Revenge of the Introvert

BUT if you could use ativan to teach your mind it's going to be ok and train yourself to behave differently with the drug then it might be a good tool. It's just a bitch getting off the meds. It takes effort and some people are really weak in that area

yeah, those are a no go. perhaps emergencies only, i have anxiety attacks and lately a couple panic attacks,

but anxiolytic drugs are dangerous for people with severe anxieties or phobia based anxiety imo.

gotta admit, i've been experimenting with them as of late..

first day i took klonopin i took the weakest pill there is,

easily the most relaxed i have felt ever. ativan was the same way, also a really low dose.

for obvious reasons i decided to stay the fuck away from them as much as i can,

slowing my CNS down that much makes me crave the feeling really, really badly.

i try hard not to forget that everyone experiences varying levels of anxiety all the time

and that is a useful emotion. my goal needs to be reducing my levels and making anxiety useful,

not taking a pill and feeling easy.

after awhile you just stop worrying about it and accept it. relatively arcane interests don't promote finding easy commonalities and socializing feels like work. eventually I just said forget it. I'm not bad at it, and a friendly random conversation here and there is mildly uplifting, but mostly I just don't think I have much to say that would interest most people and vice versa.

I think people who engage in meaningless chatter with anybody they see (an extreme extrovert) is just as socially awkward as a quiet stuttering introvert that can't form basic responses to simple questions quickly. Having read the article I can draw from both sides of the fence. Many of the examples of introversion and extroversion can apply to me. I don't consider myself either of those. For example, when I go to one of my regular bars and sit by myself or with only 1 friend it's not because I'm awkward. It's 'cause I want to pay attention to the band playing. If somebody wants to talk to me, even a stranger, that's cool but if they're not interesting I won't lead them on into more conversation.

i'm just shy and social awkward is all. not special.

you guys are making such a big deal out of a simple thing.

here i found this self-motivating picture for all of you sad people

  On 11/23/2010 at 8:07 PM, tontonz said:

here i found this self-motivating picture for all of you sad people

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

loled, thank you.

I had a similar bike...and it did NOTHING!

little did you know, that you eventually turned out to be

  On 11/22/2010 at 11:53 AM, disparaissant said:

i'm an extrovert with extreme social anxiety.

i'll be the life of the party, if i know everyone at the party. otherwise i'll be in the corner hyperventilating.

I'm like this too I guess. I always figured this was being an introvert though.

  On 11/22/2010 at 6:22 AM, fiznuthian said:

if i'm away alone doing my thing i'm not brewing up genius, i'm just avoiding the mountain of small-talk i'd have to go through if i left my comfort-zones.

I can't stand small talk. It's probably why I am incapable of making any new friends.

I don't know why it was so easy in high school. I had a huge social circle, with shitloads of friends. I was looked at as a leader of the group, along with my best friend who I ended up mutually hating.

My group dwindled to several nerdy music lovers who hate them selves.

When we got different job hours/went to college we dwindled further. I now have one best friend, and my girlfriend. I love them and everything, and I feel they are all I really need. But school and work are unbearable without friends. I have one friend I talk to at work a bit, but nothing in depth, and I have CHATMM at school.

I feel I could be totally capable of making friends if I could dodge small talk and run into more WATMM-y people (similar interests and such).

Edit: Perhaps I'm not very introverted if I crave this social interaction. Although, at work, I'd rather listen to music than make friends. Music isn't allowed. Factory job.

  On 11/23/2010 at 8:50 PM, Murveman said:

  On 11/22/2010 at 11:53 AM, disparaissant said:

i'm an extrovert with extreme social anxiety.

i'll be the life of the party, if i know everyone at the party. otherwise i'll be in the corner hyperventilating.

I'm like this too I guess. I always figured this was being an introvert though.

 

  On 11/22/2010 at 6:22 AM, fiznuthian said:

if i'm away alone doing my thing i'm not brewing up genius, i'm just avoiding the mountain of small-talk i'd have to go through if i left my comfort-zones.

I can't stand small talk. It's probably why I am incapable of making any new friends.

 

I don't know why it was so easy in high school. I had a huge social circle, with shitloads of friends. I was looked at as a leader of the group, along with my best friend who I ended up mutually hating.

 

My group dwindled to several nerdy music lovers who hate them selves.

 

When we got different job hours/went to college we dwindled further. I now have one best friend, and my girlfriend. I love them and everything, and I feel they are all I really need. But school and work are unbearable without friends. I have one friend I talk to at work a bit, but nothing in depth, and I have CHATMM at school.

 

I feel I could be totally capable of making friends if I could dodge small talk and run into more WATMM-y people (similar interests and such).

