Crowds

[strangeguy]

I can't understand and explain why i feel so uncomfortable and irritated in crowds. It just put so much stress on my mind that i can't think properly and feel extremely angry for nothing. Can someone give an explaination for this or maybe share their experience?

 

[Beat Mango]

I love crowds - the randomness, the anonymity, the buzz. I can enjoy the company of people without having to make conversation. Perfect.

 

[NoID10ts]

I posted this a long time ago on another thread but it sums up my thought process while at a U2 concert:

"I can't breathe...........did that asshole just spill beer on my shoes?.............This sweaty man is touching me.............I don't want this sweaty man touching me...............WHY IS HE TOUCHING ME!!...............Lady.....quit dancing...........you're getting on my nerves.......and you suck at dancing............God.........maybe she has epilepsy......I can't see..............This froofy headed bastard in front of me needs to pull that hair down because I can't see a thing..............Who sings that song?.......Oh, Bono?...........Let's leave it that way..........jackass!...............I swear to god I am suffocating.............that man is still touching me..............I swear if you don't stop touching me I am going to take that lighter and set you ablaze!!!!!!!!!................God how freaky would it be to just see this entire crowd go up in flames...............There is plenty of hairspray and lighters here to make that happen!.................This is the worst thing ever..........I'm leaving at intermission!!!!!!!!"

I'm pretty much like this with any crowd.

 

[flow]

How tall are you?

 

[Carnap]

It's not natural to be in crowds. I hate it, too. All those dumb women, drooling men, cute kids, crying kids, business men, god, business men ! Get me out !

 

[NoID10ts]

How tall are you?

Me? I'm not a tree trunk like Melkor or Cog, but I'm 5' 11". Why, did that sound like the rantings of a short guy?

 

[Felan]

I internalize the crowd and the worst possiblities. With space, I can sit and enjoyably observe the people.

If I have no room then its just too much for me to process and need to get away.

 

[Insanity]

I posted this a long time ago on another thread but it sums up my thought process while at a U2 concert:

"I can't breathe...........did that asshole just spill beer on my shoes?.............This sweaty man is touching me.............I don't want this sweaty man touching me...............WHY IS HE TOUCHING ME!!...............Lady.....quit dancing...........you're getting on my nerves.......and you suck at dancing............God.........maybe she has epilepsy......I can't see..............This froofy headed bastard in front of me needs to pull that hair down because I can't see a thing..............Who sings that song?.......Oh, Bono?...........Let's leave it that way..........jackass!...............I swear to god I am suffocating.............that man is still touching me..............I swear if you don't stop touching me I am going to take that lighter and set you ablaze!!!!!!!!!................God how freaky would it be to just see this entire crowd go up in flames...............There is plenty of hairspray and lighters here to make that happen!.................This is the worst thing ever..........I'm leaving at intermission!!!!!!!!"

I'm pretty much like this with any crowd.

LOL! Okay, best post ever. I am the exact same way.

 

[Ermine]

It seems that introverts are exceptionally sensitive to stimuli. I think the reason why we introverts are more sensitive to caffeine and other drugs is similar to the reason why we don't like crowds. There's too many stimuli at once. There's the noise, the snippets of random conversations, the lack of personal space, etc. The overload makes me hate humanity for a few minutes.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

I love crowds - the randomness, the anonymity, the buzz. I can enjoy the company of people without having to make conversation. Perfect.

I agree!

This is especially so in concerts. I like to stand near mosh pots... but not in them... just enough so that I'm totally packed in with everyone around me and when anyone of us gets pushed we all kinda of just lean into eachother. Being part of a wave of human beings is awesome. And as you mentioned.... no need for coherent conversation. Just random singing yelling and laughing.

 

[Felan]

I agree!

This is especially so in concerts. I like to stand near mosh pots... but not in them... just enough so that I'm totally packed in with everyone around me and when anyone of us gets pushed we all kinda of just lean into eachother. Being part of a wave of human beings is awesome. And as you mentioned.... no need for coherent conversation. Just random singing yelling and laughing.

