AIBU to think lockdown suits introverted people?

[ssd]

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?

My sisters is introverted but also has a lot of mh problems and can suffer from long bouts of agoraphobia since the first lock down she’s been much better and said she prefers going out for walks much better because there’s no one around she doesn’t have the anxiety she doesn’t really go in shops anyway and has everything delivered.

I found it really hard because I've got DH working from home, school child home and toddler home. I literally have zero time on my own when we're in lockdown! Especially as it was winter so I couldn't escape for a long walk in the evening when the children went to bed. I'm used to DH being out of the house 7-7 in the week, child 1 in school and child 2 napping reliably each day which equals a bit of time on my own, just a little slice of silence.

I have enjoyed the lack of expectation around socialising though. No invites to politely decline! But equally I do miss my friends and family. So can't win really

I definitely haven’t missed the pressure
And the FOMO
And feeling like I ‘should’ do stuff and everyone else is out having a fabulous time. Or that if I decline invitations or don’t take opportunities too much I’ll stop being invited

Have had an invitation through for someone’s ‘big’ birthday party - it’s black tie!! Am already panicking about what in the world I’m going to wear and the thought of going to such a big function

If I didn’t have a small child then I probably would have quite enjoyed lockdown. As it is, it’s been pretty relentless.
I feel for anyone who has been completely alone through this and has struggled with it, but I honestly think I could manage quite happily being totally by myself for months at a time (before I’d had a child, now I would miss her too much)

I've loved it in a way. I'm introverted and love spending time with my immediate family the most

I think a lot of these people who are convinced that they are forced to go to all these social events they hate and that they couldn't possibly not go are seriously overestimating how much other people want them to turn up.

@UhtredRagnarson

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.

I feel exactly the same way. I need to force myself to join in with things, for my own wellbeing, otherwise I would sit and do nothing all day and hate myself for it.

When I do socialise it's always as an outsider, in that I never truly feel like a part of anything, I'm always on the outside, looking in. I try to cover it by making conversation and trying to listen and be interested in other people, but most of the time it's all pretend.

I've been like it my whole life: I'm 63, so I know myself pretty well by now!

Can I just ask "why" people are going to things that they hate so much? If you've realised you don't miss seeing people so frequently, and you don't like going to big parties, why would you start up again? Yes, it might be necessary to go to your in-laws 50th wedding anniversary party to avoid giving offence, but you can surely tell a friend "sorry, I don't really like parties, let's catch up separately." Or if you've liked having virtual meetups, why not keep them up, at least some of the time? I hope that one thing this last year has taught us is not just to do things in the same way because we always have.

I have been going into work part-time and it has been much better as I'm only in with 3 people but WFH the rest. Missing having the house to myself and not being able to go to bookshops and libraries or get a train to visit relations several council areas area. Otherwise coping pretty well!

You're definitely not the only one. Lockdown has been ideal for me. I like working from home, I like not feeling obligated to go to every single celebration. I'm actually slightly anxious about things going back to 'normal' because I know every man & his dog will want to 'catch up' now that we're allowed again. I also don't want my employer to re-open their offices, I am hoping they introduce wfh options as standard.

Don't get me wrong, I like to visit friends & family, but I also like my own time & space which I feel like a lot of people don't understand. Everyone just automatically thinks that everyone should want to socialise & if you don't like socialising, you're weird. I'm not weird, I'm just introverted & actually get quite exhausted after a few hours socialising with anybody, no matter how much I love their company!

It was nice to have an empty calendar, but now everything that was postponed for a year now all needs doing immediately - the postponed medical appointments, school tests, car stuff, house maintenance, family visits. The calendar is now busier than ever. Noisy people just want everything exactly how it was and they always get their way because they are noisy and have no self-doubt, plus they can't actually imagine how it feels to be introverted (although bizarrely they are all convinced that they are genuine introverts who just make an effort whereas other introverts are just those who don't try hard enough)...

I'm naturally introverted and shy, get social anxiety for big groups, etc so some aspects have suited me but lockdown as a whole I've struggled with.

I've missed seeing my family. I'm beyond excited today to be visiting my parents, my sister and my nephew. It's been far far too long since I've seen them. It's a 3 hour drive each way, and it's cold outside, but we decided to go for it today whilst Dd is home from university. Yes, a long day and a cold day but to see them will be so good!

I've also missed seeing my close friends. We saw our closest friends this weekend to celebrate DD's birthday in their garden and it was fantastic. It was cold. It snowed in the morning Infact but for a couple of hours or so it was so good to catch up and share a drink.

After several weeks/months of wfh I was glad to return to school. It was overwhelming for the first week back - long Covid means I get very tired and out of breath, plus it felt like a lot of people all the time. But to speak f2f with people other than Dh was so nice.

It very much depends on the nature of the social event for me. I'm looking forward to being able to have dinner with close friends or going for a drink with work-mates and putting the world to rights at the end of a tough day. Those things are very much within my comfort zone and the pandemic has made me realise they're important for my Mental Health. But to be honest I'm really not looking forward to the return of larger, more formal events like weddings and big family gatherings that take up half the weekend and typically involve lots of expense, travel, hours of small-talk and wrangling bored, over-tired children.

I was so glad the work xmas night out was cancelled. Am hoping its the same this year.

@ssd

I was so glad the work xmas night out was cancelled. Am hoping its the same this year.

My husband’s office always have a big Christmas night out, usually a party night at a fancy hotel and I’m so hoping that it doesn’t happen again this year.