Happy World Introvert Day

Although, this post two days late (Mehh, my New Years one was four days late) I just want to say Happy Introvert Day! 

Yes, we have a day. 

Although not an “official" day. World introvert day is  celebrated by Introverts all across the world.

How?

by doing something we enjoy. 

 Painting, talking long walks in nature, sitting in an abandoned beach all day, bird watching, creating the next masterpiece, watching Netflix all day, reading, spending time with your pet, visiting a museum

etc,

etc,

etc,

or

The best way possible…

*drum roll please*

IN BLANKET CACOONS 

I spent mine in this exact position.

aka: wrapped in a blanket cocoon with Luna and a ton of food. watching Rick and Morty,(FYI: just finished season one. I like!)   Regular Show, and Fresh Off the Boat, and reading Portia De Rossi's book Unbearable Lightness.

And not talking to a single person.

and I enjoyed myself so much I felt like never entering reality again. 

World introvert day is an  "opportunity for people worldwide to better understand and appreciate introverts" (www.worldintrovertday.com)  

Introverts are people who gain their energy from solitude.

I once saw a comic (Introvert Doodles) that explained it like this;
Imagine one of those huge bulky coffee makers that has a tank for water (coincidently mine at home has a very small water tank) ; as the coffee drips out the water tank gradually empties. Once all the coffee is gone the water tank needs refilling in order to make more coffee for everyone to enjoy. This process can take a while as the water needs time to convert into coffee  one drip at a time.

An introvert needs "refilling" because their tanks also become empty. 

Whilst a bulky coffee maker refills by taking the time to turn that water into coffee, an introvert will re change after spending time in solitude.

. 

What's the difference between social anxiety and introversion?

I need to address this..! 

So many people get social anxiety and introversion mixed up. They are not the same thing. An introvert can have social anxiety, but so can an extrovert and an ambivert.

    

The main difference is fear. 

An introvert is able to confidently attend social situations, they just need solitude afterwards to recharge.

Someone with social anxiety is held back by the fear of being judged and/or embarrassed to the point of intense discomfort or panic.

Introversion is something you are both with: a trait. 

Social Anxiety is something that is developed: a disorder. 

Being an introvert is something that does not ruin my life. Social Anxiety is.

Introverts make up 30-50% of the population; another statistic is that 1 in 3 people are introverted.

The statistics are high, yet so many Introverts, myself included, grew up feeling a sense of embarrassment and shame due to how they are wired. 

As a child I was always told "you will be happier socializing with people" and "you have to get used to being around people or else you will be lonely"

But it was just my mis-informed parents and grandparents and all the other adults in my life.

Even now, there are so many people misinformed about intorverts. 

To them I say

INTROVERSIAM IS A THING.

so is extroversion and being an ambient.

And being either one of them is a brilliant thing worth celebrating. 

I find it interesting that World introvert day falls one day after New Years. With such a huge pressure on people to socialize and party to bring in the new year (tbh, I spent my New Years eating nachos thankful that everyone in my house was out parting and it was only me and my little brother home. Best. New. Years.Ever ) we get a day to recharge  from all that chaos.

And a day to just relax and ‘introvert’ after a night of socializing is a dream come true.

I'm an artist; a writer; a lover of nature; a dreamer; a thinker; a texter, ( DO NOT CALL ME, unless you are my sister) ; a reader; a whisperer; 

I'm an introvert

Sometimes I wish I was extroverted.   Sometimes I wish people didn't mentally drain me and I'd be able to confidently speak to people without feeling my "batteries" slowly draining out. but I love being an introvert. I love that I prefer quiet environments over loud ones and spending time in nature with my dog and not talking to anyone for large amounts of time ( I feel rude admitting that but it is true)

I love that I know every walking trail at the Gorge better than employers because I know where the streams turn into tiny deltas and where the kookaburras like to gather high up in trees.

I love that my cat will bring me instant happiness and that her purr is the only sound I need to hear to comfort me.

I love the joy and sense of escapism a good book will bring. 

I love the simple life.

And many other things

I love being an introvert and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And this day (although two days has passed.... what can I say. I've just been preoccupied doing nothing) is a day to love introverts.

…from far

so HAPPY WORLD INTROVERT DAY.