Fellow introverts, if you’re anything like me, then you’ve been actually enjoying a certain amount of the social distancing & freedom from in-person engagements for the past year & a half. So, it’s with a particular twinge of sadness that the burden of guilt may start to return as employers’ offices & public spaces begin to fill up once again with throngs of people. For me, I feel like part of me has become feral in my solitude & reduction of the pace of life. While work has remained productive for me, & of course video calls keep the faces of family, friends, & colleagues fresh in our minds, there’s the key challenge for introverts which has to do with energy levels and exchanges. Introverts with anxiety would feel that drain on energy all the more, as extroverts & ambiverts in extrovert mode derive their energy from social interactions with others.

Thus, the very idea of congregating in rooms with large groups of people in a cubicle format, where sound & spontaneous conversation can occur extemporaneously, can feel overwhelming.

Tied to the pervasive feeling of uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, the term cognitive load management has grown in popularity as a skill employers are increasingly starting to seek, as people have to successfully manage their feelings even when the line between their work & home identities & responsibilities becomes blurred. Workdays have seemed more fluid, & the internalization of stress & fear related to the “fight or flight” physical response can make things feel more taxing for those having to “be on” all the time. Introverts need alone time to recharge their batteries (so to say) or their bodies will physically become affected, leading to illness or shutting down altogether. For me, I must confess that I’ve enjoyed working from home & the tolerance extended for workers who need to take breaks or schedule focus time during the week on their calendars. And I’ve developed a range of activities that help me to recharge & show more self-care.

For example, as I’ve written about in other blog posts, I’ve used digital coloring apps on my smartphone, bundles of crossword puzzles from the New York Times, blogging here, building Harry Potter LEGO sets, practicing calligraphy, etc. The challenge of being in Utah is that I’m away from the farm I love & the perennial gardens that kept me occupied during many a stressful moment.

In July, my work will be transitioning to a more flexible schedule that promotes both in-person connection & engagement but also can offer employees the ability to work from home for a couple of days a week. People can opt in, but the expectation is that those working in offices on site would go back to those spaces at least part-time. I’m grateful for the option, as I do feel like I’ve grown feral during this pandemic. The best things to focus on will be more freedom to do things like go to the movie theater or aquarium without fear & extensive protective gear, & maybe life will actually start to feel normal again in terms of open movement & travel. It’s been so strange to have to worry about doing basic things we took for granted, like just going to the grocery store or pharmacy. I’m wondering, though, about how my anxiety might physically manifest during that period of reacclimating to a social component of my life. I mean, there’s a reason hermits & shut-ins become more & more reclusive the more they isolate.

So, I imagine you’ll be seeing regular blog posts about this transition, where we can connect with other introverts & share in the same feelings as we lean into change. I know I’ll have some big mindset adjustments to make, but I’m heartened that the pandemic has provided learnings about isolation, stress management, & the positive aspects of introversion that can be supported in a post-COVID world.