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[Jungian Cognitive Functions] Brain damage and type change? - The Jason Padgett case

infinite

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Does type change happen through brain injury?

See quick description of the case in article here.

The guy was a very typical Se-dom E7, probably ESTP, now he's more like INxx E5, INTP or maybe NiTi loop.

(I thought INTP first but then he mentions in the book that he now has the ability of picking up other people's feelings very well. I don't know what that is... And there's some Ni-like thingies too in the book.)

Thoughts?

PS. I have the book as ebook if anyone wants it :)
 

á´…eparted

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People having personality changes after brain injuries, such as strokes is well known. As such, type definitely can change.
 

Hive

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It seems to me like his hobbies changed more than his personality. Suddenly being extremely gifted and involuntarily seeing the mathematics of everything might make you change your priorities.

With that said, doesn't different personality types make more use of different parts of the brain? (I think Dario Nardi has researched this.)

If so, it sounds like rerouting neural pathways (or however other parts of the brain become more accessible, I'm no biologist) could make you a different personality type.
 

Chad of the OttomanEmpire

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I would hesitate to comment on his enneagram type from that alone. I could easily have said about my youth, "I was a typical shut-in with no friends who spent her free time studying and exploring the mysteries of the universe", but that doesn't make me an Fi-dom 5 any more than "I currently wander the world, live for the moment, and fight anyone who gets in the way" makes me an Se-dom 8w7.

The article said that he is accessing parts of his brain people don't normally access, not that his personality changed. He did suffer from PTSD, but that's a trauma-based reaction that can cause changes in habits and reactions, but it's not a change in type.

PTSD =/= Introvert. Also, genius =/= type 5.

Anyway, I don't know if severe brain trauma changes type, or just changes its expression. Until we know what creates type, I'd say none of us will be able to speak definitively on that.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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I think it's a reasonable conclusion that, if someone's brain is fundamentally changed or forced to operate differently due to injury, that their personality might go through radical changes. The question is, is this a new personality, or merely another, dormant side of their old personality?

I know it's fiction, but the movie Regarding Henry is a pretty decent example.

I'm also fascinated by people who unlock hidden talents after head trauma. My wife told me that one of her uncles f-ed his head up in a motorcycle accident and was suddenly able to play the piano (very well, according to her), having never had a lesson in his life.
 

Hive

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I'm also fascinated by people who unlock hidden talents after head trauma. My wife told me that one of her uncles f-ed his head up in a motorcycle accident and was suddenly able to play the piano (very well, according to her), having never had a lesson in his life.
Seems strange. Being a proficient piano player would require some amount of motor learning. Maybe he got a better ear for music, acquiring something close to a perfect pitch. Otherwise it sounds like planting false information in your muscle memory or something, which is a less likely but way cooler explanation. Imagine a Jason Bourne-like scenario where you wake up from a head injury and find yourself being able to instinctively immobilize a threat by striking a person's pressure points at lightning speed.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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Seems strange. Being a proficient piano player would require some amount of motor learning. Maybe he got a better ear for music, acquiring something close to a perfect pitch. Otherwise it sounds like planting false information in your muscle memory or something, which is a less likely but way cooler explanation. Imagine a Jason Bourne-like scenario where you wake up from a head injury and find yourself being able to instinctively immobilize a threat by striking a person's pressure points at lightning speed.

It's possible there are facts missing from her anecdote as well. I've heard other similar stories of head trauma victims unlocking talents they never knew they had. Sheeet, I need to get whacked in the head and maybe I'll be able to memorize phonebooks a la Rainman.
 

Hive

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It's possible there are facts missing from her anecdote as well. I've heard other similar stories of head trauma victims unlocking talents they never knew they had. Sheeet, I need to get whacked in the head and maybe I'll be able to memorize phonebooks a la Rainman.
There needs to be a scientific field devoted to talents induced by blunt trauma. Perhaps different brains will store different talents, or maybe a variety of talents can be unlocked depending on the location and force of the blow.

Shit I can't talk about this anymore, starting to feel uneasy, lol.
 

infinite

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It seems to me like his hobbies changed more than his personality.

Actually, it's not just his hobbies. His whole attitude to the world changed. Totally upside-down really. I'm reading the book and the guy says that it does feel like an entire new personality. He did have to come to terms with that fact - that his old self was completely lost.


Suddenly being extremely gifted and involuntarily seeing the mathematics of everything might make you change your priorities.

