]Interesting article in WAPO today about introverts thriving in the pandemic, and this paragraph caught my eye:
Quote
There’s some brain science to explain the behavior: Extroverts are less sensitive to dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical that affects the brain’s pleasure center, and require more stimulation to be happy and energized. For introverts, a little dopamine goes a long way, and too much of anything can be exhausting.
My ex was an extrovert and a dopamine seeking adventurer. I had not connected the two. I wonder how many of our WASs were extroverts versus introverts?
]My ex was an extrovert and a dopamine seeking adventurer. I had not connected the two. I wonder how many of our WASs were extroverts versus introverts?
I always thought of my ex as an extrovert and me as an introvert. I test out as an INTJ or at least did consistently. And she was if I remember correctly ENFP - the so called perfect match. She loved being around people which working retail was an environment she thrived in.
In a social environment though I was the one talking to random people where she would stick to just a few. One thing that used to bother me a lot was how when for example we'd go away to a resort there would seem to be another couple or small group that she would immediately bond with and visa versa to the exclusion of everyone else around. She was also very secretive about herself and her personal life with others where I have no problem hanging my laundry out for all to see.
For giggles I just retook the test and came out as INFJ. I know on another "LBS" type forum a bunch of us shared our results and most of them had IN type personalities. It certainly makes some sense though given all that I've been through that I've perhaps become more understanding of others which I believe is one of the key differences between INTJ and INFJ
On BD H52, W50 T27, M26 S21, D23 BD-9-Mar-16 D-15-Jan-18 Final-19-Apr-18 I am a storyteller. The story may do you no good. But a story is never for the listener. It is always for the one who tells
Me 52, H53 Bomb drop 9/29/2014 Divorce from XH final 12/17/2014 Marriage #2 12/31/2019 5 adult (step)daughters (3 from XH's first marriage, 2 from current H's previous relationships) 6 grandkids
Introverts can be very sociable - but we have to recharge our batteries with some alone time. Extroverts recharge by being with people and find it draining to be alone.
Learned some sad news today about someone I know. A guy my age, married to a lovely and successful woman, with a beautiful young teen daughter. He’s in the hospital recovering from surgery to remove a spinal tumor from his c-spine.
But that’s not the bad news. The bad news is his marriage recently blew up because he was cheating on his wife. (I don’t have the details, but secondhand , sounds like it might not be typical MLC and more sex addiction stuff ). He’s apparently super remorseful but wife has already filed papers. So there he is in the ICU, without the love and support of his family because he stupidly blew it up.
He’s a fascinating guy, who has had several interesting careers. But I imagine he could also be a lot of work. And I can picture his wife thinking “wait! I put all that energy into you and you did this??? Nope!”
She co-owns a very successful business so she’s fine financially without him. I don’t know her as well, but from what I know, he might have a very tough time convincing her to give him another chance.
He really had it all - beautiful family, lovely home, successful third career in the arts. Such a shame.
I've never cheated, and fully support his wife moving on to better prospects, but it's hard not to feel bad for him in this situation--it's amazing how skilled we humans are at shooting ourselves in the foot.
I'm apparently an ENFP. I'm certain I was not ENFP a few years ago. There may be truth to the LBS experience changing our personality in profound ways, switching our "T" to an "F".
So, another vindication today. My patient with the rare autoimmune neurological disease finally got his CT scan results back today. (Should have been done last summer, really). It does show an enlarged thymus (the thymus gland, in your chest, usually shrinks in adulthood, but in people with this syndrome, it remains enlarged or can occasionally have a tumor).
This is good news because it's another piece of suspicious evidence for his diagnosis. Doesn't absolutely confirm but fits with his syndrome. Treatment often includes removing the thymus and this abnormal scan gives us more leverage to argue for having it removed in his case. (It's not a cure but usually improves the disease and is best done within the first five years of symptoms - hence the importance of them delaying this test.)
Now the somewhat reasonable neurologist at his HMO is referring him to a different neuromuscular specialist within their system who will hopefully be able to recognize that this is a textbook case and start some more intensive treatment.