 

Edit: Perhaps I'm not very introverted if I crave this social interaction. Although, at work, I'd rather listen to music than make friends. Music isn't allowed. Factory job.

i don't think it makes you extraverted just to crave social interaction alone, extraverts thrive on it and feel good about it as time goes along. they feel worse if they are isolated. introverts become tired from social interaction, it exhausts them, and depend on their time alone.

  On 11/23/2010 at 8:07 PM, tontonz said:

here i found this self-motivating picture for all of you sad people

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

They're all metaphors!

• special purpose = passionate motivation
  
• caliper brakes = "caliper breaks" - time taken out to assess the size of things
  
• 10-speed shifter = an adderall hookup that gives you good deals
  
• mushroom grips = handfulls of mushrooms (grip and trip)
  
• low-rise handlebar = a long, drooping handlebar moustache
  

Also, notice that his shirt says "TUBES". He's totally from the Internet.

I am very introverted. In my youth, that made me very socially awkward, because I tried to act sociable.

Over the years, I've gotten much better with social interaction (helps to work a day job that forces you to talk to strangers all day), but I grew more comfortable with my introversion. Whereas I used to try to act sociable and extraverted, I realize now that I hate that, and it comes back to bite you in the ass (people wanted to talk to me MORE because I gave them an in) which I did NOT want.

So now, I make it pretty clear that I want to be left alone, in a polite, matter-of-fact kind of way. I am certain there are many people that think I'm a dick, or arrogant, because of my standoffish attitude, whereas before I probably came off as harmlessly awkward. It really makes people uncomfortable, when someone can be comfortably unfriendly to them. I don't care, as long as people just leave me alone...

fascinating thread.

but I'm not mean. And I do like people. I just like them in small doses. Like the article says, really...

i only tend to talk a lot if i feel like i am in a comfortable setting....doesnt happen too often, though in the classroom i dont mind at all.

when im at home its usually "me" time....its not selfish, because I feel like Id be wasting someone elses time if they joined me in whatever the fuck i felt like doing at the time.

  On 11/24/2010 at 4:44 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

i only tend to talk a lot if i feel like i am in a comfortable setting....doesnt happen too often, though in the classroom i dont mind at all.

 

 

when im at home its usually "me" time....its not selfish, because I feel like Id be wasting someone elses time if they joined me in whatever the fuck i felt like doing at the time.

Same. I can be the hilarious guy who knows a lot of people at school, but they don't know anything about my real lifestyle.

Holy fuck! I have been so irritable and exhausted all the time lately and it just dawned on me DUH I am spending all day, at work, at home, smothered by extroverts. I am going to have to address this with all of them in my own awkward way.

I think maybe that culture/society has an affect on what is considered 'introversion' and 'social awkwardness'. I mean, in some societies keeping quiet and only speaking when it is necessary is the norm. I think that sometimes people with 'introverted' tendencies such as spending time researching and reflecting about matters, especially those who pay close attention to social interaction from afar, can end up with a leg up. If you measure out and make sure the information that comes out of your mouth is real and valuable, I think you can gain a lot in social situations. You have to be internally confident with what you know and how you feel about it, though. It's not introversion though. There really is introversion, but then there are people who keep tabs on what they say.

Not to toot my own horn, but you're absolutely right. However, the problem is when extroverts think I'm an asshole because I get rapidly agitated when they are sap my energy: by demanding an immediate response, filling the room with jarring, loud, chaotic sounds, watching and reacting forcefully to my every move, etc. I'm sure this sounds very arrogant, but it feels like what I imagine unwanted celebrity to feel like.

And it sucks even more because I know they mean well. It's like yelling at a puppy for being too hyper.

I tend to think that all types have something to contribute. I mean how could we have a 'badass crew' without a loudmouth strongman who loses his shit too easily, a cool calculated diplomacist, an abrasive eccentric, and a head-in-the-books tech guy?

Sure they all think the other one is an idiot, but alone they are nothing!

I like to think so too, but one is definitely more of a, shall we say, presence, than the other. It's pretty easy for extroverts to, inadvertently or not, shut down introverts.

That said, I am damn happy right now sitting up here in my room with my synths. If it weren't for all that silly "outside" stuff like making a living, getting food, exercise, etc. I could probably spend a month in here.

I have no problem talking to people, as long as we have something to talk about. I don't really care for the whole small talk thing, and honestly, people who constantly talks and talks annoy the shit out of me. Why is it so hard for some people to just shut up for a few minutes?

I do prefer to spend my time by myself though. But that's mostly because I don't know a whole lot of people with the same interests. Again, I don't see the point of befriending or talking to people just for the sake of it. Especially not when most people are as boring as they are.

  On 9/26/2012 at 4:01 AM, sweepstakes said:

It's pretty easy for extroverts to, inadvertently or not, shut down introverts.

goes the other way around too. my rare cases of social aggression are for this purpose.

being a dick is easy and rewarding