Yeah, and part of it was the accident itself - initially the PTSD he developed made him extremely asocial. He improved on that later though. But his new personality stayed after that too.


With that said, doesn't different personality types make more use of different parts of the brain? (I think Dario Nardi has researched this.)

If so, it sounds like rerouting neural pathways (or however other parts of the brain become more accessible, I'm no biologist) could make you a different personality type.

Yeah I was thinking the same.

Though it's crazy how it can also unlock abilities heh.

Some of the changes in this case are not just personality changes btw, I think something's up with his vision. And he acquired a kind of synesthesia that I'd call "synesthesia of logic" :) Basically he sees shapes for numbers and logic in math.

The weird thing is, I have a similar synesthesia myself but I never suffered a brain injury. It just developed on its own over time. Though his version is "crazier" than mine :), it activates more strongly for him. And mine's not actually tangibly seen outside in the world, he actually sees some shit out in the world, he sees an overlay of visual representations of logic over physical objects. I only see such overlay inside my mind, I have to withdraw into my mind to see it well.

Anyway I will admit that's part of the reason why I got so interested in his case :) I underwent a slow change of personality over time, a bit similar to his, though I didn't lose my old self, as I said this was no head injury for me, just circumstances. A lot of me didn't really change anyway, just part of me and I think the origins of the change were always inside me even as a small kid, it just needed time to develop. But anyway his changes are much more drastic. And his synesthesia also more drastic. A slight parallel still. I *have to* wonder if there's a link between the two. :thinking:

Sorry if that didn't make much sense to you or anyone. It's hard to explain. But if you got thoughts on it, feel free to share. :)


I would hesitate to comment on his enneagram type from that alone. I could easily have said about my youth, "I was a typical shut-in with no friends who spent her free time studying and exploring the mysteries of the universe", but that doesn't make me an Fi-dom 5 any more than "I currently wander the world, live for the moment, and fight anyone who gets in the way" makes me an Se-dom 8w7.

Well his new personality was at least initially pretty afraid of the world - some of that was the PTSD though -, and he loves getting immersed in a world of concepts. He just simply can't live without that. He doesn't just spend his free time studying.

And btw why doesn't that sort of make you an 5? Say, disintegration of your 8 fix to 5 for example? (Btw I don't see how that example has anything to do with Fi... Ti or Ni maybe.) Or living for the moment, why doesn't that make you an Se-dom type? That latter one is by definition SP type actually... I'm not sure I understand your underlying reasoning here. Please let me know what you meant here.


The article said that he is accessing parts of his brain people don't normally access, not that his personality changed. He did suffer from PTSD, but that's a trauma-based reaction that can cause changes in habits and reactions, but it's not a change in type.

It's not simple PTSD, but yeah the article is pretty short. The book says a lot more about this. Still, even the article says it's more than PTSD.


PTSD =/= Introvert. Also, genius =/= type 5.

I never made such equations in my post. I'm not even sure if he's a genius, the point is that his fixation and attitude to the world seemed to change. And as for introvert, he pretty much got all the hallmarks of being one and he does abstract away stuff from objects (well that's the jungian definition of introversion, mind you);


Anyway, I don't know if severe brain trauma changes type, or just changes its expression. Until we know what creates type, I'd say none of us will be able to speak definitively on that.

That's a good question. Now in this case, can the ESTP type have such an expression of the type that in practice means living in a world of mathematical concepts with such passion? What do you think?

The way he approaches Sensation now is very un-SP-ish.

Btw he repeatedly says in the book - I think in the article too? - that even the bad side effects of the change - OCD for example - are worth it, he loves this new world opened up to him so much and he would not want to return to his old self now.

As for what creates type, if we accept the idea that our functioning is dependant on the physical brain's functioning then it would be pretty logical to assume that it's possible for severe physical changes in the brain to cause an entire personality type change. Of course if one doesn't want to accept the assumption that we are just our brains then this reasoning doesn't hold. :p


I think it's a reasonable conclusion that, if someone's brain is fundamentally changed or forced to operate differently due to injury, that their personality might go through radical changes. The question is, is this a new personality, or merely another, dormant side of their old personality?

Well in this guy's case it must've been a very much dormant side. :wink:

Even if we try to type his new personality as NiTi loop INFJ and not INTP, the inferior function isn't really going to cut it as "dormant side of personality". It's opposing the dominant function in too many ways.


