02/04/2026
“Sometimes it feels like that’s even its own civil war with introverts, not just extroverts should-ing introverts.” -Authority interview Dec 2025…See the questions related to this below. Click here for the full interview: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/thriving-as-an-introvert-yoga-therapist-brittany-capozzi-on-how-introverts-can-thrive-succeed-in-853aae141aed
Question: Have you noticed any specific ways that being an introvert affects mental health or overall well-being? Any tips for introverts to maintain good mental health?
I don’t want to blanket introverts, so speaking for myself as an introvert who likes solitude to recharge and get creative or philosophical, I do think that too much solitude can be unhealthy. This is where I agree with someone saying that so-and-so shouldn’t be so quiet or reserved. If someone is on the extreme side of quiet and scared, I think it can lead to a “stuck-ness” over time. We all have the part of ourselves that moves, moves outward and is on the go and gets stuff done, then we also have that part of ourselves on the opposite end of the pendulum that stays still to reflect, to absorb things. And that still part, when we are absorbing can lead to an unhealthy sort of dullness, stagnation, if you will. So, if I stay in all day everyday reflecting and not seeing my family, not walking or being productive, that can lead to stagnation. And that can be depression. Yes, we want to be still sometimes, but not all the time. And the same thing for movement, yes we want to move outward in the world, put ourselves out there and be productive, but what’s the mid-way for each side of the pendulum? We don’t need one extreme or the other, there’s a balance for each side and there’s a balance between these sides. Not a perfect balance, a balance that allows you to say to yourself “I’m content here…I’m content with this side and that side.
For mental health purposes, I suggest finding a daily rhythm that allows some stillness, movement, quiet time, and a bit of social time. And social time is not listening to conversations between fictional girlfriends on T.V.-not to burst anyone’s bubble. If the thought of “daily social time” makes you dry heave, I totally get it. Try something subtle such as going for a walk at a time of day when other people are walking their dogs or walking with their children to school and just pass on a smile to a few folks. No need to smile at every human being you see — you can — but just start small. One smile. Maybe then a wave. If not, okay. Just try it. You’ll learn about how you are doing in those moments — how your breathing reacts, how your mind reacts. Another option is passing a smile toward someone at a grocery store. And you never know when your self-care practice will change someone’s day for the better. Wouldn’t it be amazing to find out that because of your smile, someone got the courage to ask for a raise or stand up to a family member because they felt seen for a split second and that set off a reminder to them that they do in fact, deserve to be seen and heard?
Question: In your opinion, are societal views on introversion changing? If so, how do you think this impacts introverts positively or negatively? Can you please explain what you mean?
In the big picture, I think that views on introversion have been shifting, especially since the pandemic where people who had more introverted tendencies became more comfortable at home. One of the biggest things we witnessed was that those who liked being out of the office and were getting their work done from home were getting acknowledged. They were seen as being productive and that’s what mattered. It was as though people were catching up to see that introverts weren’t working “wrong” or “badly” because they liked independence while completing tasks and didn’t want to mingle too often. There was a bit more respect. I think in some settings, that has taken a step back because of old habits and societal/hierarchal pressure in some work environments. That’s unfortunate, but because introverts were seen with more clarity once, we know that the clarity can happen again. It’s like when I work with a client who is in pain in one area of the body and we move in a smaller range where there’s no pain, we pause and note that if there’s no pain, then there can be no pain — even if it doesn’t last. Each time we move further in a range, pain can keep decreasing. Bringing this back to society, let’s keep moving in a range that acknowledges the strengths of introverts, even if it doesn’t last. It’s a sort of healing and in healing, the process is not linear. It ebbs and flows but as we welcome attention and curiosity more and more, change will happen for the better.
As with any change, it’s slow medicine, it’s uncomfortable, and gets challenged along the way. The societal actions on introverts are lagging. For example, we’re banning more books than ever — which really means we’re banning more voices -yet screaming over each other whether we’re discussing politics or how to best cook something. We need to take a step back and really see how we’re using our voices with others and what happens from the qualities of what we put out there. This goes beyond being labeled “introvert” or “extrovert” because, again, we are nearly all yelling to be heard among the noise. And that noise is violence. It’s subtle violence when we steal space and each other’s time, violence when we tell others they “should” do this or that. Expectations can be violent. And as things change for the better, there’s still — I think — too much “should-ing” all over the place, especially toward introverts. As more opportunities arise digitally, there still seems to be that pressure to post so often, record this many times…. The Should-ing” continues. Sometimes it feels like that’s even its own civil war with introverts, not just extroverts should-ing introverts. We can’t know what’s best for someone else, even if they’re similar in nature to us. It comes back to how to be with others in a supportive way. It’s simple, but simple is not easy.
When we yell, we’re just fueling that fire and transforming it into more violence. So, let’s create a call to action that is kindness. Hold space. Feel the quiet. Stop being afraid to be with other hearts because we’ve wasted so much time in all the history books moving in fear and avoiding people, especially people with different natures than us. But the footnote on that is, we’re ALL nature.
For mental health purposes, I suggest finding a daily rhythm that allows some stillness, movement, quiet time, and a bit of social time…
