Monthly Archives: March 2020

0 Are introverts doomed to be alone?

Enah asks: Is it true that people who are introverts and also have avoidant personality disorder will die alone (because I have a hard time making friends)?

Hi Enah –

Before I answer your question, let me explain a couple of the terms you use. 

First, all people, and dogs, lie somewhere on the scale between Introvert and Extrovert.  The Introvert side is shyer, more focused on themselves, while the Extrovert side is outgoing, focused on and enjoying others.  I am certainly mostly an Extrovert, while my human friend Handsome is mostly an Introvert.  Yet I really value my time curled up alone during the days, and he does love going out with friends, and even enjoys speaking and performing in public.  So whenever someone says they’re one or the other, I figure they mean they’re mostly one or the other.  Lots of famous performers, for example, are wildly extroverted in their work, but deeply shy in their private lives.

And then Avoidant Personality Disorder.  This is an actual diagnosis, a mental illness, where a person’s shyness and sense of inadequacy causes real problems in their ability to interact with others or maintain relationships.  It’s way beyond Introversion, something that gets in the way of nearly every aspect of a person’s life.

So to summarize this, there is nothing wrong with being an Introvert, or leaning that way.  It’s not a good or bad thing, just how a person is.  And it doesn’t make you unlovable.  Some people can’t stand how friendly and rambunctious I am, and prefer calmer dogs.  Similarly, not everyone wants to hang out with loud partiers, as many prefer the company of quieter, more contemplative folks.  So one can live very happily as an Introvert, at least as happily as any Extrovert.  But Avoidant Personality Disorder is a painful, debilitating illness, that should be treated – through therapy at least, and perhaps even anti-anxiety mediations.

But now, to your actual question.  Are Introverts, or people with APD, destined to die alone?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Introverts can work, hang out with friends, marry, raise families, and yes have dogs!  And do so every day.  After all, if only extroverts did these things, only half the population would ever procreate!  Your job as an Introvert is to own your feelings, and not let others force you into hanging with Extroverts you don’t enjoy (You might have to work with them, or have them in your family, but you get to, in your personal time, choose otherwise!).  If you want to meet someone, you don’t have to go to a loud nightclub.  You could research to find a group of people who share an interest of yours – maybe books or movies – and meet new people there.  You can meet people online (though always be sure to be very careful with that, and only agree to meet in a public place, in case they’re lying about who they are).  And of course you can ask your family or friends to introduce you to other people they think you might like.

But if you truly have Avoidant Personality Disorder, again, that’s something that can and should be treated by a professional.  And a qualified one WILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU with it, a LOT!

But your question really touched my heart.  You weren’t asking about the joys of making friends or falling in love, but about the very sad fear of dying alone.  So I want to talk to you about someone I write about a lot, my friend Aria.

Aria was born a shy, timid puppy,  She was then abandoned by her human family, got taken in by another family, kicked out by them too, and beaten mercilessly in her training.  She lived out in the wild for a while, afraid of all people.  But eventually she did agree to get taken in by some nice rescuers, who got her to a wonderful couple who took care of her for a few months, till they found an owner for her.  That owner has worked for years to get her happier, more trusting, and more herself.

Enah, today Aria is not only my friend, but a friend to a good number of people.  She’ll lie on their lap, get tummy rubs, and even play a little.  People love her. 

Nothing is guaranteed in this life, but you have a far better chance of finding love and companionship than Aria did.  And look at her now.

Your job is to try.  To try to find people who are like you, and who you like.  To treat any actual disorders you have, but also to accept your shyness and introversion as a part of you, even a virtue.

And while I hope we don’t find out just what circumstances you’ll die in for a LONG LONG LONG time, if you can find those people you can enjoy, and who’ll enjoy you, the odds are that you’ll find you can live very happily, with just the sort of companionship you crave, until that day comes.

All my very very best,

Shirelle

0 What to do when your ex pulls you back in and pushes you away

Chica asks:

I am still stuck on this one guy. We speak once or twice a week, though I am the one who texts first and his replies are usually short. He is dating someone else. He barely talks to me like he used to before. But Shirelle, I am still stuck because of one reason: he once drunk dialed me and said things like he wished he could say things he actually felt, he wished my parents had accepted us, he wished for us to have a happy story… During that call he was constantly saying I am the only one who actually gets him, who knows him, etc. I did not know what to say. Because I never expected him to feel all this, I used to think he had moved on and I didn’t matter. But after that call I am confused. Also, one of his close friends told me that he and his girlfriend had a huge fight because he was constantly talking about me in drunken states, and also said that this new relationship is just an escape for him. His friend told me he thinks that he is with that girl just to get over us, as it is way too difficult to carry on with our relationship after the way our parents reacted. I too feel that he is trying to escape from our situation. His friend also mentioned that he wanted me to hate him, hence he behaved the way he did. He wanted me to move on, so that it would be easier for both of us. I really don’t know what to do. I do want to move. I try to convince myself everyday that he does not care, that I am not important to him. But still somewhere my heart is not ready to accept that he is done with me. It  truly feels like he is pushing me away so that my parents don’t create a scene again and don’t harm me the way they did before.  I really don’t know what he feels. All I know is we both still connect, and we both still understand each other’s pain. I feel like there still is this weird spark between the two of us. Please tell me what to do

Your Mate,

Chica

Hi Chica –

So I can’t tell you, or anyone, that you’re right or wrong to feel the way you do about someone.  Feelings are feelings, not facts, and they can’t be right or wrong.

