Being introverted has its benefits. Introverts often have a greater appreciation of understatement and subtlety than extroverts and are usually deep thinkers, meaning that they strive to attain a richer, fuller understanding of the world around them. However this type of personality is not without its negative points, one of them being that introverts are more susceptible to certain health problems.
Research carried out by award winning mental health journalist John McManamy suggests that they are more prone to bipolar disorder and depression. He asked a number of people who were suffering from one of these conditions to complete a personality test and email him the results and found that eighty-three of the first hundred people to email him were introverts. His findings are supported by a study conducted by the University of North Carolina that concluded that seventy-four percent of depressed people are introverts.
McManamy suggests that the fact that introverts are more likely to suffer from these mental illnesses could be due to their tendency to sometimes isolate themselves. He says that in order to protect yourself against these conditions, it is important to break out of your comfort zone and connect with other people. Perhaps you could do this by joining a group or taking up a sociable hobby. Alternatively you might want to invest some time in learning how to overcome your natural inclination to avoid certain social situations.
Physical Health
It isn’t just introverts’ mental health that can suffer if they let the negative side of their personality type get the better of them. The results of a study carried out by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research indicates that they can also fail to speak up about physical health problems, which means that they get a worse standard of care. She observed that introverted heart failure patients were six times more likely to have a poorer state of health than their extroverted counterparts. A good way of getting round this is to always make sure you consult a doctor when you feel that you are under the weather no matter how much you might feel like braving it out. There is no point putting your health at risk for the sake of avoiding speaking up.
Immune System
Research cited in the Bangor Daily News indicates that introverted people might also have a worse immune system than extroverts. A study showed that introverted HIV positive men have nearly eight times more viral particles in their blood than outgoing HIV positive men. Psychiatrists have hypothesized that this is because introverts tend to suffer from a higher degree of stress about certain things, for example contact with unfamiliar people, and stress can negatively impact upon the human body. There is an easy way to combat this: put systems in place to make socializing with people that you haven’t met before less stressful. Learn how to approach new people knowing that you will be competent at talking to them and you can improve your natural defense system and reduce the likelihood of falling ill.
Addiction
Introverts are also more susceptible to drug addiction. Research conducted by Roszell et al has shown that people who are receiving treatment for heroin addiction and are maintained on methadone are more likely to be introverted. A study carried out by Hong et al of the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill demonstrated that drug addicts and alcoholics tend to be far more introverted than average. This is possibly due to the link between introversion and depression. According to a report published in Psychology Today, introverts can often become depressed because they perceive that other people view them as ‘odd’ because they are less outgoing than most other people. The magazine advises that self-acceptance and understanding of the issues surrounding introversion are the key to avoiding or overcoming this condition. Again, forcing yourself to socialize might also help to prevent you from lapsing into depression and reduce your chance of developing an addiction.
The Positive Side
Fortunately none of the health conditions that introversion can bring about will definitely manifest themselves within the lives of every introvert. Maintain a large circle of friends, always consult a doctor when you feel under the weather and try not to stress too much about things and you will be able to lead a happy, fulfilling life. In order to get the most out of your career, you might also want to think about business coaching for introverts. That way, you will be able to achieve the highest level of success that you are capable of.
Contributed by Lily Baker.
What you say makes perfect sense to me. It’s only logical that introverts that keeps everything including stress within themselves are more prone to illness, depression and addiction.
However, don’t forget that alcoholism is genetic and usually manifest itself every other generation. So introverts with an alcoholic grandparent should take care and get help if they seem to be in the dangerzone.
Catarina that IS part of the problem: that those more introverted keep these things inside themselves. One reason I like being married to an extrovert – we do a lot of talking things out!
I am an introvert. I am not, and never have been, mentally ill. Introversion is perfectly normal and natural. Introverts, like me, tend to prefer the quiet side of life. They tend to think and process information more deeply and actually enjoy spending time alone.
We need our alone time, and we do not like being told by extroverts that there is something wrong with us. When we are alone, we do not feel lonely. We tend to become energized by being alone with our thoughts.
Introverts do not need to talk to more people, we are perfectly happy and enjoy deep, meaningful discussions. But hate small talk or meaningless conversations.
The other view point is that extroverts could be mentally ill. They are avoiding the quiet, and are escaping themselves.
I like being an introvert, I do not like people trying to change me. My alone time is when I feel most alive. This is not a sign of illness, this is just who I am.
Kat we’re on the same page. My guest blogger was offering an expanded perspective and I’m glad it caught your attention. To your point about change, I doubt ANYONE, regardless of their style, wants someone trying to change them! Thanks for coming by.
Yea, this is exactly what i want people to understand, as for me being alone or being silent is absolutely normal for and neither do i feel bothered, normal and happy! I don’t like a group of more than three person and beyond that i kept myself quite. Extroverts are noisy, speaking so unnecessarily, and sometimes they walk out of the discussion point and thinks just because one is silent simply don’t understand or just whatever. And i love to say that introverts are loving and caring only if you take time to discover more and more about us.