If you have ever seen me give a presentation or at a social event, you may think I am naturally a social person. You may think I'm an extrovert who thrives off of talking to people and being a social creature.
It's only one small part of me.
Over the past several weeks, I've had the pleasure of really going back to my silent mode. When I lived alone, I would go days without speaking to another human being. Alone in my home, I don't really have a need to talk. This month, I've sometimes gotten out of work Wednesday evening and not spoken a word until Sunday mid-morning.
I still communicate with people, but it's like this. It's all through technology and not spoken.
I enjoy being able to communicate through written language at times because my reaction time can be slowed down if I'm tired or not feeling well. This reaction time delay can cause a big of a 'lag' on my end of a verbal conversation. For those who have seen it in person, I'm told it is not always noticeable but I may appear as 'spacey' at times. It's hard to explain it in person when it's happening, especially since I'm not particularly eloquent at the time.
My social batteries need to be recharged for about twice the amount of time they are used, if not more. So a solid weekend of being social at an event will take me at least 4 days to fully recover. Now when I recover, I don't need to be alone. I am perfectly fine being around other people as long as there is not a social expectation. Some people consider it 'rude' to not engage in conversation if you are in the same space. For me, communication is not just verbal.
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