6 Illustrations That Show What It’s Like in an Introvert’s Head

I just read this entire thread. What I find is thoughtful communication, clear articulation, civil discourse, and an absence of defensive posturing. I need to take a moment to reflect on just how rare that is these days. So, to Liz, Mollie, Susan, and everyone who participates in these discussions, thank you. This dialogue reads more like a transcript from an actual face-to-face get-together. imagine that!

one acts without thinking and the other thinks before acting.

This is exactly what I feel and think, no better way to describe it.

Wow reading this article explains a lot to me,I am 55 years old ,this has told me so much ,now I know why I am the way I am ,and why certain things have happened to me .I wish I could have read this year’s ago

Whether we are introvert or extrovert, We are beautiful anyway. I’m a Extrovert SJW not a social justice warrior 😉 but a protector. I think through things by talking them out. As a former bible theology student, I catch myself constantly talking my thoughts out about biblical issues. I find myself starting with an issue, then I talk out the possibilities from different angles and then settle on what the answer is.

So, in #6, it seems the introvert is highly dependent upon the past to produce an expected future result.

What if an introvert’s past experience does not adequately represent current information?

I really like this article.

This article was very informative & made me realize why, on those rare occasions when my family celebrates MY birthday, & sings Happy Birthday to me, instead of feeling happy & glow in the attention showered on me, I want to melt & flow into a puddle under the table until they’re through. Now, singing that song to anyone else on the planet, I’m cool with that. Also, I loath redundancy… have you ruminated on those lyrics?

yup

The cat cartoonist doesn’t understand cats. That jack-in-a-box would be shredded to pieces in microseconds by any cat I have ever known. The dog would just bark at it.

Like most everything else in life, this is not necessarily a binary condition. I think each person falls somewhere on a continuum between introversion and extroversion, so there is a lot of variability. Personally, I certainly find myself more on the introvert side of of the line when it comes to how I process and recharge by internal batteries, however, when they are fully charged, I do enjoy interacting with people more than people that I know that are far more introverted. I hope parents share this kind of information with their children so that they know it is ok to be one of the “indoor kids” 🙂

Is it bad to be introvert?

OH….well this is helpful including comments. I am such an extrovert….my brain resembles a three ring circus with me only seeing two rings at a time and it switches around and YES, I have to talk things out. I draw introverted men……blahahahaha, almost exclusively. One fella I am currently interested in is an extreme introvert. I really have to curb myself, I know. Oddly, I’m not at all drawn to extroverted men.

Before visiting this site, I often felt stigma. I thought that I am alone in this world and thete is none like me. I have a whole universe in my mind.

A great article and very much to the point for me. The 6 illustrations sum up the general distinctions very clearly, however one needs to stress that being an introvert is not something we should hide or try and pretend that we are extroverts. Being a deep thinker and being more comfortable to get some “me time” is a positive in life and I for one think extroverts would benefit from taking time to reflect and plan their thought processes occasionally. I am over saying or thinking I am simply “misunderstood” and/or denying that I am arrogant or even apologising for my natural behaviour. Some of the comments clearly demonstrate why Quiet (Susan Cain’s book) and the Quit Rev is building its natural success storey as they highlight the need to educate a vast mass of people who clearly misunderstand the concepts associated with a world made up of extroverts and introverts ….and I am not referring to introverts by saying that.

INFP here. spitting image

Hi Jessica, hope this illustrated article helped you better understand your introverted child. If you’re interested, we have a parenting course and quiz that may give you more guidance on how you can support introverted children: http://www.quietrev.com/quiet-revolutions-newest-chapter-quiet-parenting/

Hey, want to talk about this from my perspective, I’m an introvert who has suffered a brain tumor (specifically, a neurocytoma), and this is how it is; before I was hit with the tumor, I was a fast-thinking, slow-talking individual, not really needing to try in school, and making good grades, I excelled, and made it into a good school; halfway through college, I found out I had the tumor, and took care of it; afterwards, I couldn’t think straight, everything felt like it was going by at 1000 miles per hour, and I was stuck in the slow lane, however, I felt a need to open up that I have never felt before in my life; I became an extrovert. While not attending to my feelings (never took me long to do that anyway), I’m still energized by parties and get-togethers, love risk, and trying new and different things (like an extrovert), but I also pay attention to everything in my environment and have an active inner monologue, with which I discuss things with myself (like an introvert) . . . and this ends up manifesting like really bad ADHD, but when I’m on my Adderal, I’m as cogent and productive as anyone could ever be. Just my two cents on the subject.

Introverts aren’t party-poopers, we’re just pooped by the party.

Thanks for sharing the article!
I recognize the introvert images above! It seems my brain notices so much going on around me that it often times surprises me that many others just do not notice for instance the chocolate wrapper on the ground, the person in red across the street, the garbage truck down the street, the person whistling 20 meters away. My focus jumps around to take in the surroundings.

Often times at parties it does not take too long before I step away from the group. Find myself in the kitchen doing something, or in another room looking at the books in the bookshelf. There are so many dynamics in a group going on. I can focus on each person picking up various signals from each most likely do not know that they send out. In a sense it is as I have somekind of psychic perception on what is going on around me. But I just think that I am highly sensitive to energy and what goes on.
For me it is a rich inner life that does not show as strongly on the outside. I can be outgoing but most of the times I am one of the quiet ones sitting and listening. Feeling in noticing when I want to contribute a thought or share an idea into the group. It really depends on how comfortable I feel relating to the people I am around.

Nice article like always, I am not so sure about the point 1, but sure I so agree with point 3 and 4, if given a choice I would rather spend time a book than a meeting more people. I so like the cartoon for point 2, I myself feels drained out after a big social gathering. Thank you again for sharing.

What great visuals! I showed my extraverted wife and she cracked up. I know opposites attract as we did 33 years ago, but time can take its toll on an introvert (like me) married to an extraverted southern lady. Has taken lots of work over the years for both of us but articles like these are written for extraverts to understand us and dashed with humor! Thanks for bringing smiles and laughter to both of us : )

I feel that many experiences I have tend to be too rich to convey in words, at least right away. Many times when in a conversation, I’m trying to sort out what doesn’t describe it best for me, which can come across as indifference or some inability to to converse in general. Really, it’s just a long process of elimination going on.

this is nice to read. especially the last one. happens with me all the time

Susan Cain’s book was a complete epiphany for me (in my early 50s!). After taking the little Q&A at the beginning of her book, I realized I am more than 85% introverted. I’d never thought of this before, and SO many things fell into place that I started to weep with relief.

THANK you to Ms. Cain for changing my life.

not really joining the conversation here, just had to say… wow, to Liz and Mollie
what an amazing article this is
how can a writer depict a theme with so few words, and still totally get it?
as for the drawings, I think they’re genius!
not to mention how nice it feels to know there’s more people like me in the world
take care you all

How can I stop all this internal dialog?

I’m an introvert and process things best by reading them or writing them down (versus being told them or talking about them, at least initially). The note about introverts processing everything in their environment explains a lot; I can’t concentrate as well with noise in the background, I get easily overwhelmed with a lot of noise (three kids was probably two too many – haha). Interesting article.

If it takes introverts longer to process information why are they usually extremely sharp and witty?

Five and Six fit me perfectly. Even in the middle of a conversation, thoughts are running through my head….fragments of something I read or did before that fit. Maybe that’s the reason why I’m always coming up with songs to match bits of conversation hahahaha….

and of course, the party one. shudder.