You\u2019re not an introvert. You\u2019re not an extrovert. You\u2019re not even really an ambivert. So what are you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So many of us have the desire to compartmentalize our personality traits into neat little boxes<\/a>. \u201cOh, she\u2019s such an INFJ. Oh, he\u2019s such a Gemini.\u201d Some of it is rooted (well sort of) in psychology, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator<\/a>, based loosely on Jungian ideas. Others rely on arguably less scientific data like stars and \u201crising signs.\u201d Humans aren\u2019t usually that simple<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, there\u2019s still value in understanding one\u2019s own personality<\/a> and inclinations. Here\u2019s a confession: I\u2019ve taken countless personality<\/a> tests because I just couldn\u2019t figure out if I was an extrovert or an introvert<\/a>. Neither description quite fit, and as someone constantly trying to understand what makes me tick<\/a>, this has been frustrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turns out, there are other options. The term \u201cambivert<\/a>\u201d got popularized in the 1930s (after being coined by Edmund S. Conklin in 1923<\/a>), and it refers to a person \u201cwho has features of both an introvert (someone who prefers to spend time alone) and an extrovert (someone who prefers to be with other people) in their personality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But for those who still don\u2019t quite relate, meet the otrovert. In 2025, psychiatrist Rami Kaminski published The Gift of Not Belonging<\/a><\/em> (co-written with Neil Hellegers), in which he discusses his coined term to describe a whole new type of personality. In an Insta-reel captioned \u201cWhat is an Otrovert?\u201d Kaminski mentions the polarization of introverts and extroverts. \u201cWhen Jung invented the terms extrovert and introvert, he saw them as two fundamental orientations of the personality. I see the otrovert in the same way. A personality trait that faces away from the group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He continues, \u201cExtroverts and introverts are inherently communal, while the otrovert is an outsider to the group. In itself, it is not a problem or condition, nor is it a diagnostic label. It simply means that while most people learn to develop a sense of belonging to a specific group through social conditioning, otroverts remain social but not communal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In writer Sarjna Rai\u2019s piece, \u201cStruggle to Fit the Mold? The \u2018Otrovert\u2019 Personality Explains Why<\/a>\u201d <\/em>for Business Standard<\/em>, they write: \u201cUnlike introverts or extroverts, otroverts are not defined by where they draw their social energy. Instead, the concept captures people who constantly feel like outsiders, and tend to look in a different direction altogether, not necessarily aligned with the rest of the group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s impossible to group people into perfect categories, Rai explains that Kaminski claims the main thing that sets otroverts apart is their \u201creluctance to conform to group norms<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writer Avery White lists signs one might be an otrovert in the article \u201c7 Signs You Might Be an Otrovert<\/a>\u201d for VegOut<\/em>. Among them is preferring \u201chigh-signal conversations and low-maintenance relationships.\u201d They give this as an example: \u201cYou\u2019ll happily spend three hours exploring one idea with one person, and then not speak for weeks without either of you taking it personally. In other words, low pressure, low expectations, high connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another on the list, and this is a big one according to Kaminski, is: \u201cYou can look extroverted in public, yet feel fundamentally \u2018other.\u2019\u201d This is actually the crux of the term, and in fact, what Kaminski formed The Otherness Institute<\/a> for: as their website says, \u201cthose who feel they don\u2019t belong<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The site also shares that recognizing aspects of this type in yourself and others (if it applies) will help \u201cbalance between your individuality and your function as part of the social matrix that determines your well-being. The experience of otherness in a togetherness-minded world can be emotionally bruising. Often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, otherness may lead individuals to feel strange, lonely, and unwelcome in groups. Left unidentified, otroverts\u2019 non-belonging can result in a frustrating, futile lifetime effort of trying to \u2018fit in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some Redditors are scrambling to figure out if they fit into this category. In the subreddit r\/INTP (referencing one of the Myers-Briggs personality types), the OP asks, \u201cMaybe I am an \u2018otrovert<\/a>?\u2019\u201d Under this, they write, \u201cDr. Kaminski described the otrovert child as \u2018neurotypical, friendly, curious, well-adjusted, and often popular\u2019 yet \u2018they resist being pressured into group activities.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this can seem inconsequential in childhood, joining the peer group \u201cbecomes critically important\u201d in adolescence, said the psychiatrist, and teens \u201cstart to gauge their self-worth based on the group\u2019s ranking of popularity (or unpopularity).\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMembership in a group, no matter how lowly, is better than being an outsider,\u201d he added. \u201cOtroverts, however, are comfortable with being outsiders and find it impossible to feel like insiders, regardless of how welcome they are.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a handful of commenters who feel seen, but many push back, claiming the term could easily apply to other personality traits. One writes, \u201cI think it\u2019s easy to resonate with this description\u2026 but as some warning noted, there aren\u2019t enough studies done about this term that people should be running to adopt it. I resonated with it after reading about it\u2026 But I have ADHD and persistent depressive disorder\u2026 both of which coincide with the descriptions of an otrovert.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo what exactly is an otrovert?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The signs you might be one<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone is convinced, though<\/h2>\n\n\n\n