# An Introvert's 'inner world' - what exactly is it?



## CrystallineSheep (Jul 8, 2012)

Your inner world is in your mind. It's also like how your mind changes your outside world as to be only occupied by you and your own thoughts etc.


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## Splash Shin (Apr 7, 2011)

I think everyone has an "inner world", including extraverts. Introverts just live there more. They consult their inner world constantly. (hence we often pause after a question before answering)


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

It's just those moments when you are preoccupied with the content of your mind, rather than that of the outside world (e.g. thoughts, feelings, etc.). Introverts actually prioritize this much more than extraverts, generally speaking.


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## Lawless Land (Jul 10, 2012)

For me my innner world it the place I feel most at ease with myself and who I am. Its a place I can go when I'm alone and not have to worry about what anyone else thinks of me. I can think about things and be really at peace with myself, its also where I feel I accomplish the most and am at my most productive state.


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## TrippedOnReality (Jul 4, 2012)

> I guess my inner world is more of fantasies, thoughts, going over the past if it so happens to cross my mind and thinking of what I said, The future, Wondering what goes through other people's minds, Wondering how I could have changed something that I did or said, Trying to understand and process what I'm thinking, judging others(trying to work on it), How to improve self, how to improve the world and others.


Definitely this. I replay conversations in my head all the time. I think through conversations I'm about to have as well. Sort of a mental preparation for the conversation (mentally rehearse). If this comes up in conversation, how should I handle it? What is the best way to say what I want to say? That sort of thing. My inner world typically resides in my head, but occasionally when I'm soul searching it might venture a little lower into my heart. Though I find head and heart at odds a lot, but that's a whole other issue.


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## ibage (May 5, 2012)

My "Inner World" is a sanctuary where only I can tread. I have complete freedom there. Reflections of conversations, relationships, people and basic interactions all course through here every waking second of my day. Anything I can imagine or fantasize lives there as well as my own perception of reality. It's also where I contemplate on what actions I make and will make along with the evolution of my morals.

My thoughts are random yet the stream with complete structure. Introverts as well as extroverts have and inner world. It's different for everyone alive but ultimately, objective analysis is impossible. In the end, it simply "is".


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## chasingdreams (Jul 16, 2011)

More than half the time, I am in my inner world. I see shrouds of the outer when I’m outside, but while I’m out in society I’m still lost in my inner world more than half the time, it’s like I’m at two places at once. Basically, I have thoughts running through my head 24/7 that nobody would understand if I’d try to explain it to them. My thoughts aren’t necessarily thoughts, they’re like visuals, feelings, a few words here and there that I seem to understand, but can’t coherently explain. Like, even when I’m listening to someone, I’m still in my own head. I guess that’s why Introverts are drained so easily by their outer world, because they’re already so pre-occupied with their inner world. It’s hard focusing on two worlds at the same time. I love being left alone to just drift in my inner world. It's where I feel free and I can imagine, think and do whatever I wish to.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

JungyesMBTIno said:


> It's just those moments when you are preoccupied with the content of your mind, rather than that of the outside world (e.g. thoughts, feelings, etc.). Introverts actually prioritize this much more than extraverts, generally speaking.


This is one of those times where I wonder if I'm just a social Introvert, lol. x3 I know for a fact I can really relate to these "inner worlds" and how often Introverts are in them. However, I wonder if that has to do with more of my external circumstances. I live in the country, don't have many neighbors at all, and my friends are all more than 30 minutes away, so not much interaction there. 

Maybe because I have so much time "alone", I'm left more to my thoughts than other Extroverts might be.


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## TrippedOnReality (Jul 4, 2012)

Julia Bell said:


> This is one of those times where I wonder if I'm just a social Introvert, lol. x3 I know for a fact I can really relate to these "inner worlds" and how often Introverts are in them. However, I wonder if that has to do with more of my external circumstances. I live in the country, don't have many neighbors at all, and my friends are all more than 30 minutes away, so not much interaction there.
> 
> Maybe because I have so much time "alone", I'm left more to my thoughts than other Extroverts might be.


