Laurie Helgoe

I loved the study of psychology. I didn't love seeing patient after patient. I was perpetually overstimulated, busy decoding everything I took…

— Laurie Helgoe

“If you retreat in response to desire rather than deprivation, the deprivation may never come.”

— Laurie Helgoe

Extraverts are comfortable thinking as they speak. Introverts prefer slow-paced interactions that allow room for thought. Brainstorming does not work for them.…

— Laurie Helgoe

Introverts like being introverts. We are drawn to ideas, we are passionate observers, and for us, solitude is rich and generative.

— Laurie Helgoe

Asking others for input puts you in the driver's seat, and may feel less awkward than having to watch yourself on video.

— Laurie Helgoe

Introversion, when embraced, is a wellspring of riches. It took me years to acknowledge this simple reality, to claim my home, and…

— Laurie Helgoe

I am very troubled by the tendency to define introverts by what they lack. Introversion is a preference, not a fallback plan.

— Laurie Helgoe

A good rule of thumb is that any environment that consistently leaves you feeling bad about who you are is the wrong…

— Laurie Helgoe

“It would be wise to be concerned about the introvert who is deprived of solitude. Is she neglecting herself due to depression?…

— Laurie Helgoe

An introvert may feel asocial when pressured to go to a party that doesn't interest her. But for her, the event does…

— Laurie Helgoe

Introverts keep their best stuff inside—that is, until it is ready. And this drives extroverts crazy! The explanation for the introvert’s behavior—and…

— Laurie Helgoe

If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you…

— Laurie Helgoe

“I talk with many Shadow Dwellers who are mystified by the fact that chatty workers are rarely reprimanded. Sit and gossip and…

— Laurie Helgoe

“Though some of us like to get on stage, many introverts are content to put on their invisibility cloaks and watch. But…

— Laurie Helgoe

“I will say that the socially oblivious extroverts do not represent the whole. As with introverts, social skills are independent of extroversion:…

— Laurie Helgoe

For the introvert, conversation can be a very limited forum for self expression. When a song moves you, a writer gets you…

— Laurie Helgoe

“Secondly, extroverts often incorrectly assume that introverts are suffering. Introverts internalize problems; we like to take things inside and work on them…

— Laurie Helgoe

“If a child stays quiet in the context of extroverted friends, or even prefers time alone, a parent may worry and even…

— Laurie Helgoe

“To express want is to own the desire, to stand in your own reality. The easier alternative is the language of impairment:…

— Laurie Helgoe

“For an introvert, interacting in a group setting does mean missing out. Where there is too much input, the introvert misses his…

— Laurie Helgoe

As an introvert, you can be your own best friend or your worst enemy. The good news is we generally like our…

— Laurie Helgoe

“In a conversation with someone sharing gossip, the introvert’s eyes glaze over and his brow furrows as he tries to comprehend how…

— Laurie Helgoe

“I’m not so sure that live is always better. It is part of the extrovert assumption to value interaction over inner action.…

— Laurie Helgoe

“...if your friend knows you at all, she is being rude by pressuring you to do something that is bad for you.…

— Laurie Helgoe

Whatever kind of introvert you are, some people will find you 'too much' in some ways and 'not enough' in others.

— Laurie Helgoe

Introverts process information internally, and we don't like to express our thoughts until they are fully formed.

— Laurie Helgoe

When someone speaks to an introvert, her brain responds with a high level of activity. It is as if several lights start…

— Laurie Helgoe

“For introverts, who have limited energy for interaction, we need to be more thoughtful and deliberate about whom we meet—which, happily, is…

— Laurie Helgoe

Introvert conversations are like jazz. Each player gets to solo for a nice stretch before the other player comes in and does…

— Laurie Helgoe

“One of the teens I worked with told me about how she loves to take tests, because it is quiet and everyone…

— Laurie Helgoe

“Where else but cyberspace does the introvert have the opportunity to start in our comfort zone of written communication and talk later?”

— Laurie Helgoe

If the extrovert is trying to "cheer up" the introvert - extroverts are programmed to seek social rewards! - he or she…

— Laurie Helgoe

Introverts often assume what's inside is visible on the outside. We don't have to invent or fake the emotion; we just need…

— Laurie Helgoe

I've come to see the mosh pit as an apt description of American society - and of my childhood home. I was…

— Laurie Helgoe

Though introverts are drained by interaction, we can take immense pleasure in watching the scene around us.

— Laurie Helgoe

Let's clear one thing up: Introverts do not hate small talk because we dislike people. We hate small talk because we hate…

— Laurie Helgoe

“Introvert integrity means going the distance for what we love: moving from apology to acceptance, from acceptance to acknowledgement, and from acknowledgment…

— Laurie Helgoe

“We know we only have so much energy for reaching out; if we’re going to invest, we want it to be good.”

— Laurie Helgoe

A shy kid might look longingly at other kids playing in the schoolyard, afraid and unsure about how to approach them, but…

— Laurie Helgoe

“Recognition is what you feel when a friend sums up exactly what you’re feeling, when an author gives you the right words,…

— Laurie Helgoe