To know if you’re antisocial or just introverted is vital if you currently find it difficult to make friends. There’s a massive difference between the two, of course, but unfortunately, not a lot of people know this. You might classify yourself as antisocial when, in reality, you’re really just introverted, or the other way around.
Right now, we’ll talk about how you can know if you’re antisocial. There are certain signs you can watch out for to help you in confirming this. We can then talk about what you can do moving forward to improve your social life, as well as your overall mental health.
You find it easy to lie
You can know if you’re antisocial if you’re someone who finds it incredibly easy to lie. Lying is as easy as breathing for you. You see its benefits and see no problems using it. You might also see the damage it can do, but you find that the benefits it brings outweigh the damage it can do.
An introvert will feel uncomfortable with lying, but like all individuals, do it every now and again. The difference between an antisocial person and an introvert is the level of comfort they have with lying. Antisocial people are incredibly comfortable with this, while an introvert can still feel bad about doing this.
You rarely think about the consequences of your actions
If you’re an antisocial person, the consequences of your actions are of no importance to you. You often have the “I’ll cross that bridge when I get there” mentality. If the consequences come, then you deal with it then and there or you just shrug it off. If they don’t even better.
The consequence doesn’t always have to involve just you too. They can branch off to the people around you. Yet, that doesn’t change a thing.
On the other hand, introverts often overthink the consequences of their actions. They go anxious over it. The difference between the two is night and day.
None of your relationships last
The relationships of an antisocial individual, whether friendly or romantic, don’t seem to last too long. They can’t quite figure out why, but they may believe the fault lies on the other person. They may believe others aren’t enough, or they don’t understand them enough, or that they’re just not compatible with them. In reality, it may be something that has to do with the antisocial individual. You can know if you’re antisocial by seeing if this is true for you.
Introverts, however, may not have that many friends, but most of them last for a long time. An introvert can maintain a friendship or a relationship when they’ve found someone they’ve truly connected with.
You can be impulsive
An antisocial person has the tendency to be extremely impulsive in so many things. They can do something drastic without even thinking about it. This also goes hand in hand with their incapacity to think about the consequences of their actions. They do things without thinking, thus suffer the consequences without foresight. If this is true for you, then it is a clear-cut sign that you may be antisocial rather than introverted.
That’s because introverts rarely do things on impulse. One of the most common things introverts do is to overthink. They’ll think things through before they actually do it. They’ll assess what the consequences, benefits, and effects are.
You enjoy making people do things for you
If you’re antisocial, you often ask people to do this for you. In fact, you enjoy making others do things for you. You find satisfaction in the idea that others go out of their way to assist you in something. In some instances, you even go as far as manipulating others just so they do things your way.
Introverts will hesitate troubling others with a favor. Even if the going gets tough, an introvert will find a way to do something themselves rather than to bother someone else. Even if it’s with their closest friends. It’s in their DNA to handle a situation if it’s theirs. They often need to be reassured that it’s okay for them to ask for help.
You get offended easily
Despite their lack of care, an antisocial person seems to become offended quite easily. Sometimes, they even get offended even though it is unintentional, or even when there was no attack to begin with. This could be because, due to their antisocial personality, they have this grand idea of themselves. Any hint that may suggest otherwise is an offense to them.
Introverts, like everyone else, can be offended too. However, most of them rarely jump to conclusions immediately. As established, introverts can overthink. They’ll then assess whether something is an offense or not. In some cases, they’ll simply clarify.
Your actions often hurt you and others around you
One way to know if you’re antisocial is the fact that the things you do often lead to pain, whether towards you or to others. Regardless of the result, though, whether the one in pain is you or someone else, you just can’t seem to care enough about it. Whatever the case, your actions hurting you and others around you seems to be a recurring case in your life.
Because introverts overthink everything and they’d rather distance themselves from anything overly dramatic, the hurt that comes to them is unintentional at worst, and minor at best. There will always be extremely painful experiences, of course, but most of them aren’t from something they’ve done themselves. It’s usually because of something they have no control over.
You believe some people are beneath you
Antisocial people can see themselves as this grand, extraordinary individual. That said, if you’re someone who’s antisocial, you also have the sense that some people are beneath you. You perceive some individuals as lowly. You rarely find an equal, and if you do, you’re either attracted to them or get intimidated by them.
Introverts don’t see the world this way at all. In fact, it can be the other way around. Introverts will often look up to others, but they rarely, if at all, think someone else is beneath them.
