Love Your Space? Use These Tips to Maintain Friendships as an Introvert

I love my space. I don’t always want to be around other people. My depression can make me antisocial, and my anxiety makes me wonder if people really want to be around me. I overthink about how much people annoy me.

Sound familiar?

Sometimes I want to go out. Sometimes I want to laugh, joke around, and make connections.

But when I value my own company over that, or just don’t have the energy, I have learned a few things:

Tip 1: Set Boundaries

I know one thing for sure, it can be hard to say no. I’ve been guilty of doing things that I didn’t really want to do because I didn’t know how to say no to things (or people).

As I’ve learned to be more assertive, I have come to see that it can be a beautiful thing. Setting boundaries can be empowering. I feel like I have taken back my power in that I can make my own choices about what or who I say yes to.

If I don’t feel like going to a party, or even being around people at all, I can simply say no!

Learning and trusting yourself to set (and honor) your boundaries can be hard, but it makes such a difference.

Tip 2: Communicate Your Needs

Unfortunately, people don’t always respect boundaries.

Sometimes I need to be more direct and communicate my needs. I believe that if someone truly cares for me, they will listen to what I say.

This could look like me saying, “I’m feeling really sad today and I’m just not up for hanging out,” or, “I’m taking some time for myself and I need you to respect that.”

Honesty really can be the best policy!

Tip 3: Check in With Yourself

Another thing I do is have check-ins with myself.

“Is today a day I need to listen to my instincts and be alone, or do I need to push myself?”

There have been countless situations where I was overcome with anxiety about going to a certain event, but I ended up going and having a great time. At the very least, I learned that pushing myself to do things I’m worried about can have positive outcomes.

On the other hand, sometimes I just need to take care of myself and give myself attention. And that’s okay. But it’s worth it to check in and see what is really going to be best for me that day.

Saying no, communicating, and listening to myself can be difficult. But the more I practice these skills, the more I’m able to perfect them. I know myself and my needs the best, and it’s up to me to make sure others understand that.

Coming out of my shell is hard. But this way, I get to decide how and when I do.

Related posts:

I originally posted this a year ago. I’m posting it here though because the Squarespace website experiment is coming to an end. The reason this is still worth keeping around or even reading now…

Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is a hormone produced by the small follicles in a woman’s ovaries. It is a useful indicator of a woman’s ovarian reserve, which is the number of eggs she has left. AMH…

As a business owner or entrepreneur, managing a business is always challenging, requires a lot of focus, planning and managing of various work aspects, you even don’t plan for. In such situations, as…