Introverts unite!

[layla]

A nifty article I came across today on Caring For Your Introvert neatly expresses a concept that I've always had trouble getting across to people -- that social interaction drains me. I sometimes have a hard time figuring out how to explain, without sounding like a total weenie, that it's not that I don't enjoy spending time with my friends; it's just that I need a lot of charging/recharging in order to prepare for or recover from an evening of social interaction, or even a phone conversation. It's fun, but it's also a bit like running a marathon uphill, especially in a social setting with a lot of people. I've learned by experience that about 2-3 hours of personal interaction (give or take a bit) or somewhere between a half-hour to an hour on the phone is about as long as I can happily enjoy before I reach the point where weariness starts to overwhelm the fun I'm having. So ... if I leave a party early, or if I politely start trying to end a conversation on the phone after an hour or so, it's not because I don't like you, it's just because I'm getting very tired and I need to stop for a rest.

Comments

[trishalynn.livejournal.com]

Query: So what were your coping mechanisms during conventions?

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

I don't really have trouble with conventions, or work situations that require me to deal with a lot of people, but I have to push myself into a little bit of a different mental place. I think of it as "turning myself on" or overclocking my processor -- I basically push myself up into a higher-energy state. Maybe everyone does that, or maybe extrovert-type people are that way all the time, but I'm actually sort of *manic* at conventions or group social situations. (It's especially hilarious when I overclock myself to the point where I cannot stop talking even once I'm alone -- there was one convention in Chicago after which I carried on a cheerful, loud monologue with myself in the car for the entire 2 1/2 drive back to Champaign!) It's sort of like building up a sleep debt, though -- you can go just fine on minimal sleep for awhile, but eventually it catches up with you.