INTROVERTS THREAD ...shhhh, we're over here

[NorksAreMessy]

Hello fellow introverts. I hope the last thread exploded due to time since it was started, and not because it was controversial. :o

I started the original thread after reading the wonderful book quiet and realizing that I was not alone.

Lots of people were kind enough to share their thoughts and experiences, and it was a good support for those of us who like being alone; hate parties, especially hen nights; love reading, crafting, walking, painting, creating; enjoy solitude; need some recovery time after being in a crowd; prefer thought to action.

We are not necessarily shy, we can be confident and even outspoken, but we are at our happiest having a bit of a think on our own, thanks all the same

It's a bit odd to have a group of introverts, but I prefer to think of us as a collective. Separate but together.

As Christmas approaches, I thought we might need a thread to help us through it all

Oh Merlot that sounds hideous. Even 20 years later I well remember the horror of trying to recruit patients to my crappy little fourth year project .

I have been off work for a few weeks (work a set number of days a year so have lots of down time) and am looking forward to 4 days in next week where

1. I get 2 tube journeys a day to read and
2. Have hours in class talking at people and not having to do small talk / telephones.

Good luck with the study, Merlot. I hate having to phone people I don't know, so would also find that nightmarish.

I work in engineering, and my job is quite introvert friendly (apart from the open plan office, that is). If I don't want to talk to anyone, I can just plug myself into my iPod and pretend I'm doing something very important or urgent on word or excel. Although the more extroverted members of staff can be a bit slow to take the hint if they're feeling bored.

Bizarrely I'm fine with professional phone calls. They have a purpose; a structure. It's calls to friends and family I struggle with ...

Me too me too! So many things Id like to comment on but can't remember them all right now.

How do people react when they're overloaded and they're desperate to be alone? Unfortunately I can get a bit snappy. Then I feel awful, like right now, dd want to tell me her story and ds is demanding something.....argghhh

Nomad - I'm the same. Get snappy, annoyed, rude and loose patience altogether with anything and everything that seems even the slightest bit trivial.

20 minutes on my own and I'm like a new woman.

I have been a snappy bitch all day because most loathed colleague kept trying to follow me around.

I'm lucky at work because where I sit is pretty quiet and away from others and I only have my colleague sat opposite me once or twice a week. She's lovely, and also quite introverted so we have a nice chat then get our heads down. No inane chatter like some of my other colleagues do, just the odd 'would you like a cuppa?'

I work in retail.

Am getting a bit overwhelmed trying to keep up too. Also do phone avoidance.
Am bracing myself for trip to town tomorrow, Christmas shopping mission.

I'm Christmas shopping tomorrow too. I've prepared by putting a list together of exactly what I need and I'm aiming to be there first thing as the shops open and out again by the time it starts getting really busy. Then home, for a cup of tea and sit down, before DS and I hit the library in the afternoon .

could someone please put a link up of any mb tests they havedone

i have just finished my xmas shopping online do it all online
have bought dds presents from amazon
having a gd wknd we r moving on 20th of dec
went in new house to measure today was exciting

I was in town first thing, all quite calm, then as time went on, Sally Army band, choir of Santas, Another huge choir of people and Victorian Christmas Fair. By the time I had come out of first store the whole town was rammed. I ran away.

It's our Christmas night out on Tuesday and I'm actually thinking up excuses to duck out of it. I know the meal will be good - because I chose the restaurant! But I can't stand the thought of all that forced jollity with colleagues I don't know particularly well. Is that really bad?

AlwaysReady what I do is go for the meal, but drive and let it be known that I have to get home as DH has a pre-planned night out and there's an issue with childcare/ the weather is going to be severe later. In my case at least one of these is usually true ( benefits if a sociable DH and living in the middle of nowhere ), but it means I can enjoy the meal just talking to the people I'm sitting with, then escape before everyone gets drunk and stand around bars making small talk or worse.

On another note, procrastination occasionally pays off - I decided to leave the dreaded list of phone calls until today, then just as I was about to start got an email from a colleague to say we have enough people recruited, so I'm very relieved but feel a bit guilty too....

I was a bit sad this morning. DS (6) was getting ready for school and we were chatting about how last Christmas at school the teacher had an advent calendar and every day the teacher picked someone who'd been good to open the calendar. He said he'd never been the one picked and I asked why not, as he's always good, and he said 'No-one notices me' . Well that's just like me at work - do a good job, get my head down but always overlooked. As I've read on here before - the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Not sure what to advise him because I don't want him to have to completely change his personality just to get noticed.

Had to laugh though because a few minutes later he said 'Mummy, people annoy me'. I asked what he meant and he said that when he's trying to do his work at school, sometimes the other kids come up and talk to him and put him off concentrating. I told him that happens to me at work too, that sometimes people annoy me and put me off when I'm trying to work. Think he's definitely an introvert like me .

Sorry to sound like a broken record but I'm another one who has only just discovered (through this thread) that what I thought was me being boring/ no fun/ a bit weird / very anti-social is actually down to me being an introvert. Who knew? I have just nodded my way through the thread because so much of it sounds familiar and I finally feel like I am normal!
Does anyone else dread the words "but you'll have so much FUN" when someone is trying to persuade you to take part in some activity that probably is deemed fun by the extroverts out there (go karting, paint balling, clay pigeon shooting, karaoke etc etc) but is my idea of hell? From being 10 or 11 I can remember my friends telling me I was boring and had no sense of adventure because my idea of fun is a book and a quiet spot and a cup of tea and that has continued throughout my life.
You lot, in one thread, have just (and this is not an exaggeration) changed my life because I now realise that it's ok to be like this! Thank you !

I will admit, seagulls, that I did enjoy paintballing when I did it. I found that being an introvert meant that I could move more quietly, having practised the "don't notice me" style of entry into an area for many years. I also discovered that I was a crack shot. And that getting shot in the back bloody stings!

Ah now, you see, if another introvert tries to convince me something is fun I will believe them much more readily .

It was fun, until I got shot in the back.

Hello seagulls and welcome. So glad this thread has helped you.

I really do believe that most 'FUN' isn't and most 'BORING' things aren't. :)

In fact, I think fun things are boring and boring things are fun :)

Backing up what norks said I felt very satisfied after sorting through and bagging up 5 massive sacks of old clothes for charity / textile recycling on the weekend. We also took an enormous amount of glass recycling and a selection of unused electrical goods to the recycling centre.

It was not exciting, but I felt a sense of achievement at clearing the space, getting on with some long standing jobs and felt justified in rewarding us with a lovely Sunday lunch at a quiet local pub, where we were among the first to arrive, could appreciate the open log fire and just as it was starting to get busy, we could leave.

hi ladies -

i canrelate to latest posts -

idea of paint balling etc sounds hell dont do sports or those sort of activities
luv sorting out stuff is very theraputic
we r moving on the 20th of this month have starting sorting through stuff have thrown away lots far too much stuff has built up

i have been buying stuff do any of u other ladies luv buying stuff especially on the net

have bought some christmassy bits some homely ornaments
hae just ordered from amazon some magnets for new fridge

my luvs r :-

perfect evening - sitting on the sofa in my dressing gown and pjs watching tv and doing my embroidery on my own
my days r spent sitting alot trying to get piece