am also don't have a shy bone in my body which also means that someone if they are interested only needs to be around me for a short time before they know me. No one has ever had to guess what I am thinking...Bob

[InnerFlame00]

My wife comes back to find me thoroughly engaged with a stranger talking about her going through menopause and about her family like we were long lost friends....

Something similar happens to me as well, despite the fact that I am an introvert. I don't start the conversations, but for some reason people often start them with me and we quickly go from small talk to that person telling me all sorts of their problems, then ending with 'I don't usually talk about this stuff with random people...". It's like they sense I'm a good listener? I usually have some advice to give, which is good otherwise I'd be blindsided lol.

You're the opposite side of my spectrum - we can do a lot of the same things but in entirely different ways. You figure stuff out by observation, and I figure it out subconsciously. Plus you get energized from it and it makes me tired, but in the end I'm still glad I can help people out sometimes.

It's funny: I like reading debates on forums, but I avoid them in real life. Most likely its because I know I can escape the debates any time I want.

I think I just hate arguments and conflict. Even in text . I just want everyone to get along and respect each others opinions lol

[InnerFlame00]

This is the best description of being an introvert I've found so far:

[midnightpoet]

I hate phone calls, but like others here I have a hearing defect - almost no hearing in one ear. Phone service people especially are frustrating, especially if they have an accent or mumble their speech. Sometimes I wonder if they think I'm bigoted against them - I'm not, I just have trouble understanding. I'm much better on chat lines, although sometimes I have to retrain my fingers from typing "r u a natural idiot, or did you have special training?"

I'm not as much an introvert as I used to be, but my wife says she has to go shopping just to have someone to talk to.

[Gargh]

Everyone seen this one yet?

https://youtu.be/rUaj7rj6MI8

I had, honestly, often thought of introversion as a flaw in myself before I saw this, rather than it just being bad timing that I live in a culture where it's not presently valued for its strengths.

[Loveabull]

I enjoy debate on say an online political forum because I just naturally express myself better in writing. You know when you're in a room crowded with people and you just get bombarded with conversation? Human voices become like adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon..."WAHHWA HWAH HWAHWAH WAH WAHh...okay you're laughing loudly so that must have been a joke so I'll laugh too...frustrating, sensory overload...especially those people who feel the need happy or upset to converse at the top of their lungs. It's especially frustrating because people don't know how to read you if you're an introvert. Think the quote from Steven Hawkings is something like " Dumb people think smart people sound crazy". You get that look sometimes, the kind of human who will pick up a TV Guide and People magazine once a week and consider themselves readers can't begin to wrap their little brains around us.

[Darkkin]

Has anyone read: Quiet. The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking? ​It is the awesomeness of the introverts.

[SirJohnnyBoy]

I gotta question. People get butt hurt (that's right, I said it) when I don't text or email back right away. I'm so lost in whatever I'm doing, generally writing, or cleaning, or something, that I forget. Or, not to sound callous, I really don't care about what they texted. Kinda like the proverbial Tweeting "Woke up today" "Went to Work" "Drank some diet soda and it was good", just doesn't feel like it needs to be responded too. Is that introverted or hermit. ...ed. Hermited? ... hermited.

That always baffles me. I go thirty minutes without replying to a text, and boom!... I'll never understand.

But, I do have a tendency to forget my phone somewhere, or never hear the thing, so...

[The Green Shield]

I think one of the large reasons why I can't watch the news is not just because they're depressing, but because there's just a constant barrage of it. There's always a 'BREAKING NEWS!!' coming on every second with bright flashing lights, big words and the news reporter almost shouting it into the camera what's going on that day. I switched my search engine to Google because I felt physically exhausted having to use Yahoo!, what with their constant stream of news and other things to try and attract my attention.

[Loveabull]

Something that makes me nutso at various jobs are the people who are so animated getting ahead. They might have the IQ of a gerbil, possibly less, but they present themselves with a manic smile that is supposed to signify competence? Then those of us who actually know exactly what's going on get overlooked as expendable. A huge smile doesn't come naturally to me. A bit too much on my mind to be mindlessly cheerful. I mean a customer or co-worker coming up with a good one and I can laugh to tears. But just a grin pasted on there no.