I guess I’ll be the person who points out that OP is describing social anxiety rather than introversion.
Im guessing social anxiety is more common than people realize.
I was prescribed Profanalol for public speaking anxiety and I have to say it works wonders
When I graduated from college I thought this would stop happening, because no more "first day of classes", right??
Wrong.
It is less often but....man it happens way too much. Ugh.
Double social energy costs if the group leader poses a "fun" get to know you question for everyone to answer that isn't based on preference (e.g., "what's your favorite cookie?). One of my supervisors would ask stuff like, "what's a fact about you that we wouldn't expect?"
...
Jesus fuck Jeremy it's 8:05 in the morning and I have to remember which persona each and every person on this call interacts with and then tell them something new about me that subverts the expectations I don't know they have? Are you a goddamn sadist?
Extroverts, man...
"Everyone find a partner"
Can I die instead?
This is the worst one
I... hate... forced... introductions...
I tense up, freak out, and my heart pounds as I wait for my name to be called during intro calls with vendors and other projects. Idk why but public speaking in general has always been a huge fear of mine, and talking about myself raises it even higher.
I find that public introduction where you only give your name is fine. You don't have to guess which info about you is important and not weird to share and at the same time, it is the occasion to finally learn the names of people you didn't remember and are too afraid to ask.
WEll the old joke about more people are afriad of public speaking then death as truth to it
Honestly the past few months of daily "possum memes" on here has me convinced that North American opossums are my spirit animal.
I would like to read the following prepared statement...
My new spirit animal
I swear if God exists, he meant for opossums to be pets. They can eat just about anything a human can and then some (though I've heard they have some specific dietary needs if you keep one as a pet), they can't get rabies, they're very docile and rarely bite, they readily adapt to urban environments, and they're very expressive.
The only catches are that A) I've heard pet opossums do have some specific dietary needs, B) their lifespan is like spinning a roulette wheel (sometimes they only live 2-3yrs, sometimes they live 10+, evolution selected for breeding over lifespan), C) they're nocturnal. However "A" could be fixed with opossum-specific pet food, and "B" and "C" could probably be "fixed" with several generations of selective breeding.
I want a pet opossum. :c
Pet food would need to be very specific. They need certain foods on a balanced schedule or they get very fat, very quickly. It's mainly a blend of greenery, dog food(Purina Complete Puppy Chow is our go-to), fruits, crushed egg shells, raw egg, and additional proteins are added 3 times a week. That's just for adults, younger need their own diets, usually with supplemental goats milk until at a certain weight.
This diet is also to combat Metabolic Bone Disorder, or MBD. MBD causes twisting in the limbs, which is crippling on its own, but it also shortens their lifespan. Once MBD starts, there is no cure. You can only increase calcium intake to try and stop it from worsening too quickly, but nothing stops it completely. If you ever see an Opie with a gnarled limb, there's a decent chance they're suffering from MBD.
They're MAINLY nocturnal, but they require sunlight on the daily basis. It helps them as much as it can us, but you have to be careful, as their paws, ears, and tails will sunburn.
They can be highly affectionate, but even our unreleasables that came as Joey's will happily remind you they're animals. Might not break the skin, but those bites can really catch you off guard.
They stink. Literally. They use the bathroom in water(preferably running, but a wet litter box works). It smells awful. There's no getting used to it. You're going to have to dump it daily, and you will watch an opossum eat it's own turd. They carry leftover nutrition, so this is a natural thing, but still. It's a lot less cute with a handful of wet shit being shoveled in its mouth.
I love the little buggers, they are absolutely awesome, beautiful creatures, but they are a lot of work to keep in the best health. I'm not completely against them as pets as a possibility, but I think it's one people need to be heavily educated on before adopting. Look at how rodents are already treated. I can only imagine opossums would be in even worse condition with people already going "Yeah, they're nature's trash compactors! Eat anything!"
"All right gang, let's start with two truths and a lie..."
I like you guys, I want to be here, I'm having fun.
Fuck I forgot the truths.
