There's a specific kind of introvert who is warm, funny, and genuinely interested in people, and who is also completely depleted by them, and who has spent decades trying to explain this distinction to extroverts who hear it as rejection - Silicon Canals

"The misunderstanding that has proven much harder to dislodge is this one: that introversion must mean not really liking people. That the need to withdraw must indicate a preference for absence over presence."

"The introvert I'm describing is warm. They are funny in company. They ask good questions and are genuinely interested in the answers. They can work a room, hold a conversation, be fully present in a way that people feel and register."

"These two facts coexist. They are not in contradiction. And they are almost impossible to explain to someone for whom social energy is not a finite resource."

"The biological explanation for introversion has been substantially developed over the last sixty years, beginning with Hans Eysenck's arousal hypothesis and refined considerably by subsequent neuroscience research."

Introversion is often misunderstood as a lack of interest in people, but this is incorrect. Introverts can be warm, engaging, and enjoy social interactions. However, they may need to withdraw after socializing due to feeling depleted. This experience is difficult to communicate to those who do not share the same nervous system responses. Neuroscience research indicates that introverts have higher baseline levels of cortical arousal, which contributes to their unique social energy dynamics.

Read at Silicon Canals