An update on "Who am I?"

[freebird5825]

but less gray hair (per the last link from 2007)? How is that possible? Isn't gray hair mostly due to genetics and not really stress? And once it starts, doesn't it increase or at least remain the same, rather than reverse?

i can help here. it's not your imagination, Khan. i went thru tremendous stress when an extreme tragedy happened in my life 4 yrs ago. i developed a lot more grey hair than had been present prior to high stress period. my hair is jet black, so the increased grey hair under duress was very noticable to friends.
these days i still have some grey hair, but not like before. my hair has settled into an attractive touch of salt and pepper at the temples. conclusion - stress can do funny things to your body.

 

[Khan]

i can help here. it's not your imagination, Khan. i went thru tremendous stress when an extreme tragedy happened in my life 4 yrs ago. i developed a lot more grey hair than had been present prior to high stress period. my hair is jet black, so the increased grey hair under duress was very noticable to friends.
these days i still have some grey hair, but not like before. my hair has settled into an attractive touch of salt and pepper at the the temples. conclusion - stress can do funny things to your body.

Same here, grey at the edges and holding.

Just to add: went to the dentist for six month cleaning/inspection back in September. The dentist and hygienist just kept remarking on the improvement in my teeth/gums; the dentist agreed that stress can do weird things.

 

[Khan]

Same here, grey at the edges and holding.

Just to add: went to the dentist for six month cleaning/inspection back in September. The dentist and hygienist just kept remarking on the improvement in my teeth/gums; the dentist agreed that stress can do weird things.

Just to add something.

Last month, while I was without electricity and was posting from the library, I ran into a former coworker (he's still working); he wasn't sure it was me at first glance. I told him I had lost 80# and he asked if he would lose 80# after retiring (March 2009) (he is fat). I said: "It's possible."

 

[Nords]

I wonder how well it would work for two introverts to be good friends.

We've known each other for almost 30 years and been married for over 22 of them.

By "hermits" I don't mean that we perpetually fear human contact or find it painful, although we've certainly had weeks like that. I just mean that we're more than capable of entertaining ourselves for long periods of time without the company of others. (In my case that requires a stack of books or a broadband connection. And a longboard.) The "Caring for Your Introvert" article said it best-- not disliking other people but finding them so tiring. We frequently refer to our daughter as "The Tropical Storm Kid", and she was chagrined to find that her named hurricane was retired as an extraordinarily disruptive & destructive phenomenon. Not that we chose her name for that reason, but we could have.

Spouse will usually return from a volunteer gig having had quite enough human contact for the rest of the month. I feel the same way after extended meetings or even large social occasions. Unless they involve surfing...

 

[Kronk]

Throughout my life I have felt like an outsider (an alien anthropologist*) observing my behavior (and others').

Even now, with these changes, I feel like an observer.

This part stuck out for me, because I'm much the same way. I've always had trouble identifying myself as part of a group. Even if I'm in the group, I usually feel that I'm different and not part of the "real" group.

Whether or not Myers-Briggs makes any sense, the vast majority of the INTP profile fits me very closely. (See, I even have trouble saying, "I'm an INTP".)

The Ti-Ne axis leads to a curious overriding desire to observe from a detached position, indicating the preference for intuitive perception with respect to external things. Since accurate analysis needs to avoid becoming hampered with details or being influenced by the actions of others, the INTP invariably seeks to withdraw, at least in spirit, from the situation being considered. This detachment can sometimes be so marked that he will readily see himself as a neutral observer having no personal association with that going on around him (unless forced to become directly involved through an attack on his principles). The INTP enjoys speculating about how a news item (for example) might be received by other people or how a point of view might offend certain types of people and be supported by yet other types; but to have a point of view of his own rarely seems relevant! This also indicates that Feeling is his least developed function. The argument may even be made that "points of view" and "opinions" are irrelevant since only objective truth counts. In reality, INTPs can often become far less objective than they think they ought to be: precisely at those times when the under-developed Feeling gnaws at his being.

An INTP Profile

 

[Khan]

We've known each other for almost 30 years and been married for over 22 of them.

By "hermits" I don't mean that we perpetually fear human contact or find it painful, although we've certainly had weeks like that. I just mean that we're more than capable of entertaining ourselves for long periods of time without the company of others. (In my case that requires a stack of books or a broadband connection. And a longboard.) The "Caring for Your Introvert" article said it best-- not disliking other people but finding them so tiring. We frequently refer to our daughter as "The Tropical Storm Kid", and she was chagrined to find that her named hurricane was retired as an extraordinarily disruptive & destructive phenomenon. Not that we chose her name for that reason, but we could have.

Spouse will usually return from a volunteer gig having had quite enough human contact for the rest of the month. I feel the same way after extended meetings or even large social occasions. Unless they involve surfing...

Much the same for me.

I have slowly changed and do seek out social contact, but I do have no problem with staying at home and not speaking for several days at a time.

 

[Khan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Khan
Throughout my life I have felt like an outsider (an alien anthropologist*) observing my behavior (and others').

Even now, with these changes, I feel like an observer.

This part stuck out for me, because I'm much the same way. I've always had trouble identifying myself as part of a group. Even if I'm in the group, I usually feel that I'm different and not part of the "real" group.

Whether or not Myers-Briggs makes any sense, the vast majority of the INTP profile fits me very closely. (See, I even have trouble saying, "I'm an INTP".)

In my past partially paranoiac phases, I had also experienced variants of 'imposter syndrome': a vague unease that the group I was observing would realize I was a detached observer, and would 'turn on me'.