As others have said, I think everyone has an inner world. I'd buy that because you do have more alone time, you're more in touch with your inner world than extraverts who have easier access to social interaction. Cut off from the outside social world, you're left only with your thoughts. It's been my experience that even extraverts will learn to appreciate that inner world, but it doesn't happen until later in life that they tend to start to intentionally seek out more alone time. Maybe you just got a jump start on them.


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## Owfin (Oct 15, 2011)

I wouldn't describe it as a world, per se. I mean, extroverts can have that too. The introverted part is more like... instead of sensing "outside", I sort of sense "inside" (Darn it this doesn't work for anybody who isn't a Si dominant), like I sense my thoughts. But the thoughts aren't the introverted part, the "sensor" is. It's like there's an internal watcher who sees my thoughts. Introversion is subjective, because that watcher is also known as _me_. I don't sense with my eyes and my ears, but with my _self_. I can't experience the world in any other way because it all fundamentally comes down to that watcher. If that makes any sense (heheh).


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

Julia Bell said:


> This is one of those times where I wonder if I'm just a social Introvert, lol. x3 I know for a fact I can really relate to these "inner worlds" and how often Introverts are in them. However, I wonder if that has to do with more of my external circumstances. I live in the country, don't have many neighbors at all, and my friends are all more than 30 minutes away, so not much interaction there.
> 
> Maybe because I have so much time "alone", I'm left more to my thoughts than other Extroverts might be.


I wouldn't be surprised if you just mistake dominant Ne for this, since N in general is esoteric in nature and not apparent in the outer world, despite Ne being an objective function.


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

Yup, I don't see my inner world as some special alternate universe in any way. It's more real than that. It's just the by-product of subjective detachment from bringing the understanding of others into the picture, as I just do it my own way. This is how I've always been able to tell that I'm an introvert from the start - my way of understanding stuff has always been so out of left field to other people (dominant Ni) - most people I've ever known can rarely ever directly get where I'm coming from until I give an elaborate explanation. Only the Ni dom, aux, and tert. types in my life have ever truly gotten me and were intrigued enough to stay on the same page as me with my reasoning, rather than just deconstruct it their own way and get it over with. It's not as big of a deal as I'm making it sound, but there's this intrigue factor these types have with my Ni dominant symbolic-type reasoning that other types don't usually have, I've noticed IRL.


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## Kyrielle (Mar 12, 2012)

We could suggest that no one knows what anyone else's inner world is like or who they truly are. The mind is a place that is, as of yet, completely and utterly private and untouchable by anyone else. Therefore, what you perceive each person is like is only your understanding of that person. But it's not _really_ that person, not at they understand themselves. So...your perception of that person (and indeed everything around you) only exists inside your mind and it is projected onto that person when you see them. There is a constant overlay of "this is who I think this person is" over the actual person. In essence, everything you experience in the outer world is actually nothing more than your understanding and perception of those things. And all of that understanding and experience technically exists inside your head. You could then say that the entirety of existence (as you experience and understand it) is part of your "inner world" (which is to say, your mind).

We could also suggest that no one truly knows what they're own inner world is like since half of it is unconscious and, therefore, largely hidden to you. You can only know what part of your inner world is like, and even then, it's very difficult to explain it since the blend between conscious and unconscious aspects is so fine. To explain it is to attempt to translate and define the image and symbol nature of the unconscious mind into words, while separating your conscious processes from your unconscious ones, and becoming aware of all of the influences that your unconscious thoughts have on your conscious thoughts. Something that is impossible to do as it requires you to both know your unconscious mind (which is hidden from you and unreachable) and be able to understand its motives. But how can you understand your unconscious mind's motives using conscious language and logic? The unconscious mind is the antithesis of language and logic. It's like trying to use a light to see darkness.

So, I guess...the inner world is technically the totality of your existence _as you know it, _but to describe your existence as you know it is impossible as it is 1) partially unconscious and in a language that cannot be translated properly, 2) too enormous and complex to reduce into into something as small as a forum post.


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