Becoming nocturnal to ensure their solitude, meet the ultra introverts

8 February 2025

I’m an introvert, but until I read Faith Hill’s 2022 article for The Atlantic, a few days ago, I’d never heard of ultra, or intense, introverts:

There’s already been some controversy in the psychological community about whether intense introversion should qualify as a disorder. The American Psychiatric Association has considered adding introversion to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Pathologizing introversion sounds absurd — until you start considering the extreme end of the spectrum.

It was Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist who identified the existence of introvert and extrovert personalities, who said there was no such thing as a pure introvert (or extrovert). Such a person, if there were one, according to Jung, would be in a lunatic asylum.

Adopting a nocturnal existence then to guarantee one’s solitude, seems like an extreme measure to me. But, introverts crave time alone, and becoming a creature of the night might be the only way some people can achieve this. But some of those described by Hill don’t seem like introverts per se, they appear to going all out to totally avoid contact with, well, everyone.

Introverts generally don’t want to completely avoid interactions with others, they instead seek to limit them. Anyone who keeps their phone permanently in do-not-disturb (DND) mode, knows what I mean. While I have set up overrides so certain people can always reach me, DND helps me manage my interactions with the outside world.

Plus, part of my work is writing, and the last thing a writer wants is their train of thought being broken by the ringing of a phone. But I don’t like the idea of introversion being considered a mental disorder. I think we need to ascertain that we’re dealing with bona fide introverts, rather than those who are seeking to completely cut themselves off from everyone else.