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What Is An Extroverted Introvert?
This personality type seems like a contradiction. How can you be an introvert who is extroverted?
The reason is that personality traits exist on a scale, so your introversion score may be slightly lower than the “typical” introvert.
Introversion and extroversion are personality traits that are part of a wide spectrum, and you can fall anywhere in between.
However, some introverts share many of the traits of extroverts — but with limits.
This can be confusing to friends and family who don’t understand our fluctuating needs and behaviors.
Maybe you can relate to this.
If you find yourself conflicted about whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, you might just be an “extroverted introvert” — sometimes referred to as a social introvert and an outgoing introvert
This personality dynamic can be quite confusing to you and the people who know you well.
For example, let’s say your best friend invites you to a party, and you both look forward to it for weeks. You go out together and buy new outfits to wear to the event, you talk about it daily, and finally, the big day arrives.
You’re all dressed up, you go to the party, talk to a few people, and have a drink or two. You’re having a good time, and then, BOOM, you want to go home. You’re done.
Your friend is still going strong and has no idea why you want to leave so early. Are you sick? Did someone say something rude? Did you spill something on your dress?
Nope, you just want to go home.
Being an introvert doesn’t necessarily mean you want to be alone all of the time. Like extroverts, you may crave the company of others, even in large groups.
But as an introvert, you need to pull away sooner to recharge. Or maybe it takes you longer to recover after spending time with other people. Do you think this describes you?
5 clues You May Be an Extroverted Introvert
1. You find people interesting.
You love to people watch. You also love meeting new people and asking them questions about their life’s journey. You want to know them on a deeper level.
But you probably don’t want to do this every night. As much as you are interested in people, you prefer a little bit of socializing at one time before you need some time to yourself.
After a busy weekend, you feel the need to be alone and recharge your mind in peace and quiet.
2. Once you recharge, you reach out to your friends.
You have had some time to yourself now, and you are actually itching to get your friends together — especially friends who enjoy more intimate gatherings.
When you’re the host, it allows you to create your social plans on your own terms. You can set the time, the place, and the invite list.
As soon as you start to feel drained, you can slip out for the night and go home.
3. You enjoy other people, even larger groups.
Some introverts really prefer time alone or just with a couple of close friends. But you like social gatherings, meeting new people, and even some amount of small talk.
You can even be the life of the party or the center of attention for a short amount of time.
But unlike most extroverts, you can only take so much. You suddenly feel depleted and eager to be alone again to recharge. It’s not that you’re having a bad time. You’ve just run out of your social gas and you’re running on fumes.
Many extroverts can socialize all week long and feel energized by the activity. If the weekend is packed with parties and group outings, they feel excited and energized.
A social introvert may like the idea of a party lifestyle, but the reality of it would send them into a tailspin.
As an introvert, you need time between events to hunker down and recover. Maybe you can handle one or two group events a month without feeling completely drained.
Some extroverted introverts may push themselves to keep up with their extroverted friends, but it can take a toll in the form of exhaustion, irritability, and anxiety.
5. You change your mind at the last minute.
You may have planned on attending a party or event for weeks, but then on the day of the gathering, you suddenly feel the overwhelming desire to stay home and curl up in front of the TV or with your book.
Just thinking about dressing up and going out feels torturous, even though the day before you were looking forward to it.
For introverts, it’s hard to explain the sudden turn-around to your friends. You just know that you don’t have it in you to be around a lot of people and stimulation.
