undefined | Better HN

0 pointsjgilias2y ago0 comments

Well, no. I guess if you don’t know then you don’t know.

As an anecdotal personal example. I love my wife and kids dearly. I trust them, and feel no anxiety being around them. Yet it’s draining. Now they’re gone for a few days, and I feel very good being finally alone for a few days.

Likewise I enjoy getting together with friends and family. I’ve also learned to be sociable. But it’s draining. After a day of having to interact with people I really, really, really cherish being alone for a few hours with my own thoughts, and preferably silence.

We’re different like that, people in general, I mean.

0 comments

4 comments · 1 top-level

coffeebeqn2y ago· 3 in thread

You also adjust to a degree. With a family those longer moments can be as rare as a few times a year. I used to be alone for many hours or days almost daily when I was younger. But I’m doing fine. I really do enjoy the moments of solitude but I guess I don’t need them as much as I thought.

With this “draining” metaphor you’d think every introvert parent is a mere husk

jgiliasOP2y ago

Recognizing that something takes effort doesn’t necessarily imply that the activity is not enjoyable or worth pursuing.

I mean, I do see how someone might believe that just because one finds an activity draining they’d strive to avoid it at all costs. But that really doesn’t have to be the case.

squirtlebonflow2y ago

True. Pretty much everything worth doing is "draining"

bityard2y ago

Well, some of us are. :/

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse