• Philosophy and Spirituality
    Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Threads of Note Socialize
  • P&S Moderators: JackARoe | Cheshire_Kat

Introversion: An Illness or a Lifestyle?

it's another pigeonhole concocted by an over-medicalized world :)

most people would consider me an insane introvert, but im really not. on the right moments i get extremely animated and talkative - then my audience calls me highly social. the truth is im a chemeleon. i suspect most people are, beneath the societal masks, self-imposed

in fact, the very word introvert/extrovert annoys me. it just sounds like a buzz word like...lemme think... like "learning disorder" or "ADHD". i just dont believe in these things. i believe in primitive energies and behaviours, and primitive words like "hyper", "quiet" and "slow" WITHOUT analysing them or medicalising them, and in good old-fashioned parental use of harsh beatings. :D

edit:
this is one side of my schizoid type thought process. on the other hand. i think if someone is incapable of opening up and socializing AT ALL, that's a mental disorder. or if someone is incapable of feeling comfortable while alone. extremes are bad. but grouping huge chunks of the population into disorder-categories only leads to making everyone think they're insane and taking too many drugs and avoiding having fun.
 
I first learned about this like month ago and as soon as I read it everything immediately clicked..

I always knew that I came off to people as almost unfriendly since I was always pretty blunt and kinda just did my own thing...its rare for me to jump into a conversation or get involved in unless it's something I feel pretty strongly about, clubs are not my scene I'd much rather have a small get together than a rager most of the time, and for people who dont know me I always came off as unapproachable and pissed off all the time

And like most of the people above me making small talk is a chore a majority of the time...it's so refreshing when I come across someone where the conversation flows smoothly and we can pause in between a conversation without it being an awkward silence

I knew my personality was different from most but I never really cared since the people who actually took the time to get to know me realized I was pretty chill, and when I found out what introversion it basically summed up the past 21 years of my life it was kinda crazy...in the end I have no qualms with the way I am...I have friends and I get along with plenty of people, plus I trust the people I spend my time with since I know they were optimistic enough to see through the aesthetics

I don't think there's anything wrong with being an introvert...it's society who assumes if your not exactly like them then your automatically weird
 
Last edited:
control denied said:
i believe in primitive energies and behaviours, and primitive words like "hyper", "quiet" and "slow" WITHOUT analysing them or medicalising them, and in good old-fashioned parental use of harsh beatings.
Click to expand...

Why would analysis entail pathologization, let alone medicalization? What differentiates 'simple' words/concepts from complex ones? I think that all language is undergirded by historical vestiges of analysis ("analysis" quite literally means to break apart, like language seeks to do).

Introversion and extroversion seem like useful concepts to me...I find breaking down varieties of thought into different proclivities.

ebola
 
^ yes, you're right. I just wanted to put in that point of view since I'm sure we have all felt it at time [the primitivist]

also, I have a mild hate-on towards psychotherapy. don't ask me why. i'm practically a nutjob myself so I should ... well actually maybe that explains my hatred of them :)
 
In my psych courses I learned the idea that introversion is acutally the preference to think inside oneself, whereas extroversion is thinking outwardly. Or also, how people respond when in stress. Do they prefer to be by themselves or to be with others? The world needs both types of people so I think there is no way that either introverted people or extroverted people should try to be "fixed." I seem like an extrovert because I have always been very social and was involved in entertainment and media and nightlife, but in reality when I am stressed or not feeling OK, I definitely choose to be alone. And I do my thinking internally (or writing, like here) rather than thinking out-loud most of the time. I think ISOLATING is generally not a good thing, because it's a downward spiral for addiction and depression. But that's not really what makes introverts introverts, it's a different response.
 
this introvert reckons that the phrase "better to be thought of as a fool than to speak and remove all doubt" was taken to his heart at a very early age. mixed with confidence issues, this has developed to a useful trait. it helps greatly in being in control and conscientious as much as possible.
 
I believe introverted people can be very beneficial for society, as they learn self-reliance through their introversion, or have become introverted do to realizing that they are who they can rely on.

Often times I think people are introverted to solve problems. They try to think through things that might be bothering them, such as- say, illness, or something else being sub par in their life. We all smile and frown. We all have faces... that can be filled with expression. The face is displayed outward- to others.. so I imagine that it's natural for us to communicate, and that "introversion" on the extreme end can definitely be indicative of illness. In my case it has been. But you know, where would we be without problems to solve? We are a problem... in a lot of ways.

I believe that optimally, we balance the need for others and simple self-reliance. I can equally attack extroversion, as being introverted has been brought to question in regards to being healthy or not. But the answer lies somewhere in the middle. A little here, a little there. A little more if this is figured in... yada yada.

And a lot of the problem, and why this is even an argument or thought about, perhaps lies in our methods of categorization... like with sex/sexes. We're much more.. dynamic in factors... than these methods.


____________

I did get away from the point. Illness or lifestyle? I think I agree with alasdair:

alasdairm said:
i think the terms are misunderstood. further, i don't think either introversion or extroversion are illnesses or lifestyles.

alasdair
Click to expand...

____________

Then, we can apply this to a lot of things. "Illnesses" might better be understood following the chains.. finding what for instance, of many things- that "extreme shyness" might indicate, such as chemical sensitivities, or such as that in autistic people, and further, what that could indicate.

Like I have said, when I feel well enough, I feel like socializing, and sharing, and enjoying... But when I don't, I shut myself in... like a dying cat nowhere to be found. Or, perhaps, I do scream and moan about it... and might spark others to become more introverted ;)

There are other reasons one might be introverted- or that a lifestyle might incorporate that as a descriptive tag of those in it... in the case of some monks, and whatnot... But if a person just chooses to avoid others (not to misinterpret), I believe this is kind of unhealthy. I tend to believe that the universe is always talking... and that it's you.

If we were all completely healthy... there might be no need for introversion (or the distinctions). But the truth might be that we're not, and that the different levels we've found ourselves in are responses to that... but .. again.. we come back to creation: Supernova explodes in a hugely destructive event that's obviously "unhealthy" for anything in it's viscinity, and the star that went that way. But, it has participated in the creation of a certain phase of elements, including iron- among other elements, which is why our blood is red... why we're here.
 
Last edited:
I agree with L2R and TwentySix -- I think introversion can definitely be reinforced as a personality trait by numerous experiences of holding back from speaking right up, and being glad in retrospect you did. I think there are advantages to be had in many situations for the introvert, for example in any task where turning your mind's eye up to 11 and really thinking the problem through to yourself for awhile before acting produces better results. I think pondering abstract problems, like writing computer code, is decidedly introvert territory.
 
^ I agree when it comes to the career someone chooses for themselves... A few friends of mine who are pretty extroverted and I all took programming / supercomputing classes in high school but took different career paths afterward. It was interesting and fun to write the programs, and programming is good to understand, but it doesn't seem that any of us wanted to actually focus our lives on it. I can say for myself that I definitely stayed away from doing programming as a career as it was too restrictive for my extroverted personality.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top