Getting the heebiejeebies thinking about that.

 

[thebarran]

A lot of times when i have been in crowds hasnt really made a difference to me as ive been wondering around with my head in the clouds pondering such and such.

But theres times when i can feel like exploding with an overload of information, to much data to process not enough time or cells to do it.

And finally theres times when the warmth and company of strangers surrounding me on all sides comforts and rids you of the alone feelings.

 

[severus]

I don't like crowds when people are moving about. Like in the hallways of my obnoxiously large high school.
constantly bumping into people, the noise, the movement, the ugliness
I am five feet tall. Damn! I can't see over anyone, so I feel like I'm drowning in the mass. If I think about the mob too much, I panic.

 

[Beat Mango]

I agree!

This is especially so in concerts. I like to stand near mosh pots... but not in them... just enough so that I'm totally packed in with everyone around me and when anyone of us gets pushed we all kinda of just lean into eachother. Being part of a wave of human beings is awesome. And as you mentioned.... no need for coherent conversation. Just random singing yelling and laughing.

Actually there was that thread "where do you belong" - that's where I belong, in the thick of the mosh

 

[boomkablamo]

I honestly don't like crowds. I don't know who the fuck any of those people are and I don't see any reason why my crotch needs to be 3 inches from 5 other dudes. I went to a Tom Petty concert last year with friends and didn't move an inch. I was bored, disappointed, and quite unenthusiastic about the man playing songs I've heard 10000000 times so far away I could barely see him. My friends talked shit to me about how I didn't move an inch or sing during the concert.

I think the fact that I don't derive joy from being surrounded by drunken fools makes me superior in some way.

 

[thebarran]

I think the fact that I don't derive joy from being surrounded by drunken fools makes me superior in some way.

No it doesnt. On that premise alone you are inferior.

but dont worry to much you have superior qualities in other areas maybe.

 

[boomkablamo]

No it doesnt. On that premise alone you are inferior.

but dont worry to much you have superior qualities in other areas maybe.

Maybe superior isn't the right word... something more along the lines of... advantageous.

 

[severus]

In the present society, it is rather DISadvantageous (which may or may not be a word).

 

[wadlez]

I think the fact that I don't derive joy from being surrounded by drunken fools makes me superior in some way.

I think getting drunk and being in crowds takes a more simplistic feeling based mind, the most common. Intp's are pained by these situations which is the price they have to pay for having such depth and for being so unique.
The 'Introverts have higher levels of cortical arousal' has a good explanation as to why this happens

 

[echoplex]

For me, lack of personal space is the biggest annoyance with crowds. I have no problem just sitting and people watching, but I hate the feeling that I'm being watched which can become quite uncomfortable depending on the situation I'm in. I've just never been able to really get over the feeling that I'm being evaluated. I don't really care what people think but it just bugs me that people around me are undoubtedly making inaccurate conclusions about me. It forces me to think way more than I'm usually in the mood for (I call this being raped by my Ti ).

 

[sagewolf]

I hate crowds, mainly because I always get left off at the side of them. No matter who I'm at the crowded event with, friends or family or whatever, I'm always the one left over at the wall with a glass of water or whatever else can be gotten for free. And perhaps everyone's bags, because I'm stupid enough to tell them I'll mind the things. I can't have conversations with anyone, because it's impossible to get anyone on their own, or in a group of three. I get steamrollered by larger groups.

I don't feel like I'm being imposed on, or suffocated, or watched, or judged; I simply feel utterly and completely alone, despite being surrounded by people (often friends or family, pathetically). I always feel disconnected from the rest of the world, but in a crowd that sense of disconnection gets hammered home ruthlessly. It's why I prefer to be alone in my room, or otherwise alone physically: I can fool myself into thinking that if I wanted to be sociable, I could be. In a crowd my ineptitude is obvious and dispiriting.

 

[Ogion]

I hate crowds too. I feel like "GTFO!! Either you go or i do...I DO ANYWAYS SO LET ME THROUGH." (To use Noddys nice layout )
I mean, i don't actually hate crowds, i hate being in them. I feel like surrounded by enemies. I feel the need to seek for 'high ground', to get out or i'd drown.
Dunno why, but that's the way it is with me.

