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Maybe they mistake introverts for being shy or anxious, and they don't understand introverts.
Or, to turn things around a tiny bit, maybe they mistake the traits of shyness or anxiety for introversion. Some introverts are shy and anxious, to be sure, but that doesn't mean all of them are. George Armstrong Custer was certainly not shy or anxious, and neither is George H. W. Bush. Both are Introverts.
Well Nighteyes, I've done Myers-Briggs and it only confirmed what I knew all my life.
That frequently happens with people who are already pretty self-aware. I bet you'd test high in Emotional Intelligence. By the way, will you share your Myers-Briggs outcome?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsTommy
That's why I think this thread and the HP article resonated with so many people. They may have never actually taken the test and understood their own personal makeup. If these articles direct some to testing, it will explain a great deal to them and make them feel like less of an "Oddball" in our society.
I agree. I just don't want folks to get the "common-use" definitions and the professional/technical definitions all mixed together. If that happens the waters get really cloudy really fast.
people are also generally afraid of the unknown and desire control...when faced by an introverted person it may be the fear of not knowing what that person is thinking, why an introvert behaves the way he/she does...like many other powerful things, introverts may be placed as inferior out of fear.
^^ On the other hand, you could have the opposite of the introvert above. Some people are sensitive empaths and/or healers, and may hide themselves away from others, because they feel what others are feeing/thinking.
The holiday season can be absolutely BRUTAL to a sensitive empath. What others perceive to be depressed or unsociable people?....just might be sensitive empaths, who are protecting themselves from the feelings and emotions of others, which tend to run H-I-G-H during the holidays.
I am a highly sensitive empath/healer. Over the years, I have come to know many fellow empaths. Social functions, including family gatherings, can be absolutely horrendous for an empath! There aren't as many true extroverts out there as one would think. Most people are faking it. For an empath, if you don't have the energy or the ability....to shield yourself from others' energy/feelings, it can be suffocating.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, I "appear" to be an extremely confident extrovert, who has been described as; crazy, funny as h*ll, a woman with a heart of gold who knows EXACTLY when someone needs a hug or a kind word, etc. What most do not realize, is that I am "manipulating" the crowd or situation. If someone is miserable or anxious, and/or that person is causing others misery as well, it is inconceivable, that one wouldn't FIX the problem...and there is ALWAYS a solution to the problem. One just has to care enough or be brave enough to do so.
It only takes ONE miserable, angry, hostile person, (or the presence of them), to create a horrible feeling in a crowd. However...sometimes...it only takes ONE empathic healer, to manipulate the entire crowd back into a comfortable place. You will know them, if you pay attention. It's generally the person who always seems to be in a good mood...the one who doesn't talk bad about others, who always has kind things to say about people...encouraging words flow freely. That person KNOWS how others are feeling. Miserable people cause empaths pain. Empaths who are highly emotionally intelligent, are quite easily able to change the entire atmosphere. Unfortunately...MOST do not know or understand that concept. Therefore, they hide and appear to be introverts.
I can relate to being very empathic. I'm an extreme introvert, but I've also been a mental health professional for many years. I was always so sensitive to other people's feelings, that I often felt overwhelmed and drained by them. Introverts, in general, get their energy drained by interaction, and I certainly get very drained. I wonder how many of us introverts are introverts because we are extra empathic, and that is what's so draining? Kind of along the lines of the theory that people with autism are not disconnected because they are unaware of what's around them, but because they are too aware, and it's so overwhelming that they withdraw into themselves.
I'm very comfortable with providing therapy, because that's an intense interaction, but it also has firm boundaries around it. There are the time boundaries; when the hour is over, it's over. Plus the professional boundaries make me much more comfortable, and prevent my getting overwhelmed or drained. Unlike friends or family who can hit me with their needs for attention 24/7.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mtbornnard
I'm a introverted 24 year old man. I'm a very private person. I can also keep a conversation going with people. My social skills aren't poor. After being bullied all my life, I decided not to take anybody's crap anymore when I entered college 2 years ago. I won't lie, being bullied made me sort of dislike people as a whole. There was a situation at my college before Christmas break. Some jock was bullying me and decides to try to impress his girlfriend. He became aggressive. I told him to leave me alone. He laughed. He took my glasses and threw them on the floor. I punched him in the face. He looked shocked and he hasn't bothered me since. I can stand up for myself. Why do people assume introverts are weak?
No offense to folks living in other places, but it really depends on the local "culture". And "introverts" will have a much different experience in say, Silicon valley, than in some semi-rural "Possum Holler", where they might face more pressure to fit into the "status quo".
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." - Steve Jobs
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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^ ^ Hmm… dunno that total isolation and sociopathy equate with "introversion", anymore than, say, a charismatic Jim Jones or Charles Manson necessarily goes with "extroversion".
^ ^ Hmm… dunno that total isolation and sociopathy equate with "introversion", anymore than, say, a charismatic Jim Jones or Charles Manson necessarily goes with "extroversion".
okay, maybe not hundreds of miles away from anything, but far enough to where i can't see any neighbors within my line of sight.
nevertheless, lets agree to disagree
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For an empath, if you don't have the energy or the ability....to shield yourself from others' energy/feelings, it can be suffocating. 