You find certain rules absurd
Antisocial people are natural rule breakers. They’ll always break a rule if they think it is absurd, and they’ll always find too many rules absurd, which in turn leads them to break them. Antisocial people can get themselves into trouble frequently and quite easily.
Introverts, however, will always hesitate when it comes to rule-breaking. This is because introverts avoid hassle whenever they can. Breaking rules can lead to something more awful, and that something awful is something introverts stay as far away from.
You have no problem taking risks
Similar to how they break rules quite easily, antisocial people also have very little problem in taking risks. If their actions lead to something amazing, then great! If it leads to something terrible, then they’ll just shrug it off and move on with their lives. They know risks are involved with some of the things they do but they don’t seem to mind at all.
Introverts will do their best to avoid, or at least minimize risk. They want to be as safe and as comfortable as they can be. They’ll weigh whether the benefits of something risky are enough for them to accept the risks. They almost never are.
You find it difficult to be empathetic
Here’s one good way to know if you’re antisocial. Empathy is like a foreign concept to you. Some people just aren’t trained with empathy, some antisocial individuals just aren’t incapable of them. They often think of themselves first. They focus on their thoughts, their actions, their emotions, and their words. It’s rarely about the other person.
Introverts are very good empaths. That’s because a lot of introverts are natural observers. They prefer to observe rather than to participate. Due to this, they develop a sense of understanding towards others just by observing them.
Deep down, you know something is wrong with you
Not all antisocial people are self-aware, but a lot of them are. If this is the case for you, then you know, deep down, something is wrong with you. You’re aware that you have very little care for the world and those around you. You can’t seem to connect with people. It’s hard for you to be empathetic with them. It’s easy for you to lie and manipulate. You know that, yet you keep doing it. And deep down, you know that it’s truly wrong.
That’s why you sought out this article in the first place. Perhaps, you sought resources to know if you’re antisocial or not, but deep inside, you already know that you are.
That’s good! That’s a very healthy first step. Awareness is key to betterment. If you cared enough to research, you’ll surely care enough to get better.
Now, your being antisocial may not be your fault. A lot of people who are antisocial are born that way or had previous experiences that led them to become antisocial. Don’t worry, though. If you do want to get better, you can. That’s what you’ll need to work on moving forward.
What You Can Do If You’re Antisocial
Treatment and therapy
According to studies, the source of one being antisocial can be attributed to genetic and environmental factors. If the problem is truly psychological, the best thing you can do is treatment and therapy so you can learn how to adjust your behavior.
This is the best thing you can do for yourself. Seek out professional help, first and foremost. A therapist will be able to hear you personally. You can share things with them, tell them how you feel when you do certain things, or the absence of emotions when you do certain things. This personal, face-to-face interaction is beneficial for you.
The therapist will then be able to make plans and adjustments based on your behavior and experiences. In extreme instances, they can even provide medications. Whatever the case, seek out professional help as soon as possible.
Fake it until you make it
As terrible as this seems, one of the things you can definitely do about your antisocial behavior is to fake the idea that you are. Start believing that you are not and start acting like you are not. Force yourself to actually care about others. Force yourself to start seeing the consequences of your actions. Weigh whether something is beneficial or detrimental. If it’s more of the latter than the former, avoid that.
At first, you won’t actually feel these things. You’re only mimicking the behavior. However, if you care enough to change, your want for it will motivate you to behave as such. Start caring for the people around you. Remember that the world doesn’t revolve around you. It’s not just about you. It’s about everybody.
Start seeing things the way a regular, socially adept person would. There’s no guarantee that you’ll eventually be able to get out of these woods, but nothing should stop you from trying.
Minimize damage towards others
Even though you yourself can’t feel any impactful emotions when it comes to harmful things and damages, the best thing you can do is to make sure the damage you bring towards others is brought to a minimum. Though you don’t necessarily feel it, you know which things you do cause others pain. With that in mind, go out of your way to avoid doing those things from now on.
Put the safety and comfort of others in mind whenever you do something. While you’re working on yourself, seeing a professional, and doing your best to fake it until you make it, one other thing you can keep in mind is to make sure those around you stop receiving pain and harm just because of you.
To know if you’re antisocial or not is a grand endeavor. The fact that you came here in the first place shows that you’re willing to change. Perhaps, in time, and with dedication and effort, you will. With that in mind, I wish you the best of luck. When the time finally comes that you begin to feel emotions for others, when you start gaining empathy, when you finally have care for those around you, return to this site and look up the other articles we have so you can then improve on your social skills.