c/personality·Posted by u/marcus_quinn·1h ago

How do I tell introversion from the exhaustion of pretending I'm outgoing?

There's a Tuesday-morning version of me that I don't like. After the office happy hour at the place with the sticky menus, I sit at my desk the next day like I ran a race. I laughed at three jokes I didn't find funny. I asked people about their weekends in a voice that was a little too bright. Nobody would call me shy in that room. At home I can go a whole evening with a book and not feel lonely. That's the part that makes me wonder if I'm introverted, or if I just spend so much energy putting on a louder face that the quiet is the bill coming due. Coworkers say I'm great with clients. I am, for ninety minutes. Then I need the elevator ride to stop talking. I don't hate people. I hate the performance of being easy in a crowd. How do you tell those two apart in yourself? And if it's the performance, do you just... do less of it?

Peer discussion on askDr.app. Not therapy and not a substitute for professional care.