Review: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Has there been a camera in my room my whole life?

This book just explained my entire childhood. Back then, mental health was not something that was talked about or even considered to be a reason why I never felt the same way my classmates did about certain things. My mother once described it to someone as "marching to her own drummer."

Now that I am learning the roots of my anxiety and depression (and the fact I unknowingly had them in childhood), I find myself wishing I knew then what I know now. (I know, hind insight is 20/20.) Now, I also play the what-if game with myself. If I had known then what I know now, would I have made different decisions? Would I have approached life differently?

In high school, we took a version of the Meyers-Brigg test. When I got the results, all I could say was, "That is absolutely me." We weren't really directed how to use those results to our own benefit. It wasn't until I had some real life experience that the test results came back to haunt me.

I am well into adulthood at this time. Earlier this year, I decided it would be my mental health year. I had so much stress buildup that it was affecting my physical health to the point where multiple doctors were adamantly requesting that I take a leave from work. During said leave, I stumbled on this book. It has given me some good ideas of what I can do to help myself. For example, now I know I need to be more consistent with taking my lunch breaks. I need to break the habit of working through them. This is also something I have discussed with my therapist, but this book puts into action through anecdotes and science.

While reading this book, I felt pretty special. Back the real world, not so much. I hope to change that by putting some of the tips into lessons from the stories into practice.

I recommend this book to both introverts and extroverts. This book helps introverts understand themselves better. It also help extroverts to understand the introverted mind.

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