Differences Between Extraverted, Introverted And Shy People
Nowadays, it seems that Successful people are those who have the most friends, are the most persuasive, and communicate the most with others The bottom line is to go to as many parties as possible and be the king of your social circle, mastering all possible social skills.
In recent times, the extraversion It has become the ideal to which we should all aspire. If a person is more comfortable reading than at a party with loud music and hundreds of people around, they are called shy and asocial, and we say that they have a problem.
Recommended reading: “How to know if you tend towards introversion or extraversion”
And while it is true that some people who avoid social situations do so because of a problem (such as social phobia, anxiety, or exaggerated shyness), others do so because they truly prefer solitude. Almost a century ago, Carl Gustav Jung defined two types of personality in his work Psychological Types, Classifying people into introverts and extroverts
Differences between introverts and extraverts
In this article we are going to examine the differences between introversion, extraversion and other related concepts. We start with the first of them, social anxiety.
Social anxiety
Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is a pathology classified within anxiety disorders. It is characterized becauseThe person who suffers from it suffers from a persistent fear of one or more social situations, due to the fear of being made a fool of
The most common symptoms are chest pressure, sweating, trembling in the legs, blushing, negative thoughts, fear of negative evaluation… These symptoms can appear in different social situations that the person has to face, such as speaking in public or being at a party.
Like all disorders, the problem of social anxiety arises because the person would like to be able to behave normally in situations that scare them, but they cannot do so. To alleviate this, they usually resort to one or more coping strategies, which can range from not going to parties and social gatherings, to getting drunk or taking drugs to increase their sense of control.
Many of the people who suffer from this disorder could be classified as extraverted, and it is precisely the clash between their desire to relate and their fear of social situations that causes them the most suffering.
Shyness
If we imagine a straight line with social anxiety at one end and introversion at the other, shyness would fall more or less in the middle. Contrary to what many people think, Shyness is not considered a psychological disorder, although it shares many traits with social phobia
The main difference it presents with social anxiety is that, while a person with this disorder will tend to avoid situations that cause discomfort, either by not going or using some other coping strategy such as drinking alcohol, a shy person may continue to expose themselves. to those situations. Of course, having to face their own feelings of discomfort in the process.
Another difference is the generalization of symptoms. While a shy person may enjoy certain types of social situations, depending on their conditions, someone who suffers from social phobia will feel discomfort in almost all situations in which they feel exposed to criticism from others.
As in the previous point, we can find many people who are extroverted and who are at the same time shy, so we cannot identify introversion with this behavioral pattern either.
But then, what is introversion? Traits of an introverted person
According to Jung’s theory, one of the most important classifications we can make between people is whether they are extraverted or introverted.
The difference is in how they get the stimulation they need to feel good While an extravert is “charged” with energy in social environments, an introvert generates his own internal stimulation, so highly energetic environments saturate him and end up exhausting him.
Therefore, An extrovert will tend to look for situations in which there are many people, loud music, or extreme sensations It will not be unusual to find someone with these characteristics being the center of attention in a group, or surrounded by many friends, doing extreme sports or performing on stage.
On the contrary, and although an introvert can also enjoy these things, they will normally look for other types of activities to relax: reading a good book, having deep conversations with their close friends, spending the day in nature…
Recapping: am I introverted or shy?
Of course, there are no pure introverts or extroverts (and as Jung himself said, “if there were, we would have to look for them in the psychiatric hospital”). We can all show characteristics of one type or another depending on the moment and the situation in which we find ourselves. But it is important to know that it is possible to enjoy solitude without this implying that we have a disorder.
In summary, if you think you are an introvert, see if you fit these five characteristics:
On the other hand, if you see yourself reflected in the following characteristics, it is likely that you suffer from shyness or social phobia:
I hope this article has helped you understand the differences between introversion and the different disorders that can affect our behavior with others, since better understand your own feelings regarding social situations
