原来这才是内向
说到内向这个词，听者脑海里可能会浮现起一个安静而孤独的形象，他们宁愿花大部分时间独自一人，也不想进入社交场合。
But being an introvert isn't really anything to do with how much you like spending time with other people. In fact, introverts can have some of the deepest and most meaningful friendships.
但是，内向和喜欢独处并不相关。事实上，有时候内向者能够收获最深刻和最有意义的友谊。
The difference between introverts and extroverts is actually biological, and it comes down to how they unwind after social situations.
内向者和外向者之间的差异实际上是生物性的，体现在经过社交情景之后，他们如何放松自己的身心。
Doctor of psychology Perpetua Neo told Business Insider that in terms of their brain chemistry, introverts have a lower threshold of dopamine sensitivity than extroverts (dopamine is a chemical associated with reward because it makes us feel good).
心理学博士Perpetua Neo指出，就他们的脑内化学过程而言，内向者的多巴胺敏感性阈值低于外向型(多巴胺是一种与奖励相关的化学物质，它使我们自我感觉良好)。
Essentially, the lower your dopamine threshold, the more easily stimulated you are.
基本上，多巴胺阈值越低，你越容易受到亢奋。
"As an introvert, you are more energised by spending time on your own, or in very small intimate groups of people you trust," Neo said."So when you are out in a social environment that is very highly stimulating, what happens is that while the extrovert gets more and more incandescent and magnetic, the introvert starts shrinking and shrinking away."
Neo说：“作为一个内向的人，你会更享受一个人的世界，或者，在某个备受你信任的亲密小团体中，你会更容易兴奋愉悦。所以当你处在某种情感激荡的社交关系之中时，会发生的是，尽管外部的压力越来越大，而你向内收缩的倾向却越来越小。”
Introverts have different brain chemistry
内向者有不同的脑化学过程
The pathway that an introvert's or extrovert's brain takes when they are in social contexts differs. While extroverts have a very short pathway, for introverts it is called the Long Acetylcholine Pathway. It's much longer, which means that a stimulus goes through many different parts of the brain.
内向者或外向者的大脑在社会环境中所采取的神经通路是不同的。外向者的电化学信号的途径很短，但对于内向者来说，它被称为长乙酰胆碱途径。这要长得多，意味着外部刺激诱发的信号经过了大脑中的许多不同部位。
One is the right frontal insular cortex, the part of the brain that notices errors. Introverts notice all sorts of details, which makes them self-conscious about the mistakes they are making. Another is the frontal lobe, which evaluates outcomes.
一个是右额叶岛皮层，即注意错误的大脑部分。内向者注意到各种细节，这使得他们对自己正在犯的错误感到自觉。另一个是额叶，负责评估结果。
This means an introvert has a really busy mind worrying about what's going to happen. They also tend to draw very strongly from their long-term memory bank when speaking.
这意味着一个内向的人有一个非常忙碌的头脑，总是忧心会发生的事情。在讲话时，他们也倾向于从他们的长期记忆库中调取经验获得鼓励。
Basically, for an introvert an event is never just an event. While extroverts can just immediately respond and react to environments, introverts cannot because so much is going on in their head.
基本上，对于一个内向的人来说，一件事从来就不只是一件事。虽然外向者可以立即对环境作出反应，但内向者不行，因为他们脑海中存在太多的线程。
"That's why they are vulnerable for being a bit more anxious in a social context, or what people might call a bit more 'neurotic,'" Neo said."But that's just because the brain is wired that way. So essentially what happens is after too much social stimulation, whether we're talking about small groups, or a noisy overstimulated context, an introvert's nervous system is overwhelmed."
“这就是为什么他们在社交场合更容易焦虑，或者人们可能称之为神经过敏。”Neo说，“但那只是因为他们的大脑以这种方式处理信息，所以总是会受到太多的社交刺激，无论我们是在谈论小团体，还是在外部过度嘈杂的刺激情境下，内向者的神经系统都更容易超载。”
The 'introvert hangover'
“内向宿醉”
Because of this, introverts need to spend time alone to withdraw and recharge, known as their "introvert hangover." This activates a different pathway in the brain that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system – responsible for "rest and digest" functions.
正因为如此，内向者需要花时间独处来从过度刺激中恢复过来，然后重新补满消耗掉的情绪，这被称为“内向宿醉”。这激活了大脑中刺激副交感神经系统的不同途径——负责“休息和消化”功能。
Introverts like this pathway because it helps them wind down when they have had a lot of cortisol and adrenaline has been coursing through them.
