"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. " Helen Keller

Introverts can be easily overwhelmed with too much stimuli and will often deny themselves opportunities to experience new and exciting things for this very reason. While that might seem like the prudent thing to do…conserve energy…it can actually lead to a severe energy drain caused by under-stimulation.  As humans, we need a certain amount of excitement in our lives in order to stay involved and connected with our world. Without this excitement we begin to shut down and withdraw…which can become a serious pathway to depression.

As a very sensitive introvert, I effectively shut down for years. I craved exciting adventures but didn’t know how to manage them for my self. So like Helen Keller’s quote above, my life seemed ‘nothing at all’. Once I realized the complete prison I held myself in, I was able to begin breaking the chains of my shackles and begin living….really living.

Recharging and withdrawing are two different things, yet to the introvert they are closely linked by a fine line. In learning how to manage stimulus, the first step is to understand your unique needs. Chart your patterns of activity-to-energy ratios.  Discover what gives you positive stimulus and negative stimulus. As an introvert, all stimuli will drain you, but experiencing positive excitement will help keep you connected without causing further tendency to withdraw, only to recharge.

The next step is to choose the correct stimulus (excitement/adventure), because it must fit with, not only your innate personality needs, but where you are in your personal journey as well. If your daily life is filled with a lot of stressors, then a little excitement stimulus goes a long way...learn to keep your balance. Yes, you can even learn to manage extreme excitement with a lot of planning and fore thought. So add your stimulus carefully, and well…not too much, not too little, but, as Goldie Locks says: “Just right!”