I know it's fiction, but the movie Regarding Henry is a pretty decent example.

Thanks I'll try to look that up. :)


I'm also fascinated by people who unlock hidden talents after head trauma. My wife told me that one of her uncles f-ed his head up in a motorcycle accident and was suddenly able to play the piano (very well, according to her), having never had a lesson in his life.

The book also mentions these things and yeah for some reason this sudden ability to play the piano play has surfaced in several cases. Though that would just be a hobby, not an entire personality change.
 

grey_beard

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There needs to be a scientific field devoted to talents induced by blunt trauma. Perhaps different brains will store different talents, or maybe a variety of talents can be unlocked depending on the location and force of the blow.

Shit I can't talk about this anymore, starting to feel uneasy, lol.

(@g_w waves billy club.)

Say, lean over hear a minute, would you? (j/k)

:dry:
 

Cellmold

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So what I need is for someone to hit me very hard in the head.

I know of at least one person who would LUUURVE to do that!
 

Chad of the OttomanEmpire

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I'll do my best to respond:

Well his new personality was at least initially pretty afraid of the world - some of that was the PTSD though -, and he loves getting immersed in a world of concepts. He just simply can't live without that. He doesn't just spend his free time studying.
EDIT: Huh, I thought I wrote something here before. Anyway, regarding the 5 behaviors, see below:

And btw why doesn't that sort of make you an 5?
Because I lack the core motivations of compensating for my ability to live in the world via gathering of knowledge.

Say, disintegration of your 8 fix to 5 for example?
What now? That wouldn't turn me into a 5, regardless.

(Btw I don't see how that example has anything to do with Fi... Ti or Ni maybe.)
It doesn't have much to do with anything, that's the point. Key is, I exhibited those behaviors, which were not part of any psychological or cognitive process.

Or living for the moment, why doesn't that make you an Se-dom type?
"Living for the moment" is also a philosophical premise, which I have developed in accordance with realizing my own mortality. I'm not Se-dom because that's not the way my cognition goes. In a cognitive sense then, I still suck at living in the moment. But my attitude is, don't worry about tomorrow, it may never come. Enjoy whatever it is you have now.

That latter one is by definition SP type actually... I'm not sure I understand your underlying reasoning here. Please let me know what you meant here.
Being a 5 means you center your life around the acquisition of knowledge to compensate for a belief that the world will demand too much of you, and that you can't cope with that. Fives are thus extremely sensitive to obligations of others and feel readily depleted. This was never my coping mechanism, nor does it appear that the other guy has necessarily shifted his deeper emotional motivations.

That's why I'm saying that a) I'm not a 5 and b) that other guy doesn't have to be a 5 either. 7s, for instance, are often extremely intellectual, and it's possible he just learned to access another part of his brain that helped him see the joy in these new concepts as opposed to his prior experience. Enneagram is far more about core motivations and psychological underpinnings, not necessarily behaviors, so it would depend on whether he now identifies with the motivations of 5. I don't see anything in that short article that suggested a true shift in his psychological orientation.

It's not simple PTSD, but yeah the article is pretty short. The book says a lot more about this. Still, even the article says it's more than PTSD.
Obviously, I'd have to read the book before coming to a definitive conclusion here, but most of the reclusive behavior seems to have been PTSD-related (it's possible the OCD is as well, since both involve the brain mis-firing anxiety signals). It also indicates he's using another part of his brain to see structures that didn't exist before--that's indicative of a new, uncommon ability, but again, not indicative of a change in psychological orientation or cognition.

I never made such equations in my post.
No, but many people assume special abilities = 5, and many extroverted PTSD sufferers have complained about being "introverts" now. It is better to state unequivocally that these things are not the same.

I'm not even sure if he's a genius, the point is that his fixation and attitude to the world seemed to change. And as for introvert, he pretty much got all the hallmarks of being one and he does abstract away stuff from objects (well that's the jungian definition of introversion, mind you);
If he was an Se-dom, it's possible he's just developing his inferior. He may still extrovert his sensing primarily, but instead use it in the service of his new ability.

That's a good question. Now in this case, can the ESTP type have such an expression of the type that in practice means living in a world of mathematical concepts with such passion? What do you think?
I think so. I think people can do whatever they set their minds to, regardless of type, and if he suddenly saw the value of mathematical concepts, he'd be more than capable of embracing them with passion.