Ogion

 

[s0nystyle]

hmmm... i like being crowds because of the constant interaction *_*

 

[Ermine]

I actually don't mind crowds in that it's easy to get lost and keep conversation to a minimum when people approach you and talk for the longest time and could care less what they're saying. You aren't expected to say much and it's easy to make an excuse and high tail it out of an unwanted conversation. That wouldn't be courteously possible in a smaller group of socializers.

Though if I had the choice I wouldn't be in either situation. Being in a crowd and being expected to socialize makes me so restless and nervous.

 

[Vrecknidj]

I don't mind crowds so long as there are some additional factors.

1) I must be in a location that I can leave with relative ease at a time of my choosing.
2) There must be a very low probability that the crowd will turn into a mob.
3) The crowd cannot contain people who are behaving in violent ways.

Dave

 

[Tyria]

It depends on the crowd size and composition. I generally do not like crowds because my freedom to move around and personal space are more limited. I also dislike how people's thinking changes when they are in crowd situations; I prefer individuals and small groups to crowds any day.

 

[Malkavian]

I don't like large crowds since I never feel like I'm fitting in.
I feel like I'm an alien observing a strange species and I better not draw any attention to myself.

 

[ArcusDog]

In general, I loathe crowds. And I use the term "crowds" extremely loosely. Here are some examples and why I hate them:

Going to a store
- I might have to ask someone where to find something
- I might run into someone I know
- I might accidentally make eye contact with someone
- I will almost certainly be subjected to the cashier's pleasantries
- Recently, receipt checkers have become common at the door. I try to time it just right so that they are checking someone else's receipt while I slip by them unnoticed.
- I might have to forcibly ignore solicitors standing outside

Parties
- I might be forced to interact with other people
- Those people might ask me questions about my life/job/preferences or otherwise try to engage me in conversation
- I'll most likely end up sitting somewhere alone, trying to avoid being noticed by anyone. And I could do that in the comfort of my own home.
- The music is too loud and obnoxious
- Someone might ask me to dance (if there's dancing)
- My personal space will likely be violated. Multiple times.
- I fail to see the point

Events (concerts and the like)
- I have to drag my lazy arse out of the house
- I might run into someone I know
- Someone might make eye contact with me
- My personal space is likely to be violated
- I will likely expend too much energy either ignoring the people around me and pretending they don't exist, or observing them, undetected

Church and church events (quite possibly the worst of all crowds)
- I might be forced to interact with other people
- Those people might ask me questions about my life/job/preferences or otherwise try to engage me in conversation
- Multiple people will inevitably ask me what's wrong and not accept my answer of "nothing."
- Multiple people will feel sorry for me because I am alone and will subsequently attempt to rectify the situation
- If I accidentally make eye contact with anyone (and sometimes even if I don't), they will automatically want to shake my hand, hug me, talk to me, or interact with me in some way
- Someone may want to hold my hand for prayer
- I will be subjected to witnessing and confronting much falseness of persona and artificial goodness.
- I will inevitably be invited to additional gatherings/study groups/services

Crowds are tolerable when:
- I don't know anyone there
- Nobody touches me or comes within 20 feet of me
- I can position myself in such a way that I can observe the people without reserve and go entirely undetected

 

[Seducer of the Homeless]

i almost like walking through big cities as opposed to small towns, it is a lot less personal

 

[Ermine]

Hmm. I actually like church crowds, at least in my church. It's a bit of an ego boost as everyone is so nice, and the goodwill is actually genuine. And I have some equally introverted church friends to celebrate introversion and weirdness with.

 

[XIII]

I've started attracting followers. No games-- somebody actually said ''you're my guru'' to me yesterday. I've had several others refer to me as their ''inspiration'' or ''mentor''. A few, admittedly, came to me as a result of private document I circulated through the occult community; it's full of lost souls looking for masters. Some, though, offered themselves to me without the necessity of such teacher/student contexts.

