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Are Introverts Energized By Solitude?

Mondo

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I spent most of the day by myself and don't feel energized at all.
All I really did today was begin packing for college and do random stuff on the computer.
I feel less active physically AND mentally and may even just go to sleep after dinner.
One of my good friends has a summer job at his college and visited Long Island for two weeks- he left yesterday.
Does this apply to everyone or just extraverts?
Would an introvert be energized physically and mentally from a day he spends entirely by himself?
 

Jack Flak

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Yeah. If I spend "too much" time socializing, I crave solitude (It's almost like a physical hunger, a need), and I feel better after I've had it for a while. The reverse is less true.
 

Spartacuss

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Yeah. If I spend "too much" time socializing, I crave solitude (It's almost like a physical hunger, a need), and I feel better after I've had it for a while. The reverse is less true.

Ditto.
I don't know if it gives me energy so much as allow me to get back to the baseline after being sapped.
 

cafe

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Yes, even a couple of hours lying in bed reading or sitting in front of my computer is like a healing balm.
 

Jeffster

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It's an interesting paradox for me personally. I don't ever feel like I want to be alone, but at the same time I recognize that I need alone time. My energy starts to empty out tremendously when I spend long periods of time with other people. I eventually hit a wall where I really just have to tune out. How much recharging time I need depends on how much time I spent in the energy-draining external world. ;)
 

nolla

Senor Membrane
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Yes. If I am visiting someone for a weekend or something (which means I don't have my own space to go to) I will definitely find the nearest forest...
 

Jack Flak

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*Analyzing*

I think one thing that gets to me (and others, I'm sure) is that I start to lose my sense of self. I naturally mirror/mimic the people I interact with, developing an alternate personality.
 

nolla

Senor Membrane
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*Analyzing*

I think one thing that gets to me (and others, I'm sure) is that I start to lose my sense of self. I naturally mirror/mimic the people I interact with, developing an alternate personality.

Yeah that's annoying. I sometimes hear myself changing my way of speaking too...

Oh, BTW, this need for solitude does not necessarily mean solitude. If the person I am with is close to me, it doesn't kill my battery. Like some folks that you can be with without talking to them or making an effort.
 

Tallulah

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*Analyzing*

I think one thing that gets to me (and others, I'm sure) is that I start to lose my sense of self. I naturally mirror/mimic the people I interact with, developing an alternate personality.

Yeah that's annoying. I sometimes hear myself changing my way of speaking too...

Oh, BTW, this need for solitude does not necessarily mean solitude. If the person I am with is close to me, it doesn't kill my battery. Like some folks that you can be with without talking to them or making an effort.

Agreed. I do start to lose my sense of self if I don't have time alone, but there are people who I don't need much time away from. Sometimes, though, I'm so comfortable with those friends that I have to make myself pull away and have personal time because I'm aware I need it, but I'm enjoying their company.

I wouldn't say I am energized by alone time. I'm not sure introverts see "energizing" as a completely desirable thing. It even sounds exhausting. I remember when I lived in NYC, people would say stuff like, "I love the energy of New York!" Like they found it exhilarating. I find it mostly wears me out. Time alone just restores me to a normal, non-stressed state.
 

ajblaise

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I'm not charged by introversion but I have a longer lasting battery for it, and it gets charged by being around people for a while.
 

nolla

Senor Membrane
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I wouldn't say I am energized by alone time. I'm not sure introverts see "energizing" as a completely desirable thing. It even sounds exhausting. I remember when I lived in NYC, people would say stuff like, "I love the energy of New York!" Like they found it exhilarating. I find it mostly wears me out. Time alone just restores me to a normal, non-stressed state.

I lived in a city where I needed to use a lot of public transportation, and I found out a way to like it. I watched people and started thinking about how they are and what they are doing, where they are coming from. It actually started to feel energizing.
 

Jack Flak

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I'm not charged by introversion but I have a longer lasting battery for it, and it gets charged by being around people for a while.
According to Keirsey, that makes you an extrovert.
 

millerm277

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Yes, give my some solitude, preferably doing something I enjoy, and it does energize/recharge me. It's needed fairly often.
 

ajblaise

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According to Keirsey, that makes you an extrovert.

Being social increases my need for introversion much more than introversion increases my need to be social and extroverted.
 

Haphazard

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Not so much solitude as uninterrupted focus.

Agreed. I don't mind people as long as they're not bothering me. In that case, they just become background noise.

People generally think I'm extremely lethargic, but they don't note how much I tend to get done when I'm alone. I don't know if I'm energized by being alone, but other people suck out my energy like vampires... and I'm much more energetic when I'm alone.
 

Kasper

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Does solitude energise me? nope, the opposite is true. Socialising energises me but then I need solitude to recover.
 

Orangey

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Agreed. I don't mind people as long as they're not bothering me. In that case, they just become background noise.

People generally think I'm extremely lethargic, but they don't note how much I tend to get done when I'm alone. I don't know if I'm energized by being alone, but other people suck out my energy like vampires... and I'm much more energetic when I'm alone.

Yes, I am much more motivated when I'm alone. And when I say alone, I mean knowing that I'm alone, not that I'm necessarily physically alone. I can be on a bus with thirty other people and still be completely alone.
 

entropie

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I am really tired at the moment

My beer is empty, I have got some whiskey left

I defintly need to talk to someone
 
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