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The Introvert’s Guide to Self-Care
Three meaningful ways to nurture your introversion
Listen. There are a lot of introverts out there observing the world as it turns, quietly contributing as much as everyone else — just differently. It is an extrovert’s world, and trying to find our place within it can be exhausting to the point where a single work meeting can take it out of us introverts, let alone a day’s worth of meetings. Add to that the inherent need to spend time with family and friends, and an introvert can be pulped by the time they get home.
We are told not to think about life in terms of a pie: When you take a piece of my pie, that means I have fewer pieces to myself. But when it comes to introverts and our precious energy, life is like a pie, and extroverts can unknowingly leave us with mere crumbs after a social interaction. It’s not exactly acceptable to turn down every offer of social interaction due to wanting to keep our pieces of pie, nor is it healthy. So what’s an introvert to do when there are so many demands on their time where they’re expected to show up happy and outgoing, a quantifiable addition?
I’m not going to speak loudly because it’s against my nature, but I’m here to remind you fellow introverts to take care of yourself. It’s okay to need some time alone to decompress, to obsess over all the things you said and everything you wish you would’ve said instead. And it’s okay, too, if your unwinding looks like TV and a cozy blanket, a cup of tea. Maybe some snuggles with a puppy.
What I think it comes down to is making yourself number one and, while there are many other important things outside of yourself, remembering that number one comes before everything else. Here’s the important thing: I’m not talking about going to get a pedicure once a month. I’m talking about day after day, carving out space for silence and reflection, indulging in your own needs for alone time, however you want to spend it.
I have by no means mastered the introvert’s way of caring for oneself, but I have learned over the past few years how to manage my introversion in a world where I’m expected to show up over and over with energy and charisma.