I suppose I don't mind crowds, just so long as I'm commanding them. I anticipate many such situations in the future. I have descended and expressed my godhood in their petty realm, and thus should rightly be worshiped. In this regard, reality is conforming to my will.

I also enjoy mindless raves/parties/selfless/dancing/fucking/loving of huge groups.

 

[mathy]

It depends almost entirely on the specific crowd for me (oh, and sometimes my mood).

I like party type crowds when:
There are at least a handful of fairly close friends attending
The people I don't know have a high probability of being interesting/quirky/smart
Stimulating conversation is bound to occur

I dislike party type crowds when:
I don't know many people
When most people are overly concerned with their image, not looking for meaningful conversation
The (bad) music is so loud as to drown out any attempt at conversation

^although sometimes I enjoy these types when I can sit back at a distance and think

I like concert type crowds when:
I have at least one close friend accompanying me
I really love the band that's playing
Some douchebag near me doesn't ruin my experience by being drunk and/or stupid (don't yell "Freebird" dipshit)... usually in this case I just move to another spot

I dislike concert type crowds when:
The crowd is too big
The likelihood that obnoxious drunks are going to be screaming and generally being idiotic is fairly high
The likelihood that a good chuck of the audience doesn't really care about the music is fairly high
(These usually occur when bands are pretty popular, worse if bands are VERY popular)

So basically, all the concerts by musicians I like should be safe... at least for awhile (probably forever, judging by the (lack of) mental capacity of the masses to (not) appreciate complex/unique music).

On another note, my boyfriend dragged me to the gym the other day just to see if I would like it. The first night, probably around 8:30-9 pm, I enjoyed it (probably only 5 or 6 people in the gym). It was quiet, I was able to relax and clear my mind. When we went at 5:30 later that week, it was a miserable experience... way too many people around, who were way too concerned with making appearances and meeting people for my taste... I just felt very out of place. I couldn't concentrate on relaxing at ALL. Made me very uncomfortable, and I found it odd that I hadn't really had an experience like that before. While I dislike some crowds, I never had really felt uncomfortable/fidgety/anxious before that.

I enjoy airports, stores/malls, busy parks, busy libraries, as long as I am not inconvenienced by the amount of people. Headphones help immensely.

 

[GYX_Kid]

i used to feel really uncomfortable in them when i was really young. i especially hated mass laughing and clapping.

now i just take crowds as more of a plain dense, dissonant atmosphere. like clouds made of crap? ignorable enough to float into my own clouds made of crap

 

[gruesomebrat]

I don't like crowds when people are moving about. Like in the hallways of my obnoxiously large high school.
constantly bumping into people, the noise, the movement, the ugliness
I am five feet tall. Damn! I can't see over anyone, so I feel like I'm drowning in the mass. If I think about the mob too much, I panic.

I'm the same way. If the crowd is attempting to move, I can't be near it. Otherwise, crowds are relatively tolerable. It often depends on my mood on that particular day, though.
And, severus, don't worry. It's not just you short people that feel crowds are roughly analogous to large bodies of water. The only real difference in the analogy is that when tall people like me (6'7") are in a crowd, it feels more like the crowd is a riptide dragging you somewhere you really don't want to go. The worst part is that I can see over everyone else's heads and can't find a way out of the crowd.

 

[EditorOne]

I can't understand and explain why i feel so uncomfortable and irritated in crowds. It just put so much stress on my mind that i can't think properly and feel extremely angry for nothing. Can someone give an explaination for this or maybe share their experience?

Crowds only make me uneasy if I have to interact with them. Otherwise I find it fun to just sit back and watch everyone.

Maybe you could think it around and realize proximity doesn't necessarily mean any interaction is required of you. Ditto on "proximity doesn't equal intrusion." You can be just as alone in a crowd as you would be on Mars.

A side benefit is information you pick up. If you are quiet and unobtrusive, you hear and see a lot that the braying extroverts around you miss.

 

[pjoa09]

I HATE CROWDS.

