[ukinfj]

I have been told by others that I could be a borderline extrovert because I talk SO MUCH when I'm around people I know. I cannot shut up. Oddly, the friend that said this to me, I was thinking the same thing about her, because she would start new jobs and just pick up friends all over the place and I was thinking how do you do that? How does that not seem very overwhelming? But then she will be happier on her own for longer than me, I think. I don't get lonely on my own - not for a long time - but I do tend to get sucked into my thoughts and that can eventually make me ill, so I prefer not to be alone too much if I can help it.

Meanwhile, my dad is like me. Once he's talking, he can go for hours and you will not shut him up. We both say (And apparently everybody on his side of the family has said this) that the world is so interesting in every way that it is impossible not to think constantly. I feel that my mind chatters constantly, not necessarily coming with new ideas, just repeating the same thing sometimes, and then now and then I'll have some kind of revelation but this is pretty rare. Generally, it's just the same information said in a million different ways and it's always there - so I find it incredibly difficult not to just spurt out the backed up info once someone gets me going - if they ask me something I'm interested in, I guess.

Now my dad is the same except he picks up specific facts and knowledge, which I'm not too bothered about, but he's extremely introverted in that he literally does not see the point (not very empathic!) in people doing things in groups. He has a hard time dealing with the idea. In fact, when I was a kid, he couldn't understand why I wanted friends over on my birthday. He prefers being alone but when there's someone there he will talk endlessly. I am not as strongly introverted and prefer to be around one person I know well. If I'm quiet and not tailing, by the way, the conversation continues in my head. Chatter, chatter, chatter!



There's a chance maybe me and my dad just use Ne or something, but I wondered what you thought - are there a lot of different ways of being introverted, do they fit specific MBTI types and in what way are you introverted?

[YourVeryFlesh]

I know exactly what you mean by the conversations! It's a kind of pleasant buzzing for me. There's always something going on to make me think...
I'd say I'm quite introverted but if I'm in company I trust and have worked out, I become much more lively. I wouldn't say as chatty as you but definitely more in the conversation heh. When I meet new people, I'm much more reserved because I'm trying to understand their personality and try to predict what they may do. It will throw me for a while if they do something I didn't think they would and then I'll stay reserved to try and get my judgement right.

[unico]

I can be quite talkative among close friends, though it's difficult for me to talk to people I don't know so well. Sometimes I ramble about my interests.

[Kelly617]

I've had some of my best conversations with introverts. I never assume they can't be talkative, just that I need to be conscientious of their need for space and privacy more often than I would of extroverts'.

I can be pretty quiet, reserved and even shy sometimes. It doesn't happen often, but it can. No one is 100% introverted or extroverted.

[Navis Amoris]

For me introversion simply means I need alone time to recharge my batteries. I'm extremely talkative. Sometimes my INTJ dad gets annoyed with me for following (and continuing to talk) when he tries to walk away from our discussions. My wife once said "Stef... just... QUIET!". Unfortunately it caught on, and my entire family now tells me that. In class I'm also the most talkative person.

Basically I respond to/talk about everything and anything that's interesting to me. I'm willing to expend my energy on that. But if it's not interesting I'll completely ignore that person even if they're trying to talk to me ('Gawd, I feel so proud that my boyfriend and I managed to stay together for 3 whole months. But y'know, it's not the same as before. I think we should break up'). I seriously don't have the energy for that bullshit. Sometimes I can't even spare a 'whatever'. I prefer to save that energy for extraverted activities that are more fulfilling to me. I'm sorry if that comes across as arrogant.

[EsotericPrincess]

I usually become chatty when my batteries have been recharged and I've spent an adequate amount of time introspecting. It's like I have to get it out, and it often comes out extremely random. It can be frustrating when my husband doesn't respond the way I would like him to...which usually causes me to retreat to a place where I can allow my mind to expound on my newly generated ideas/theories. I can also be chatty within comfortable and familiar groups. But that is only if the topic(s) of discussion are ones which I'm interested or knowledegable in.

[TrailMix]

I'm also really talkative and outgoing - so much so I used to think I was an extrovert because of it before I realized how much alone-time I really did need in order to keep it up haha. I also noticed I was only really talkative around friends and family so I guess that doesnt count lol

What I have also noticed however is that I have little patience for things, people and conversations that do not interest me and that is often why I choose my friends so carefully. Sure, I'll be polite and friendly, but if someone cannot keep my interest, it is hard for me to interact with them because it takes soooo much more energy to do so. People sometimes think that I am arrogant or snobbish until they get to know me because I am really loud and gregarious around my friends, but super quiet and awkward around strangers and people I dont know very well. Goodness, that sounds terrible...

I suppose for me my introversion is just sort of: I wont seek out interaction simply for the sake of interacting because it can be draining. I have to be interested and excited about it because otherwise, I'd prefer to be alone where I can just sort of entertain myself with my own musings and imagination haha...

[ukinfj]

I'm also really talkative and outgoing - so much so I used to think I was an extrovert because of it before I realized how much alone-time I really did need in order to keep it up haha. I also noticed I was only really talkative around friends and family so I guess that doesnt count lol

What I have also noticed however is that I have little patience for things, people and conversations that do not interest me and that is often why I choose my friends so carefully. Sure, I'll be polite and friendly, but if someone cannot keep my interest, it is hard for me to interact with them because it takes soooo much more energy to do so. People sometimes think that I am arrogant or snobbish until they get to know me because I am really loud and gregarious around my friends, but super quiet and awkward around strangers and people I dont know very well. Goodness, that sounds terrible...

I suppose for me my introversion is just sort of: I wont seek out interaction simply for the sake of interacting because it can be draining. I have to be interested and excited about it because otherwise, I'd prefer to be alone where I can just sort of entertain myself with my own musings and imagination haha...

Yes, just like me ^^^^^^ :)

[Gnothi Seauton]

That's a very common misconception. Apparently introverts are not suppose to talk, but that's not what being an introvert means. Next time observe an introvert and extrovert talk: introverts will talk about their inner world, their thoughts, feelings, interests, while the extrovert talks about events, other people, activities, accomplishments etc. That is the difference.

We are recharged by what goes inside of us, while extroverts are recharged by what goes outside of them. It has nothing to do with the amount of talking we do, but of what we talk about.

At least that's how I see it.

[Cordiform]

Honestly, I don't like talking verbally at all. I like to be around my favorite people but in silence or listening to them talk about their lives. I'm very much an observer, and I start to feel very uncomfortable if I'm talking for longer than maybe two minutes at a time. Sometimes I'll get worked up and go on about something that's important to me, but other than that, or delivering a planned speech, I'm quiet. (I do sometimes talk to myself when I'm alone, though.) The more time I'm around someone and the more comfortable I feel, the more I will talk (usually making jokes and talking shit, little things), but I couldn't imagine talking for hours.