Can introverts be lonely?

To most people, loneliness is not a word that meshes with introversion. Everyone knows that introverts value their alone time almost more than anything else. As Susan Cain wrote in Quiet, “Solitude matters, and for some people, it’s the air they breathe.”

What is a reclusive introvert?

Introverted means you gain your energy by spending time by yourself. Reclusive means wanting to keep to yourself all the time. Introverts can be social, they just need time to recharge between social situations. Recluses prefer to never be in any social situations at all.

Are Americans loners?

In America today, half of adults are unmarried, and more than a quarter live alone. Several years later, social scientists made headlines with a survey showing that Americans had a third fewer nonfamily confidants than two decades earlier.

Are introverts at risk for loneliness?

We know loneliness may or may not be related to being alone. Introverts can be perfectly happy alone, or terribly lonely in a crowd. But if introverts are at any particular risk for loneliness, it could be because we set a high bar for friendship.

What is it like to be an introvert in solitude?

So, for Introverts, solitude is a pleasing experience. Aloneness is positively charged. Loneliness, by contrast, is negatively charged. In lonely times, we feel sad, isolated and powerless. We yearn for an attachment that just isn’t there. It’s like a beast scratching at our hearts.

How do extroverts and introverts socialize differently?

The social stimulation they crave leads them to seek out exciting situations and people in general — the more the better! — as opposed to focusing on one specific person. When it comes to socializing, extroverts tend to prefer breadth to depth. Introverts, on the other hand, are different.

Is it time to make a change about loneliness?

If loneliness starts to feel devastating, it’s time to make a change. It’s one thing to need alone time for the sake of your introversion, but it’s another thing to feel depressed because you are lonely. When that happens, switch it up. You don’t deserve to feel lonely, and that is not your fate.