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chronic introversion alert

posted by [personal profile] lauraredcloud at 11:40am on 12/02/2009 under
I consistently come up at 100% Introverted on MBTI tests, but even I was left wondering "What planet are these people from?" when I heard this exchange on an NPR "To The Best of Our Knowledge" interview with John Cassiopo, a sociologist talking about the biological basis of loneliness.
STEVE PAULSEN: So on a practical level, it sounds like you're saying that we may need to force ourselves to go out and, I don't know, go hang out with other people, even when we don't really feel like it, but we kind of know it would be good for us.
JOHN CASSIOPO: Right. It's a little bit like exercise. I don't know about you, but the long runs are not something I cherish, especially in the winter, when I awaken, but by the time I finish, I'm grateful that I did it.
I guess I'll have some human interaction today. Even though it isn't something I cherish.
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There are 4 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 

from Caolan

posted by (anonymous) at 04:05am on 13/02/2009
He's literally saying he doesn't cherish going running in the winter, right? But you're saying it is weird to compare talking to humans to having to go for a long, non-cherishable run? I just want to make sure he is NOT saying he does not cherish long runs of talking to humans in the winter.

Weird cherish-word-choice aside, his description of forcing yourself to hang out with people pretty accurately describes what it's like to be really depressed. When I'm really depressed I don't want to hang out with anyone but then I do it and I feel better. That's not what being healthily introverted is like, though, right? It's not like a horrible disease that eats away at your will to live until someone comes and bothers you into consciousness?
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Re: from Caolan

posted by [identity profile] laura-redcloud.livejournal.com at 01:10pm on 13/02/2009
I would understand if they were talking about depression, but they didn't talk about it in that context at all. It was just like they assumed that not wanting to hang out with people is true for everyone, like they were secretly talking to a depressed, lonely person who doesn't want to admit he's depressed and lonely.

Being introverted is kind of the opposite in that I want to hang out with people and then I do and then I feel exhausted and drained and unhappy. Unless they are a person who doesn't count (family, roommate etc.), and then it's fine!
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Re: from Caolan

posted by (anonymous) at 04:06am on 14/02/2009
Yeah, that is a pretty crazy assumption to make! It would be so interesting if everyone secretly was just forcing themselves to make contact with other people, and it was this weird bitter pill to do so. I feel like if that were the case there would be a lot more pod- and carrel-based public spaces in the world.
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(no subject)

posted by [identity profile] myriadcreatures.livejournal.com at 07:31pm on 13/02/2009
Haha I'm the same way. Except that I rarely want to hang out with people because I know I'll feel terrible afterwards.
I just don't get why everybody else seems to think that the more time you spend with people, the better it is.
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