What Extrovert Depression looks like (7 obvious signs)
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In this guide, we will discuss what extrovert depression looks like, its signs and symptoms.
Most of the information about depression available to us is focused on depression. Its signs and symptoms as experienced by an introvert. But extrovert depression is very different from introvert depression. The signs might look similar but their effect on the person’s mind is not. The turmoil that goes on inside the head of an extrovert during depression is different than that of an introvert.
Extrovert Depression: What it looks like
Some of the sign and symptoms of extrovert depression are as follows:
- You like being around other people but can’t anymore
- You like being the center of attention but now sit in the corner
- Instead of being high on energy, you feel low
- From being expressive about your feelings to shut yourself out
- You seek feedback but depression causes misunderstanding
- You used to act first think later, now catch yourself overthinking
- All your interests, do not provide you with happiness
- You feel alone but can not find anyone to talk to
Here is what extrovert depression looks like:
You like being around other people but can’t anymore
As an extrovert, you have been the kind of person who loves being around other people, who loves the company of other people, and wishes to spend more and more time with them. Be it going to parties or just out with your friends, you want to be in the presence of other people and drive happiness from being a part of a crowd. But lately due to depression, you do not wish to engage with other people. You catch yourself wanting to go out and be with your friends but end up sitting at home alone. It is not a feeling or situation you feel comfortable or happy in.
Extrovert depression makes you sit at home when you wanted to be out there with your friends and family. Even on days when you can get yourself to leave the house, you end up not enjoying yourself as much as you did before, and the company of other people around you does not make you as happy as before.
You like being the center of attention but now sit in the corner
As an extrovert, you like being the center of attention and being the focus of the party. You enjoy the limelight, unlike your peers or friends who feel shy or nervous when put in the same spot. You liked being a part of the conversation to be able to put worth your opinions and thoughts. You like holding conversations and discussing back and forth with people about different topics. But due to depression, you no longer feel like being the center of attention. In case you do become one, you want it to last only for a little while and then move into a corner.
Extrovert depression makes you not want to sit in a corner and be a silent presence during discussions and conversations. This is unlike you and people have noticed and talked to you about it too. You feel like talking but engage in continuous conversations and putting forth your ideas is just exhausting now. It requires too much energy, which you no longer have.
Instead of being high on energy, you feel low
As an extrovert, you were known as the one who was always full of energy and on the move. You never seem to run out of gas and were ready for the next task immediately after finishing the last one. You were the life of the party and there wasn’t a dull moment when you were around. But it is not the same anymore, you feel very low on energy, and completing even the simplest of the tasks feel like a burden now.
Extrovert depression makes you feel like you have been drained out of energy all the time and nothing you do can recharge you. You do not have the power to complete your work, engage in conversations with others, or even to just step out of the house. You feel tired even after having an 8-hour sleep and a proper diet. Bring yourself to do activities that you used to love before is just too problematic and tough for you now.
From being expressive about your feelings to shut yourself out
As an extrovert, you like to share your thoughts and feelings with others. You are referred to as the open book among your friend circle and family. You speak out what you are thinking and do not hold back your opinions, you give compliments without any filters and provide your inputs confidently when required. But lately, you have been keeping your thoughts to yourself. You tend to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself because you do not want to burden your family and friends.
Extrovert depression leads you to be closed and to shut yourself out from others. You do not want to trouble others with your problems which is making you keep your thoughts to yourself. You do not want to share cause you do not want them to worry, but now it has extended to all your thoughts and opinions. You no longer like to express your views on any topic, making you even less expressive in social settings.
You seek feedback but depression causes misunderstanding
Contrary to popular belief as an extrovert, you do seek out feedback from other people about how engaging and interesting you are. To assess your stand and understand people’s opinions about yourself you seek verbal and non-verbal feedback from other people. You note their reaction to your presence, your thoughts and opinions, and how you conduct yourself in public. But depression causes misunderstanding while interpreting these feedback cues.
Extrovert depression is trying to understand if the other person likes you or not and irrespective of their feedback, thinking that they do not like you. You are constantly looking at signs that confirm your belief that no one likes you or wants you in their life. You are in a constant state of fear that you are unliked by others, a feeling that was not there before. This feeling makes you very conscious of yourself and makes you even less likely to put yourself out there.
You used to act first think later, now catch yourself overthinking
As an extrovert, you are known to be spontaneous and quick to act. You like going with the flow and change with the tide. You like to act first and then ponder upon your actions. You like to start and finish tasks as quickly as they come rather than spend half of the time planning and conceptualizing them. But because of depression, you find yourself thinking more and doing less.
Extrovert depression leads you to rather than being productive and quick, overthink, and postpone every decision. You have started to doubt every move of yours and that has lead you to not feel like jumping into action as you did before. You feel like you are wasting time thinking about when you used to get onto working and handling the problems as and when they came.
All your interests, do not provide you with happiness
You used to have a wide range of fun and pleasure activities and interests that you regularly indulged yourself in. Be it group activities or alone activities, you used to be busy with one or the other. Your interests were plenty and you wanted to be a part of everything. These included outdoor activities like meeting friends, trying new restaurants, or going for hikes, indoor activities like cooking, drawing, or even singing. But due to depression none of the activities now provided you with the level of pleasure you earlier felt.
Extrovert depression makes you not find the activities and interests that once bought you joy to bring happiness to you. You do not feel like engaging in them and you find yourself just sitting at home now doing nothing. You do not find the energy you did before to take part in these activities now.
You feel alone but can not find anyone to talk to
As an extrovert, you were always the talkative one who loved to share their life, thought, and opinions with others. But lately, you feel like even though you have a lot of friends you can not share your feelings with anyone. You feel alone and isolated from the rest of the world. Trapped inside your room, with no escape.
Extrovert depression cuts us off from our support system which included our family, and close friends. We feel alone and like we can not reach out to anyone for help or just talk about the turmoil inside our heads. We do not want our family or friends to worry about us and therefore do not share.
In this guide, we discussed what extrovert depression looks like, its signs and symptoms.
FAQs: What extrovert depression looks like
How do extroverts feel when alone?
Extroverts feel alone when they have to spend a lot of time on their own without any human interaction for a long time. They begin to experience feelings of restlessness, inactive, uninspired and lonely. If given a choice extroverts would prefer to spend time with other people instead of spending time alone.
What type of person is an extrovert?
An extrovert is a person who enjoys the company of other people, they feel energised and happy to be with others. Because of this they enjoy group work and communicating their thoughts and feelings with others. They feel lonely and low when they have to spend a lot of time alone.
What happens when extroverts are alone for too long?
When extroverts are left alone for too long they feel lonely, isolated from the world, and sad. They feel unenergetic, lethargic, and sad. They get energised by interacting with other human being and therefore constantly seek the comfort and company of other individuals as compared to staying alone for too long.
Is Introversion a mental disorder?
No, introversion is not a mental disorder. Introversion is a personality type, which is characterized by traits in an individual specific to their personality and interaction level with other human beings. Indvudlas who are introverts tends to prefer the company of themselves rather than interacting with others. They like their “me time” and lead a happy life enjoying the company of themselves and occasionally interacting with close loved ones.
How do introverts behave?
Introverts behave in a very reserved, quiet, and shy manner in front of other individuals especially strangers. They do not seek out special attention during social meetings and are the quiet ones at any party. They prefer to listen to and understand other people’s points of view rather than being interested in expressing only their own thoughts and feelings.
References
https://medium.com/crystal-clear/reconciling-depression-with-extroversion-2b16d5b9270f
https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-you-are-an-extrovert-2795426
What It’s Like To Be An Extrovert With Depression
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