{"id":10395,"date":"2015-10-28T01:05:29","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T05:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dougbittinger.com\/thoughts\/?p=10395"},"modified":"2025-04-21T01:56:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:56:38","slug":"debunking-myths-about-introverts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/debunking-myths-about-introverts\/","title":{"rendered":"Debunking Myths About Introverts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally composed by Carl King<\/a> I expanded upon it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"introverts\"<\/a>Myth #1: Introverts don\u2019t like to talk.<\/h3>\n

This is not true, not true at all. We just don\u2019t see the sense in talking unless we have something to say. We hate small talk. Hate it! But if you get an introvert talking about something we are interested in, we may not shut up for days.<\/p>\n

Myth #2: Introverts are shy.<\/h3>\n

Being shy has nothing to do with being an introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. But we do need a reason<\/em> to interact. We don\u2019t interact for the sake of interacting (see myth #1). If you want to talk to an introvert, just start talking. We’ll either climb on board with you or suddenly remember that we left a casserole in the oven at home.<\/p>\n

Myth #3: Introverts are rude.<\/h3>\n

Introverts often don\u2019t see a reason for beating around the bush with platitudes, pleasantries, or deceptive approaches. We prefer everyone to be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in many settings so introverts can feel a lot of pressure to be someone we’re not in order to fit in; which we find exhausting.<\/p>\n

Myth #4: Introverts are overly sensitive.<\/h3>\n

There may be some<\/em> truth to this, depending on where you draw the line for being an insensitive lout.\u00a0 If you wish to communicate effectively with an introvert, do not admonish us in public.\u00a0 If correction is required do this in private.\u00a0 Instruction such as music or dancing lessons is also more effective in one-on-one situations.\u00a0 We’re fine in a college class room or a seminar as long as we aren’t made the focus of attention.\u00a0 If you are conversing with an introvert and you keep interrupting them, he or she will stop talking.\u00a0 To us, you have made it very clear that you value your own thoughts far more than ours, so there is no point in expressing them to you.\u00a0 We’re not sulking, we’re just not going to waste time and breath talking to someone who isn’t listening.<\/p>\n

Myth #5: Introverts don\u2019t like people.<\/h3>\n

On the contrary, introverts intensely value the few real<\/em> friends we have. We can count our close friends on one hand, but they are very important to us. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned our respect as being a person of substance<\/em>, you\u2019re in solid.<\/p>\n

Myth #6: Introverts don\u2019t like to go out in public.<\/h3>\n

Nonsense! Introverts like being out with other people, but we don\u2019t like being out in public for long periods. We also like to avoid the frustrating complications involved in some public activities. We take in data and experiences very quickly.\u00a0 As a result, we don\u2019t need to be there for long to \u201cget it\u201d; then we\u2019re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for introverts.<\/p>\n

Myth #7: Introverts always want to be alone.<\/h3>\n

\"introverts\"<\/a>Introverts think a lot and we are perfectly comfortable with our own thoughts. We daydream. We like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But we can also get incredibly lonely if we don\u2019t have anyone to share our discoveries with. We enjoy hearing the experiences of those we connect with.\u00a0 We crave an authentic and sincere connection with one person<\/em> at a time.<\/p>\n

Myth #8 : Introverts are weird.<\/h3>\n

Introverts are often individualists, so yes: we are often viewed<\/em> as weird. We don\u2019t follow the crowd. We\u2019d prefer to be valued for our own novel way of thinking. We think for ourselves so we often challenge the norm. We rarely make decisions based on what is popular or trendy.\u00a0 We don’t follow the crowd if we have no idea why the crowd is doing what it’s doing.\u00a0 That’s for lemmings.<\/p>\n

Myth #9: Introverts are aloof nerds.<\/h3>\n

Introverts are introspective: paying close attention to our thoughts and emotions. It\u2019s not that we aren’t paying attention to what is going on around us, quite the contrary, it\u2019s just that we process what’s going on around us differently. We examine things closely before responding to them.<\/p>\n

Myth #10: Introverts don\u2019t know how to relax and have fun.<\/h3>\n

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. We find busy public places stressful. Introverts are not thrill seekers or adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, we shut down. Our brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called dopamine. Introverts and extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. It’s true: look it up.<\/p>\n

Myth #11: Introverts can fix themselves.<\/h3>\n

First, we are not broken, we are not sick, we are just wired differently. We don’t need to fix ourselves, and couldn’t if we tried. Secondly, a world without introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. Introverts deserve respect for our natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986<\/a>) showed that the percentage of introverts in a population increases with the IQ of that population.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally composed by Carl King I expanded upon it. Myth #1: Introverts don’t like to talk. This is not true, not true at all. We just don’t see the sense in talking unless we have something to say. We hate small talk. Hate it! But if you get an introvert talking about something we are … Continue reading “Debunking Myths About Introverts”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[56],"class_list":["post-10395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-educational","tag-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10395"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20265,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10395\/revisions\/20265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}