The Life of an Introvert

Depression and Introversion

I know I've already gone over the idea that extroverts may not necessarily be happier than introverts, but I would like to bring it up once more because of another interesting article I saw online. It basically describes how depression forces people to become introverted, while if you are happy, you are more likely to be extroverted.

This is what the author says:

"I have lived as an introvert until I was 19 and then suddenly I turned into an extrovert."

I am skeptical of anybody who claims they can make a sudden switch from introvert to extrovert, or vice versa. I believe that people can become less shy, yes, or develop better social skills, but I do not believe you can make an abrupt personality shift like that.

I may be wrong, and some of you may disagree with me, but that's just my stance on it.

The author goes on to say that he was introverted when he was 15 because he "didn't have enough skills to socialize" and "stayed alone more often" not because he liked it that way, but because he was "obsessed with his flaws".

I've probably already repeated numerous times that introversion does not equal less social skills, and to me, obsessing with your flaws and choosing not to interact with people because of it does not sound like introversion to me, it sounds like an extreme self esteem problem.

So then he goes on to explain why exactly being happier makes you more extroverted:

"On the other hand, happiness motivates people to act more like extroverts. If you won one million dollars and if money was one of the things that make you happier then most likely you will feel like wanting to tell your story to people, and then you will act more like an extrovert."

This is...interesting logic. So if something good happens and you tell a friend or two, you suddenly become extroverted? Pardon me for saying so, but I don't think that you suddenly morph into an extrovert when you talk to a friend, and then back into an introvert when you spend time in your room. We are humans, not Pokemon. I mean. Pokemen. Or. Poke...people?

Ah, whatever.

So the author goes on and on about how depressed people tend to shy away from social contact and would prefer to spend more time in solitude and avoid others.

Now, is it true that depressed people tend to want to spend less time with others? Yeah, it is.

But the leap of logic made by the author here seems flawed. A depressed person who spends time at home because of their condition is not an introvert. Introverts spend more time on their own because that is what stimulates them and that is what they prefer to do. That is what makes them happy. The argument here made by the writer is that there are two types of introverts: those who are introverted by nature and those who are introverted because they are inhibited by depression.

I disagree.

A depressed person may be more disinterested, inhibited, or less likely to want to hang out with people as they were before. That goes not mean they become introverted.

The whole article ignores the fact that depressed people most certainly can be people that are hugely extroverted and depressed. You can have many, many friends and still be the most lonely person in the world. You can be someone that goes to parties and seems happy and well-adjusted on the outside, but still a depressed person. It sucks, and sometimes it's harder to tell when someone's depressed if they always seem cheerful and sociable, but the reality is that people who are depressed/abused/traumatized can often appear completely normal and well-adjusted when they're around other people.

The author also says that depressed people are more introverted and introverted means more inhibited and more inhibited, according to him, means "occupied with your own problems, lack of skills, and flaws to the extent that you are unable to socialize normally."

I disagree with this as well. I don't think think introversion means you can't socialize normally or that you're simply so occupied with your own flaws that you cannot focus on other people. That's not what an introvert is. Again, this sounds like a self esteem problem.

And don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to minimize the problems of people who do have trouble talking to others or suffer from issues like social anxiety or just being awkward in general. Those can be obstacles, I understand that.

Anyway, the whole point I was trying to make here with both these posts was that the way people define happiness is really different for everybody, and that introversion is not a synonym for depression. That, in itself, is all I'm trying to say.