I can't help but see it as a kind of sickness when someone constantly craves the company of others and I can't imagine that most of us are in positions, these days, in which we operate daily under circumstances that make us feel a balanced need for company. (If you spend all day organizing scrolls in the catacombs, I would understand the need for community; but, when you work in the constant company of people...)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Hear, hear ...
... Hats and Rabbits: More Lungs, Less Air.
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It's a basic difference between introverts and extraverts, when we introverted types go out into loud communal situations, we get easily overstimulated. Overwhelmed by the noise and press of the mob. It can be exhausting. It's tiring to have to be "on" all the time.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, this is the one fundamental thing about introverts that extraverts NEVER understand. It's a basic difference. People whose idea of relaxation consists of hanging out in a crowd of people seem constitutionally incapable (and often unwilling) to comprehend that not everyone shares their same feelings or needs.
The point is not to avoid all company, but to choose the occasions and types of company that support you, that feed you, that give you something. And that don't wipe you out, or take your energy away from you. Introverts recharge in solitude, usually, while extraverts recharge by going down to the local sports bar or neighborhood pub. As long as everyone finds their own best way, there's no problem. The problems start when people start giving each other wrongheaded advice.