The Introvert Diaries #6
In which we poke our mental health and listen closely
We began our introvert journey in the brain, tackled the extrovert ideal, went to school, (haven’t) found ourselves a date, and got a job. Time for a burnout, I think.
Retreat!
The greatest risk factor for occupational burnout is work-related stress. Captain obvious here, I know. Whether you’re more extroverted or introverted, when your job starts to take more from you than it gives, the burnout fuse is lit. The fuse, however, might burn a bit faster in those of us who lean toward introversion. While this, of course, depends on the population, job, and diagnostic criteria, this study in nurses (a very stressful job) found that, among other factors, ‘unstable introverts’ are more prone to occupational burnout. (Unstable introversion means people who score high on both introversion and neuroticism. *waves hello*)
Nursing is a busy occupation where you’re among people all the time, so that might (will?) play a role. What also contributes is that introverts are more sensitive to the work-life balance, especially when it’s out of whack. Or:
…introverts selectively withdraw from the work domain to conserve resources when privacy at home is threatened.
Aka, the right to disconnect from the job inbox is crucial.
But let’s leave work behind. Life is so much more than that, after all. If we take our jobs out of the equation, are introverts still more likely to struggle with their mental health? As you can imagine, this is a very fraught question. Mental health is far more complex than merely one personality trait. There are so many moving pieces that any statement has to be tentative at best.
I’m not going to dive into all the different possible mental health diagnoses. I’m sticking with depression (write what you know, haha…). Again, population, diagnostic criteria, and so on will influence the magnitude of the effect, but in general, we see that introversion appears to be overrepresented in patients with depression. (However, as with burnout, it’s especially the combination with neuroticism that ups the risk.) To make matters worse, introverts who are dealing with depression are more likely to progress to suicidal ideation.
Is there something intrinsic about introversion that leads to this penchant for depression, though? Are there brain circuits that go boink more easily in introverts? Does spending more time in your head lead to greater odds of stumbling into a vicious cycle of negative thought patterns? Perhaps. After all, we are social creatures. If your introversion prevents you from building social networks, that might explain a thing or two.
There is a big but. (I can’t lie; I like those.) All traits are a mix of nature and nurture. Introverts can build large social networks, or they can opt for smaller ones with more depth. Both would provide those social connections that bolster our mental health. The issue then becomes nurture. If you are raised/living in a (sub)culture that values extrovert behaviors (as most of them do), simply being you - as an introvert - can take its toll on your self-esteem. For introverts, as we’ve seen when discussing the extrovert ideal, authenticity can be especially costly.
Important notes:
Remember that personality is not destiny. Nor is it fully static. It’s a constellation of traits that can - to an extent - slide along a spectrum.
Some of the studies linked above use the Myers-Briggs type indicator. Most of us know this four-letter combination (what’s yours if you’re willing to share?). However, it’s not unanimously accepted in psychology. The Big Five or Hexaco model seem to have more solid scientific backing. Regardless, extroversion-introversion is a trait in all of these. So being a Myers-Briggs ‘I’ very likely also makes you one in one of these other models.
Why so sensitive?
Another potential contributor to the link between high levels of introversion and an increased risk for a few mental health conditions might be the idea that introverts are more ‘sensitive’. When we poked around the introvert brain in diary entry #1, we saw that introvert brains deal with dopamine in their own way. The short version: introverts seem to have a lower dopamine receptor availability, which suggests they have a lower threshold before being overwhelmed by ‘extrovert’ things.
In diary entry #3, we encountered something similar when we discussed so-called orchid children. Of course, this is a metaphor this simplifies a complex reality, but still, we concluded that some people are more sensitive to environmental stimuli than others.
All this sensitive talk naturally leads us to sensory processing sensitivity, which has been popularized with the terms ‘hypersensitivity’, or ‘being a highly sensitive person (HSP)’. I recently tweeted about my experience:
There are some nuances to keep in mind about ‘high sensitivity’. You can’t be ‘diagnosed’ with it (here’s a self-test if you’re curious). It is merely the observation that, like most human traits, sensory sensitivity follows a Bell curve. Most people hover around the average, but there are always outliers. In this case, the outliers are people whose nervous system, subjective emotional experience, and cognitive processes respond more intensely to certain stimuli. Altogether, these outliers represent 20% of the population (and there do seem to be some brain activity correlates).
Is it the case, though, that introverts are more sensitive in this - here it comes - sense? There is some overlap between introversion and high sensitivity, but it’s far from a full eclipse. Extroverts can be HSPs, but among the group of HSPs, introverts seem to make up around 70%. (The numbers, the 20%, the 70%, those are all very rough estimates that get parroted often. Keep in mind that they’re best guesses more than anything.) High sensitivity aligns very well with the orchid children we met earlier. HSPs who face negative experiences have a higher risk for mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, poor stress management, difficulties in emotion regulation, and panic disorder. On the other hand, when supported by positive experiences, HSPs tend to display high levels of creativity, discern ‘higher level structures’ (aka think stuff through), and are capable of feeling profound awe.
Introversion, HSP, mental health… It’s a story with several plotlines, characters, and moving parts. Above all, context matters regardless of where you land on the personality or sensitive spectrum.
Nurture your nature.
Right now, Thinking Ahead is a labor of curiosity. Still, a few people have asked me if they can support my independent writing beyond the usual ‘tell your friends and help me take over the world.’ You know who you are; I’m still blushing. While I struggle with recognizing my value (even the word makes me feel uncomfortable), I have set up a Paypal tip jar - I’m not nearly at the point where I’d consider paid subscriptions.
That one struck me like a good sermon. I feel more equipped to take on the coming week. Thank you, Gunnar.