What if I told you that introverts have a different kind of hangover after parties? Besides, the symptoms show right at a social event, not the day after as it usually happens.
I’m talking about the introvert hangover. Have you ever felt dull and empty after spending some time with other people? To the point that you have no energy left for talking and even keeping up with the discussion?
It’s when everything and everyone around you gets on your nerves while you keep thinking about leaving the gathering and returning to the comfort and peacefulness of your home.
When you feel this way, it means that your social battery is drained and you can’t handle more socializing. You have no more energy resources to even be around other people.
What Is an Introvert Hangover? The Definition
It is a state of mental, emotional, and sometimes also physical exhaustion caused by too much socializing. In other words, it’s how you feel when your social battery runs out.
It happens because introverts give their energy away during social interaction, unlike extroverts who recharge their batteries by intermingling with others.
So, how do you know that you are experiencing an introvert hangover? Read through the signs below.
11 Introvert Hangover Symptoms That Show Your Social Battery Is Drained
1. Feeling down, bored, and empty
In the beginning, it was all fine. You joined in on discussions, laughed, and had fun. Then, at some point, you suddenly realized that all conversations got dull, jokes got dumb, and the nice vibe of the get-together was gone.
The less connected you feel to those around you, the sooner this moment comes. You begin to feel bored, sad, and even empty like you have nothing left inside to offer to this gathering or share with other people.
Most likely, the vibe and the quality of communication didn’t change – you just gave all your energy away and your social battery ran dry.
2. Feeling tired and sleepy
At some point, you start to feel tired – mentally, emotionally, and even physically. This symptom usually sets in when a social event has lasted for long enough, a few hours or so.
If it’s a night event, then you may fall into unbearable sleepiness. You do your best to keep your eyes open and resist the urge to yawn. You start thinking about your nice comfy bed and regret not being there.
An introvert hangover may sometimes have physical symptoms too. Your body feels tense from sitting for hours (alternatively, your legs ache from standing up).
You may even experience lightheadedness or a headache, especially if the surrounding environment is too overwhelming or busy. Crowded and noisy places drain introverts’ social batteries in no time.
3. Finding it difficult to keep up with the thread of the conversation
One of the most telling introvert hangover symptoms is the difficulty of maintaining conversations. Not only do you feel endlessly lazy to talk, but you also struggle to keep up with the thread of the discussion.
You begin to slip into your inner world and disconnect from the surrounding environment. You see other people talking, but you don’t hear what they are saying. Their chatter sounds like background music that you pay no attention to.
Then, suddenly, someone asks you a question, and you are totally lost. It turns out that you have no idea about what is being discussed, even though you’ve been here all along.
4. Spacing out
This is when you stay more focused on the realm of your thoughts than the real world. You are pondering over your new task at work, analyzing your past decisions, dreaming about imaginary things, or thinking about trivial matters.
In other words, you are focused on anything else but the conversation with the people around you.
Sometimes your mind goes blank like you space out completely. Your brain is on autopilot, and you feel like being in an inert, absent state. Though you are physically present, your thoughts are somewhere far away.
5. Intense desire to withdraw
When your social battery runs out, you feel an irresistible urge to withdraw. You are so tired of the very presence of other people that you just need to be by yourself for at least a few minutes.
The less you enjoy the company of those around you, the sooner you feel an intense need to remove yourself from this setting and stay alone.
Besides, certain types of people can drain an introvert’s social battery faster. For example, if you have to deal with chatty or nosy individuals, you soon realize that their presence alone is so exhausting that you’d rather run away and be by yourself.
You are thinking about leaving early, despite the promise given to your friend/mother/special someone. And yes, as always, you end up regretting not staying at home.
6. Irritation
Overall irritation is another key symptom of an introvert hangover. First of all, you may feel annoyed by the setting itself.
Why is this music so loud? Why is this lighting so bright? I wish they had more comfy chairs. These are impossible, I’m gonna wake up with a backache tomorrow!
And of course, at this stage of an introvert hangover, you also pick up on other people’s irritating behaviors.
Maybe it’s someone’s idiotic laughter. Or someone’s conversational narcissism, where they constantly interrupt others and don’t let them talk. It may also be someone’s voice and manner of speaking.
When your social battery runs out, you feel annoyed by everyone and everything. This is another way your brain signals that it’s time to withdraw. There is no more available energy for socializing and even being around other people.
7. Feeling alienated from others
This introvert hangover symptom typically sets in when you don’t enjoy the company of those around you. It can happen at large gatherings where there are many people you don’t know. Or in a group of people you don’t feel connected to.
Whether you took part in some conversations in the beginning or stayed quiet all the time, you end up playing a role of an outsider who is cut off from the rest of the group.
This is how it feels – as if you are left out of all the fun and communication those around you share. You are physically present, but the vibe of joy and connection is passing you by. Everyone else seems to enjoy themselves, but you are excluded from this fun for some unexplainable reason.
Wrong company is what instantly drains an introvert’s battery and leaves them feeling lonely despite being surrounded by other people.
8. Struggling with being emotionally involved in the interaction
You know your social battery is drained when you have absolutely no energy for talking but also being emotionally engaged in the interaction with others.
What does it mean? I’m talking about responding to other people’s emotions, for example, laughing at someone’s jokes or smiling when a person tells a lovely story.
Expressing an adequate emotional response to others’ words and actions requires energy too. So, at this point of an introvert hangover, you are unable to laugh/smile/get happy/get sad when everyone else in the group does.
Therefore, you find yourself cut off from others on an emotional level too.
9. Zero desire to talk
Yes, introverts are used to keeping quiet during group activities and loud discussions. But at the same time, if an interesting topic pops up and we have something to add, we love to share our thoughts with others.
Still, when your social battery runs out, you have zero desire to talk, even when the conversation is exciting. Though you may have an opinion to share, you feel like even opening your mouth is a draining task, so you just keep quiet.
The same happens if someone asks you a question. You will probably give a one-word answer and hope that the conversation shifts on to someone else.
And, of course, you have absolutely no energy for maintaining polite conversations and answering small topic questions.
This is tedious enough even when your social battery is full, so imagine what happens when it runs dry. You have zero desire to communicate, especially on pointless topics.
10. Mental exhaustion
After hours of socializing, you may realize that your brain is “under-functioning”. Except for the zoning out that we discussed above, you may also feel like your brain struggles to process information and make decisions.
For example, your concentration may suffer, resulting in the fact that you misunderstand other people’s words or questions. It’s a sort of temporary brain fog that clouds your cognitive abilities.
You may also struggle to make the most trivial decisions, such as where to sit or what cocktail to drink.
It’s another consequence of your battery running out, which results in the fact that your brain has no more resources available for executing the simplest tasks.
11. Feeling uncomfortable and anxious
The overall feeling of being uncomfortable is haunting you when your social battery is drained. Sometimes, you can’t even put your finger on the thing or person that is making you feel this way.
But it may also happen that you know exactly what or who is causing you discomfort.
For example, you may suddenly realize how small the room is and how many people there are in such a tiny space. You may notice how loud the music is and how uncomfortable your chair is. It could also be someone’s intrusive personal questions that make you want to hide away.
If you are prone to anxiety, it may show too during an introvert hangover. And here you are, feeling nervous, with your palms sweating, and your heart increasing its rate for an unknown reason.
In reality, there is a reason and it is your drained social battery. You have no more energy left for socializing and what you feel is your body and brain trying to let you know about it.
So, what to do if you experience introvert hangover symptoms? How to restore your energy resources after a busy social gathering? Check out this guide to learn how to recharge your social battery.
