The Science of Introverts: Explore the Personality Spectrum for Self-Discovery, Self-Awareness, & Self-Care. Design a Life That Fits

If you’re an introvert, you know that you are walking around with an increased sensitivity to social situations courtesy of your dopamine tolerance. Just don’t try to perform a pale imitation of an extrovert, because it’s not in your biology to derive happiness from those behaviors. While blindfolds and earplugs may help, they’re not always the most practical choice.

Introverts and extroverts are who they are because of these chemical differences. It goes beyond preferences and personality; it is literally programmed into our brains.

For introverts to be happy and thrive, they need to reduce the dopamine and increase the acetylcholine in their brains. This leads introverts to be selective about what they do and who they interact with, and eventually they retreat into solace.

Introverts, on the other hand, are much more sensitive to dopamine. They do not require as much attention or stimulation to receive the amount of dopamine needed to feel pleasure. Because introverts are highly sensitive to dopamine, they may crave more alone and quiet time. Their main task is to avoid being overwhelmed by an excess of dopamine, and thus they sequester themselves to do so.