The extended time at home over the last year has taken its toll on every member of every family in unique ways. We all have our own personal challenges on a good day. During these times, they've sometimes felt like they're too much to bear.
If you're a mom, chances are you're worrying not only about your own circumstances but those of your whole family. Yet we're starting to feel the tiny stirrings of hope. Vaccinations are starting to get out there, which brings us close enough to the normalcy we once knew that people feel safe dreaming.
There's a lot of big dreaming happening. People want to go out to eat. They want to travel. They want to appreciate culture, enjoy the outdoors, and let out a collective sigh of relief.
My sigh will come from the comfort of my couch … or maybe my backyard, but more likely my bed. See, I'll still be enjoying being home when everyone goes back out into the world. As an introvert, this has been a unique challenge for me. Someone is always around now, and I never realized how tiring that can be. Yet the experience hasn't made me want to be any more outgoing or open. It just makes me excited for the days of peace on the horizon, while everyone else is out "having fun."
Being home with my family for the past few months has been a lot. I have no shame in admitting it's been overwhelming, and at this point I don't think a whole lot of people feel differently. It's a lot of time together, and a lot of stress. Yet it wasn't a huge shift from my life before March 2020.
As someone who already worked from home, I had a routine that was working for me. Having my significant other working from home with me wasn't even too much of a shake-up, as we'd done it before. I was one of those people that memes about introverts crushing this thing were written about, in essence.
I've got a word on behalf of all the introverts out there. This is not thriving. Although some introverts may be crushing it right now, it's not how the general population feels, and certainly not how I do. One soon-to-be-doctor saw this trend in thinking and decided to conduct a study on it.
"This wave of content points to a common belief among the general public that introverts are faring better than extraverts," Maryann Wei, a PhD student at the University of Wollongong, explained in her study.
"However, the assumption seems counterintuitive in light of several previously documented characteristics of introverts, such as the tendency to experience emotions more intensely. I wanted to empirically test the claim that introverts are faring better than their extraverted counterparts."
"The introversion/extraversion dichotomy is more complex than typically given credit for. Introverts may be less vocal on lockdown measures not necessarily by virtue of enjoying distance apart from other people, but by virtue of the tendency to withdraw when experiencing mental health issues," Maryann explained.
The introvert's attuned sense of empathy makes it so that they understand that other people are not thriving in this situation. Not only does that make it harder on us to thrive, but we're also battling our instincts to shove our mental health and well-being aside to focus on everyone else. Without time alone to recharge, it feels like your brain is constantly in an out-of-control spiral.
To be honest, I'm a little nervous for when things "go back to normal." Not only am I going to be constantly worrying about my family going about their day-to-day business, but I'm also going to worry about any number of the crazy things they'll undoubtedly want to do to celebrate.
But I'm also looking forward to having my house back to myself. Well, not exactly myself. There's still my very vocal dog and my myriad of plant children to tend to. Still, I'll have moments for peace and to regroup and recharge that are very much lacking these days.
If you don't see me post-vaccine when everyone else is out having fun, don't stress. I haven't let fear get the best of me. I'm just having my own fun, whether it's painting or writing or napping or doing nothing at all. In my space in my place, that option should always be there.
Before you know it, I and all the other introverts out there will have had enough time to recover that we can occasionally join you out there. But just saying, it wouldn't kill you to pop by our side of things every once in a while. It's pretty chill here.
