dear infj

 

Whirlwind and tidal wave of social interactions. Exhausting. My slow journey towards the acknowledgment of my introversion has been and continues to be liberating. It is now common knowledge that extroversion and introversion are tendencies across a temperamental spectrum. 

I borrowed and am still reading a book by the Danish psychotherapist Ilse Sand, entitled “On being an introvert or highly sensitive person: a guide to boundaries, joy, and meaning.” There is a lengthy questionnaire that allows a self-evaluation of one’s proclivity towards either introversion or extroversion. I realized that if only I had known about this earlier then I would have been more understanding of why I feel a certain way about specific situations. Or why I got sick so often to the point of being hospitalized. It meant that there was a dissonance between what I felt I needed to do based on societal norms or occupational culture and what my mind and temperament were inclined to do. I am now fully aware that when I am utterly overwhelmed, I tend to shut down. And this can be confusing for others. Armed with this knowledge, I should try my best to prevent that tendency to shut down. But, necessary silence should not be confused with shutting down. For me, I feel that it’s okay not to speak if it is not purposeful.

p.s. the title of this post is inspired by “The Introvert, Dear” podcast