Are You an Ambivert?

Have you ever felt that you are both extroverted and introverted? You enjoy hanging out with friends, but also somehow like a bit of time to yourself? Do you find yourself being the first one to introduce yourself to others some days, when other times you wait for them to approach you? Well that is really weird, and you can likely feel how strange it is. You’re constantly caught between two modes of being, endlessly searching for your own social identity. These abnormal scenarios can leave you confused and unsettled. Luckily, scientists have figured out a new way to categorize personality that you may just fall under.

The green Power Ranger, who is an ambivert probably.

An ambivert is someone who has both introverted and extroverted characteristics. What? You need to hear that again? An ambivert is someone who has both introverted and extroverted characteristics. That’s right! Now whenever you are plagued with deciding if you should go to the bar with your friends or stay home and watch a movie by yourself, you can directly blame it on your condition. As most sufferers of chronic conditions will reveal, there’s some empowerment to identifying and labeling the problem. Since discovering I was affected by ambiversion, I have felt way more comfortable with the choices I make involving other people. My friends understand when I would rather stay at home alone and glue collected hair onto my lookalike mannequin molds of them instead of hanging out with them in person. I now also know that walking up and talking to the families waiting in their cars at the drive-thru line is just my friendly extrovert side. The ambivert label on my personality has helped translate my thoughts directly into action without even having to consider the consequences.

Now before you jump to conclusions of your status as an ambivert, there are some necessary conditions. Firstly, you need to be sure that you are sometimes alone. Part of being an ambivert means that you find yourself alone; about half of the time you are alive. Similarly, ambiverts find themselves hanging around other people now and again. It is important that you interact with other human beings, pretty frequently, in order to be classified as an ambivert. As long as these two qualifications are met you can consider yourself one of the few, the proud, the ambiverts! It is a community of passion, and we’re happy to have you.

If you’re ever feeling particularly ambiverted (or “ambi’d” as we call it), just know you’re not alone. Though the condition is rare, there are other ambiverts out there who also occasionally dabble in both socializing and personal reflection. They know exactly the kind of tension that you’re going through. Just remember if you ever start to stress out or panic about it, try talking to someone about how you’re feeling. Or, you know, don’t.