Dr. Aziz separates introversion, a real personality trait, from anxiety that often masquerades as it. Many people blame introversion for social struggles that are actually anxiety. Calling yourself introverted can become an excuse that stops you from changing.
Are you an introvert or are you just anxious? Now, I'm not saying that introversion is not real. There is a truth to recharging alone, having a certain type of downtime and spaciousness that feels good after a lot of social interaction. And I personally would identify as an introvert. And there are at least a dozen things that I used to struggle with that I blamed on being an introvert. And I see people do this all the time. And it has nothing to do with introversion. It's actually anxiety wearing the costume of introversion. And as soon as you label it as, well, I'm just an introvert, so I can't do that, or that's why this is hard for me, it makes it impossible to change.