内向型人士喜欢这条路径，因为它可以帮助他们在皮质醇和肾上腺素大量涌现后，逐渐平复自我的心绪。
"When we can actually spend time recharging, whether its sitting at home, cleaning your house, or watching Netflix, or lying down and reading a really good book, your acetylcholine pathway kicks in," Neo said. "Essentially this calms your body down and makes you quite happy."
Neo说：“当我们花费时间自我充电时，无论是坐在家中，打扫房间，还是看Netflix，或是躺下来阅读一本非常好的书，你的乙酰胆碱通路都会启动。从本质上讲，这可以令你身心宁静，让你很开心。”
How introverted or extroverted you are – and you're likely to be somewhere in the middle – is simply your neurodiversity. It has nothing to do with how shy or socially anxious you are.
你内向或外向的程度——你可能处于两者中间的某处——就是你的神经多样性程度。它与你的害羞程度或社交焦虑无关。
"Social anxiety is where you have fear and this need to avoid social situations because you are so scared of how you are going to perform," Neo said."You think you're stupid, or people will laugh at you, or you'll never measure up. So there's a bit of that fraudster, imposter syndrome in that… Within that event itself your brain is always looking for errors and scolding yourself."
Neo说：“社交焦虑是你有恐惧的东西，而且需要避免社交场合，因为你害怕面对那种处境之下的自我行为。你认为你是愚蠢的，或者人们会嘲笑你，或者你永远无法达到他人的标准，所以就出现了所谓的冒名顶替者综合症……在这种情况下，你的大脑总是在寻找错误和责备自己。”
After the event, she added, a socially anxious person will rewind the whole thing in their mind on a loop with all the things they shouldn't have done, or feel bad about, ignoring all the good things. This leads them to want to avoid any future social interactions, because it feels so exhaustingly uncomfortable.
她补充说，一个社交焦虑的人会把已经发生的整个事件映照到他们的内心循环中，反复在脑海里上演其中自己表现得最糟糕的段落，忽略所有好的部分。这导致他们想要逃避所有的社交互动，因为那令他们极其不舒服。
"A lot of people conflate introversion with social anxiety, and that's just not true," Neo said.
“很多人把内向和社交焦虑混为一谈，这是不正确的，”Neo说。
"You can be an extrovert and have social anxiety, or be painfully shy, or socially awkward. The difference is an introvert will tend to recharge on their own and an extrovert needs busy surroundings and busy situations in order to recharge."
“你可能是一个外向型的人，有社交焦虑，或者有点害羞，或者在社交上很尴尬，不同之处在于内向者倾向于为自己重新充电，外向者需要沉浸到忙碌复杂的环境中才能得到充电。”
Introverts hate small talk
内向者讨厌闲聊
Introverts thrive on social interaction, just as many people do. They just do it in a different way to people who are more extroverted. For instance, a "social butterfly" extrovert may like to meet 50 people at an event, and get a buzz from talking to as many people as possible.
内向者的社会关系一样可以蓬勃地发展，就像其他人。他们只是以一种不同的方式去来完成社会生活。例如，一个的外向型的交际高手可能喜欢在一个活动中与50个人寒暄问候，并和尽可能多的人进行谈话。这种走马灯一样的忙碌感令他们更加自在享受。
Meanwhile, an introvert probably aims to get to know just two new people, but they will hope to foster the beginnings of a deep relationship.
与此同时，一个内向的人可能只是想认识其中两个陌生人，但他们同时希望这是一场深厚友谊的开始。
This is one reason introverts often hate small talk, which Neo calls "small-talk disorder." It also means they will consistently be overwhelmed and need to rest afterward, sometimes sleeping for up to 18 hours at a time.
这是内向者经常讨厌聊天的原因之一，Neo称之为“聊天障碍”。他们会一直不知所措，之后还需要休息，有时可以一次睡18个小时。
Introversion is not an insult; it's just a different way of living to other people. And wherever you are on the introversion-extroversion spectrum, the most important thing is learning how to use your differences to your advantage.
内向不是侮辱;它只是一种不同的生活方式。无论你的性格在内向—外向的那个位置，最重要的是学习如何利用你的差异来获得优势。
"When you spend time having fun or resting in your introvert hangovers, you can accelerate your professional and personal growth," Neo said.
Neo说：“当你在内向宿醉中娱乐或休息时，你可以加快职业技能和个人成长。
"The more comfortable you are with telling people: 'I have an introvert hangover; this is the time for myself. I'm blocking these chunks of time dedicated to me,' the more you are able to own yourself as an introvert – rather than thinking there's something wrong with you."
“你可以明确地告诉人们：'我有一种内向性的宿醉，这是我自己的时间，我不希望让别人占用我的时间，'你越是落落大方地坦诚相告，你就越能更好地把握自我。这可比因为内向而自卑好得多了。”
