ALONE, NOT LONELY AND TRULY LOVING IT

For some introverts, quarantine and social distancing are a way of life

Rebecca Burcher Jones is living her best life now.

COVID-19 forced her to cancel an annual getaway with a group of chatty friends. The government has ordered everyone to leave their homes as little as possible. Perhaps her favorite quarantine rule is that the governor has mandated — repeat, it’s official! — that people avoid large gatherings.

For introverts like her, governmentauthorized social distancing is a dream come true.

“Unless you are a card-carrying introvert,” said Jones, a married, Chesapeake retiree, “you don’t really understand that being alone is where you are most comfortable.”

Yes, there are plenty of folks who are miserable not being able to go to school or a bar or argue about the NFL draft at the work break room. Then there are those for whom “stir crazy” is only a bad Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder movie. They don’t know what “climbing the walls” is unless it’s at a gym, with rock climbing equipment, and not a lot of folks hanging around. (Introverts loathe small talk.) Isolation isn’t dreaded but preferred. It is a time for internal reflection, a hallmark of introversion. It is time to read. Daydream.

Some introverts even feel guilty when they see their more extroverted friends rant about being cooped up while they are feeling (secretly) giddy.

Jenn Granneman, founder of introvertdear.com and author of “The Secret Lives of Introverts: Inside Our Hidden World,” said she’s been hearing a lot from introverts during the pandemic.

COURTESY OF REBECCA BURCHER JONES Rebecca Burcher Jones of Chesapeake taking a book-making workshop in Maine last summer. Jones has a home studio in the Outer Banks and says it’s a fun activity she can do alone.