One of the side-effects of being a therapist, is that people tend to tire you. If you are already more introverted than extraverted, being a therapist is a relatively better fit. (An introvert may like people, but experiences over-exposure, especially to groups, as draining. They recharge energy by engaging in solitary activities. Extroverts require the energies of others to recharge them). I use the word "relatively", because being a therapist is very much a one-way flow of intimacies. Therapists clearly do not share their own certainties, insecurities and fears, nor their own pain in sessions. Increasingly they also tend not to do so after hours (On the hand we are supposed to be immune to these human failures. To be able to cope impeccably. On the other, we are proud and shyat the same time, and also rather tired of emotional talk). But you listen intently to those of other, all the time. This is why most therapists that I know, shy away from people, of intimacy and, last but not least, of any emotionally wrenching stories or movies, after hours. We need a break! problem is, you can feel that way about your own intimate relationships.
Extraverted persons who become therapists have an even tougher time: how not to show your own personality and ideas too much! In time, they become more introverted- the job just determines that. So, we suffer from loss of spirit very often- too much being for others; too little being ourselves. An analyst once said to me; "The problem with you is, you have too little character." "How do I get more, I asked" (No, I did not argue and I was not offended;I could feel the loss of character in my bones after more than a decade in practice). "You find out what you like and you do lots of it!", was his answer.
