Top 10 Introvert Myths
Last updated on May 6, 2013 at 12:00 am EDT by in5d Alternative News
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by
Carl King
I wrote this list in late-2008. Around that time, I was lucky enough to discover a book called,
The Introvert Advantage (How To Thrive in an Extrovert World),
by Marti Laney, Psy.D. It felt like someone had written an encyclopedia
entry on a rare race of people to which I belong. Not only had it
explained many of my eccentricities, it helped me to redefine my entire
life in a new and productive context.
Sure, anyone who knows me would say, “Duh! Why did it
take you so long to realize you’re an Introvert?” It’s not that simple.
The problem is that labeling someone as an Introvert is a very shallow
assessment, full of common misconceptions. It’s more complex than that.
A section of Laney’s book (page 71 through page 75) maps
out the human brain and explains how neuro-transmitters follow different
dominant paths in the nervous systems of Introverts and Extroverts. If
the science behind the book is correct, it turns out that
Introverts are people who are over-sensitive
to Dopamine, so too much external stimulation overdoses and exhausts
them. Conversely, Extroverts can’t get enough Dopamine, and they require
Adrenaline for their brains to create it. Extroverts also have
a shorter pathway and less blood-flow to the brain. The messages of an
Extrovert’s nervous system mostly bypass the Broca’s area in the frontal
lobe, which is where a large portion of contemplation takes place.
