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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think lockdown suits introverted people?

140 replies

ssd · 05/04/2021 17:54

Its quite suited me, I'm pretty introverted. I like company, one or two people but i feel lost in a big gathering. I don't like parties or forced get togethers. I live my own company. I've got friends but no family to meet up with.

Lockdown hasn't been a million miles away to my usual life.

Don't know if I'm a weirdo or fairly typical?

OP posts:
OnlyToWin · 05/04/2021 17:55

You’re not a weirdo.
I am very happy in my own company.
Have felt more peaceful during this time in lots of ways, although in other ways it has been more stressful.

Happycat1212 · 05/04/2021 17:57

I didn’t like it at first but now I would happily never go out again 🤷‍♀️ Lock down isn’t much different to how my life usually is

UhtredRagnarson · 05/04/2021 18:00

It has suited me but I’ve also recognised that left to my own devices I become completely insular and then get depressed. At the start I thought yes, this is perfect I can hide from the world but I now realise that not healthy for me. I do need to force myself to have some social contact.

SockQueen · 05/04/2021 18:03

It would have suited me fine if I didn't have two preschool age DC also in my space ALL THE (non-working) TIME

BobbinThreadbare123 · 05/04/2021 18:08

No, you're not weird, OP. I am an introvert and have found lockdown quite restful. I enjoyed the table service in pubs when we had our quasi-freedom in Autumn. No more being pushed out the way at bars by men!

DramaAlpaca · 05/04/2021 18:08

I'm with you @ssd. I'm an introvert, as are DH and young adult son still at home. We've all quite enjoyed just having each other's company in lockdown, and the relief at not having to attend social gatherings I don't particularly want to go to has been great.

Di11y · 05/04/2021 18:12

I've liked some aspects, but having children home has been so so hard. Working from home, not having to feel like you have to hug people, not feeling guilty about not doing big days out etc has been great.

Angeldust747 · 05/04/2021 18:13

DH absolutely loves it, although he has a dedicated office and already had a lot of friends that he plays games with online. I'm the opposite, I hate working from the living room, haven't seen anywhere near enough of friends and family, and would love to get back to the office part time as I miss my team

LazyDaisy22 · 05/04/2021 18:14

It’s suited me too OP and I’m also introverted and content with my own company.

CateTown · 05/04/2021 18:15

I really don't think you can easily categorise people into introverts or extroverts. Being social creatures most of us, bar hermits, are a mixture.

LegoPirateMonkey · 05/04/2021 18:16

It’s been a nightmare for me as my house has never been empty. I have been so badly drained by the constant company (of my own, much loved family!) and so few chances to recharge with silence and solitude. Restrictions easing is much better for me as the kids are back at school and so I can get my energy and focus back and then be equipped to socialise in the garden or over zoom or whatever. Lockdown was terrible from that point of view; I was constantly exhausted.

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr · 05/04/2021 18:16

If you’re weird then there’s two of us. I am upset today that things are opening up, because once again I will be obliged to go out and do things I hate doing, in the name of pleasing everyone else and appearing ‘normal’.

My dream is to sail off alone across the ocean on a small boat, get as far away from the next human as possible !

Lockdown has given me “cover” to be myself and I don’t want that to end.

littlecontis · 05/04/2021 18:18

Absolutely love it - don't need to make up some excuse to avoid social events anymore!

Iheartmysmart · 05/04/2021 18:20

I always thought I was quite introverted and have always been happy with my own company. Lockdown however has almost finished me off. I’ve never felt so isolated, depressed and lonely in my life. Can’t wait to get out and meet with people again.

QuiteContraryMarie · 05/04/2021 18:22

I think lockdown suits all sorts of people.
I’m an extrovert and very sociable and love going out but equally I’ve enjoyed having a bit of timeout with no FOMO.
Equally I’ve enjoyed just having out with my husband and child, at home. But we have a big house, garden and haven’t had any change in financial circumstances.

I know plenty of my single friends, whose whole lives revolve around their social lives, have found it very hard.

Coffee149 · 05/04/2021 18:22

It has suited me also, life didn't change much. I am introverted.

The thing is, I worry about what others think of me (and my lack of social life) the lock down gave a reason not to worry as we didn't have a choice, but to stay in and not mix.

Woodpecker22 · 05/04/2021 18:24

Well I am introverted but it did not suit me becuase there was no escape from the people I was locked down with!

thecatsthecats · 05/04/2021 18:24

Partly.

I have quite deep relationships with a small number of people, and all the "extras" haven't been missed at all. My immediate in laws - I like them. The extended 20 odd extras? I wouldn't notice if they dropped off the planet. My best friends - miss them a lot. Their extended friend groups - eh, they just get in the way at gatherings.

But lockdown is about so much more than people. I miss the gym, the pub, foreign trips and LOTS of seeing the people who do matter a lot to me.

So lockdown can fuck off.

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr · 05/04/2021 18:27

@Coffee149

It has suited me also, life didn't change much. I am introverted.

The thing is, I worry about what others think of me (and my lack of social life) the lock down gave a reason not to worry as we didn't have a choice, but to stay in and not mix.

Gosh you just wrote exactly what I feel too. People expect me to be sociable and it’s exhausting, stressful and I hate it. And now we have to start all that again.
winniesanderson · 05/04/2021 18:29

For me, as an introvert, it has been a struggle. I can't remember the last time I was alone. Don't get me wrong, I love my family. But I really crave time to myself every now and then. But then with two kids, one a sleep dodging toddler, that's thin on the ground at the best of times 😂

countrygirl99 · 05/04/2021 18:31

@Woodpecker22

Well I am introverted but it did not suit me becuase there was no escape from the people I was locked down with!
Same here.
ArtemisiaGentle · 05/04/2021 18:32

Introverted, shy, and socially anxious here.

Plus side was I wasn't under pressure to go out with colleagues all the time to the pub or whatever.

Negative side is that I've felt disconnected from the few friends I had. WhatsApp can only take you so far. I am a difficult person to be friends with because I bail on meet-ups constantly, and only two people "get" why.

ArtemisiaGentle · 05/04/2021 18:33

Also my husband has pissed me off constantly by just being him, so I've missed my mates to vent to.

halfbakedkate · 05/04/2021 18:36

I know exactly how you feel.
I am dreading how my sense of loneliness and isolation is exacerbated when restrictions lift. And how down it gets me. When no one can go anywhere or do anything, I don't feel like such an odd one out. I know that sounds selfish though.

B33Fr33 · 05/04/2021 18:36

It's been great for those of us avoiding family for our well being too.