My definition of crowd is indeed what you would consider as stampede though.
Yes.
I need to squeeze and you end up touching a bunch of random people and it is disgusting.
But still,
I'd prefer it completely empty.

No, I am not sensitive to caffeine at all.
I drink Redbull, Coke Zero, and Coffee regularly.

 

[Solitaire U.]

My endurance level for prolonged human interaction is below the norm. I accompanied my sister to IKEA last Sunday, 'to push the cart and lift the heavy objects.' that are apparently IKEA's specialty...was how it was explained to me. Having never set foot in an IKEA, I was sincerely unaware of what I was getting into. The experience of two and a half hours of wandering aimlessly through a gigantic windowless multi-level box crammed with other people left me so disoriented that I was finally forced to push the cart really fast against the flow of traffic all the way back up to the top just to regain my sense of direction. When we reached the top my nephew, who'd ridden in the cart, decided going backwards in IKEA was even more fun than the "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" attraction at Disneyland.

To me it seemed more akin to Alice falling down the rabbit hole. The crowds...the maze...when it was all over I literally felt physically exhausted. I will never set foot in another IKEA for as long as I live.

 

[crippli]

I prefer crowds for security. But if it's secure I prefer less crowds, at least to be at a distance.

I like to study each person(or the whole group) I pass on the street.

But security comes first.

There are many countries I would not deliberately go to. As I consider the politics/religion that control group behaviour to be dangerous many places.

 

[Cogwulf]

Crowds make me edgy, rather than anxious.
When I'm in a crowd, I feel as though I'm using all off my energy into monitoring my immediate vicinity, and the path ahead of me. And I have nothing left for anything else. When I'm in a crowd I find it very difficult to talk to anyone I'm with. I also find decision making very difficult in crowds, for example in busy shops I tend to choose items much more impulsively than I would normally.

 

[snafupants]

I can't understand and explain why i feel so uncomfortable and irritated in crowds. It just put so much stress on my mind that i can't think properly and feel extremely angry for nothing. Can someone give an explaination for this or maybe share their experience?

Lack of alcohol can do this to some people.

 

[Stoic Beverage]

I enjoy people-watching if I'm sitting and there is no interaction or touching required.
If I'm standing in a crowd, I get paranoid because I don't like people being near me if I can't see them. It's not too severe, and I can get along in my somewhat large school's passing time during which I'm surrounded. It usually makes me rather tired afterward.

 

[Solitaire U.]

Lack of alcohol can do this to some people.

Or excessive indulgence in Marijuana...

 

[dark]

I enjoy crowds. I am 5' 9" so I usually can't see over people but being in the midst of many people is fun in a way. I feel alive and invigorated by crowds. If the crowd is moving in a particularly stupid direction I must find out why so it becomes an adventure. And of course it is such a nice prize if I find a dead body, but have yet to do that, but I am still hoping.

But I dislike parties. So a crowd like that is not fun because of all the sensory interactions. Which I assume overloads my underdeveloped sensing.

 

[Anchorite]

I love the street. Wait, let me rephrase that.
I see crowds in two ways: Street crowds, and Room crowds. If I'm up in the Loop for some reason and I'm walking somewhere on a sidewalk packed with other individuals doing their own thing for various reasons, I love it. I get a great vibe off that crowd. We all have shit to do. We all have energy.
On the other hand, I might be packed with the rest of my high school into a large gym. This is a bad crowd, and not entirely because most of these idiots just piss me off. There's a whole different energy to it. It's aimless, we don't come from different places to do different things, we all just wait and disperse into groups next to groups next to groups. Sometimes I even get a group too! If not, well I've been completely alone in enough packed rooms to tell you it's an unpleasant feeling, and I'm sure you don't need me to.

 

[xevos]

it could be over stimulation. kinda like a mini panic attack. my cousin when in a crowd gets annoyed and frustarted and pretty much everything u mentioned he is 6"2' and the psychiatrist (how my cousin put it) said it is an anxiety issue(minor an not realy unhealthy just something he has to work with) . talk to a proffesional and see what they say. my cousin learned some tricks so he doesnt get irratated