But I can, and will, make a suggestion.  I want you to imagine me, or if you have or know a dog you really love, picture them instead!  Now imagine you’re with me or that dog, and we approach two bowls.  One of them has regular dry dog food inside it, with a sign that says “This is very healthy.”  While the other has a delicious roasted lamb dish inside, still warm so the smells are just heavenly, but it has a sign on it saying “This might be poisoned.”   Now you know that I, or that other dog, is going to head toward that lamb, right?  But do you stop us?  I mean, the lamb’s sign only says it “might” be poisoned.  It might be just fine too, right?

But my guess is that you lead us to the boring one!

You love this guy.  He’s fascinating and passionate and has expressed all sorts of wonderful things to you.  But he’s also shown you that he can’t be trusted.  He’s all about you one day, and all about hating you, or resenting you, or hating your family, or loving this other girl, the next day.  Now he’s even shown that he can’t be trusted by her, because when he’s with her he’s sometimes talking about you!

Love him, Chica.  Feel all you do for him.  Just as I love the smell of that lamb.  But I’m going to direct you away from him, because as long as he’s the way he’s been, he is GUARANTEED to hurt you, again and again.  He has done an excellent job of proving to you exactly the sort of person he is and the way he treats others, especially those he’s romantically involved with.

Now as I said in my last letter to you, he might grow up.  He might change.  He might become a really fantastic man… someday.  But he’s not there yet.  Currently he’s many cool things, but he’s not trustworthy in any way.

Many years ago, my human friend Handsome was very much in love with a woman who treated him kind of the way this guy’s treating you, though they were a couple at the time.  She’d be all loving and adoring, and then pull away, over and over.  Eventually she broke things off with him completely, and he was devastated.  And a dear friend of ours said something amazing to him, that changed his life.  “I know you’re heartbroken and I hate seeing you feel so bad.  But I’m glad she broke things off.  I couldn’t stand to watch her treat you like that anymore.”  

I suppose, deep down, he still loves her to this day, at least somewhat.  But his friend was right.  That relationship couldn’t go anywhere, except to keep dragging him down.  

If you go back to this guy, I’ll support you in any way I can.  But I’d be happier if you told him, “Come back when you’ve grown up,” and found yourself some other friends to hang out with, and maybe another boy to fall for.  Or better yet, what he’s not yet:  a man!

Cheers,

Shirelle

0 What to do when your girlfriend or boyfriend moves away and doesn’t have time for you

anonymous asks:

I’ve been in a relationship for the past 5 years.  My girlfriend just got into college 4 months ago, and recently she made some friends and, despite her busy schedule and assignments, she spends more time with them, and barely gives me any attention now.  It’s difficult to communicate with her about this because she gets angry. It’s been happening for 2 weeks.  Any help please?

Hi anonymous –

What you and she are going through is very normal, and really annoying, I know.  She went into a new world, and probably leaned a lot on your support while adjusting to it.  But now she’s there, she’s surrounded by it, and it’s her new universe.  She can still love you, but all her attention is on the people she spends her days with.  (Ironically, you’re going through what your parents probably went through with you a few years ago, when your attention veered from them to your schoolmates!)

I wish I could promise that she’ll put all her attention back onto you, but the truth is she’s on a journey that will likely lead many directions.  Tomorrow she might want your company more than anybody’s in the world, and the next day she might be obsessing about an argument between two of her dorm-mates.  And of course, at times, she’ll actually be focused on her studies!

And is it possible she could get more interested in someone special there too?  Sure.  I’m not saying that to make you feel bad, but just to say that nothing is predictable right now.

Nor should it be.

Are you going to be heading to a college in the future?  If so, you’ll go through the same things she is now.  And yes, a big part of the joys and difficulties of this experience involve your whole sense of your world changing. 

(I should say, I haven’t had to go through this myself.  I’ve only heard about it.  But I know that my human friend Handsome going to college broke the hearts of his two dogs then.  He’d come home of course, but it was never the same as it had been.  Their lives were fine, but he’d been their most special human, and… well, you know what we dogs are like!)

So what can you do about this?  One thing: Support Her In All She Does.  Show interest in her friends, let her know you care about her life, even the parts you might not be crazy about.  Be the best friend she has, the one she can always depend on. 

But at the same time, build your own life too.  Make more friends, get out more.  Keep yourself from being “that guy” who’s so obsessive about her that she feels suffocated.  And the more interesting stuff you have going on, the more likely she is to turn her focus to you.  “Yeah I have a big exam tomorrow, but I can’t study without hearing about how your night singing in that coffee shop went!” 

As I said before, nothing is predictable, nothing is guaranteed, right now.  Except that she’s going to be on a rollercoaster of emotions and connections.  And the further she pulls into that world out there, the more she’ll need the stability you offer.

It’s like when Handsome takes me to the dog park.  I fly into pure ecstasy the second I get out of his car, and rush to sniff everything I can, meet all the pups, play with anyone who’ll play with me, and get someone to run all my thrilled energy with me!  And then, suddenly, something happens.  I realize, I’m out there, in a field full of strangers.  I’m alone.  I have no one.  And… WHERE IS HE?!  I run around, looking, and find him, and run straight to him.  Jump on him.  Get a reassuring cuddle and lick his face…

And that’s just enough for me to run off again. 

But he knows I’ll always come back.  Especially when he calls.  Because I need him to want me, to need me.  And to take me home where I can sleep off this glorious experience.

Your girlfriend is in something bigger, sure, but in a lot of ways she’s just playing in the dog park like me.  So do what you need to do for yourself, and be there for her in any way you can.  And hopefully, and most likely, she will appreciate having the best anonymous in the world, just as I appreciate my Handsome more than I can say.

Stay Strong!  Vacation will come soon!

Shirelle