Allergic to people
People at a coffee shopAllergic to people.
Over time he’s learned to present himself as warm and approachable, gregarious in fact. And he is so convincing that people line to be his friends.
That complicates things for a person who reacts to social activities like some people react to gluten and chemicals in cleaning agents.
Before the epiphany, he was trapped in a feedback loop of his own making. He’d invent flaws in friends as an excuse to keep his distance. When they stopped inviting him to do things, he was free to write them off.
There’s no way to eliminate his need for time alone but through a series of false starts, he’s taught himself to live comfortably.
He’s close with his family and friends on a one-on-one basis. He stays on the outer edges of social circles in a way that won’t be noticed. He avoids appearing aloof.
Books and the outdoors offer refuge; he can find his way around a kitchen. He avoids entertainment that jams his receptors, especially if a laugh track is involved.
Some years ago he experienced his epiphany.
A friend he admired described himself as “inwardly directed” and somehow that prompted the man to search for keywords like self-sufficient, self-possessed, independent, resilient, innovative.
A book about the power of introverts helped him see that he’s not an oddity, that there are millions of others like him; and that they’ve been given a gift in disguise.
Our closet introvert seldom talks openly about his allergy to people because no one here at the coffee shop would believe him if he did.