Btw he repeatedly says in the book - I think in the article too? - that even the bad side effects of the change - OCD for example - are worth it, he loves this new world opened up to him so much and he would not want to return to his old self now.
I wouldn't want to return to my old self, either. I am certain I didn't change my type, however.

As for what creates type, if we accept the idea that our functioning is dependant on the physical brain's functioning then it would be pretty logical to assume that it's possible for severe physical changes in the brain to cause an entire personality type change. Of course if one doesn't want to accept the assumption that we are just our brains then this reasoning doesn't hold. :p
It's possible that personality originates in an area untouched by the particular alteration he suffered, however. From what I understand, he only suffered a deep concussion involving certain isolated areas, not the entire brain, and the results involved some anxiety-oriented fall-out (PTSD, OCD) as well as improved access to captivating new brain functions.

A full-out type change is something I would hesitate to declare based on the information we have about this guy, as well as on what I understand of cognitive functions and enneatype.
 

LadyRain

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Does type change happen through brain injury?

See quick description of the case in article here.

The guy was a very typical Se-dom E7, probably ESTP, now he's more like INxx E5, INTP or maybe NiTi loop.

(I thought INTP first but then he mentions in the book that he now has the ability of picking up other people's feelings very well. I don't know what that is... And there's some Ni-like thingies too in the book.)

Thoughts?

PS. I have the book as ebook if anyone wants it :)

Personality change is very common in TBIs; it's a primary indicator of severe trauma.
 

infinite

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Because I lack the core motivations of compensating for my ability to live in the world via gathering of knowledge.

Interesting. I myself do have that motivation sometimes. Though I wouldn't say it's core for me. I know someone who definitely emphasizes this attitude a lot more than me so I can see that relative to him I don't as much...


What now? That wouldn't turn me into a 5, regardless.

My theory is that it might if you're at it long enough. I know someone else - not the same person I mention above -, she kind of seems like to have gone that route... I'm not that far along myself on it and I would not want to be. Though maybe her head fix is 5 anyway. Not sure


It doesn't have much to do with anything, that's the point. Key is, I exhibited those behaviors, which were not part of any psychological or cognitive process.

How are you sure they were not part of e.g. mbti-related cognitive processes? When my behaviour in general changed in some periods of my life, I experienced a shift in my patterns of habituating of cognitive attitudes and other psychological mechanisms (enneagram related too). Internally, yes*. Not just in the external behaviour. Which makes perfect logical sense, because the behaviours all originate in your brain so if the output (=your behaviour) changes, something in the "black box" (=your brain) changed too. (The logic is obviously really simplified here overall.) What exactly changed internally is another question of course, so I'm not saying you could not be right about the claim that it wasn't mbti or enneagram related.

Btw I'm sure you just happened to word the bolded the wrong way but they were definitely psychological processes. Just maybe not within the scope of one specific typology or other psychology theory. Still, as said, the behaviours all originate in your brain so it's psychological processes by definition.

*: I didn't even notice my behavioural changes as readily as the internal changes. I did notice the external changes of course, just ..it was not as readily obvious.


"Living for the moment" is also a philosophical premise, which I have developed in accordance with realizing my own mortality. I'm not Se-dom because that's not the way my cognition goes. In a cognitive sense then, I still suck at living in the moment. But my attitude is, don't worry about tomorrow, it may never come. Enjoy whatever it is you have now.

OK, that makes sense. If it doesn't come to you naturally but you have to force it by adopting this philosophy thing then you're not Se-dom :) However then the bolded part in your original statement was not really precisely put: "I currently wander the world, live for the moment, and fight anyone who gets in the way". Because, you know, without providing the context you did now, it was pretty much in the context of MBTI (Se) which you mentioned in the same sentence later. So, easy to misunderstand.


Being a 5 means you center your life around the acquisition of knowledge to compensate for a belief that the world will demand too much of you, and that you can't cope with that. Fives are thus extremely sensitive to obligations of others and feel readily depleted. This was never my coping mechanism, nor does it appear that the other guy has necessarily shifted his deeper emotional motivations.

OK. I see. Unfortunately, I certainly related to these 5 issues in a certain period of my life. As a result, I had to temporarily withdraw from being around people as they were sucking my energy away so much. I got depleted even by friends. They did nothing wrong to me, I didn't blame them or anything for it, it just simply was that way. I was not like that before that period of my life. I was in this state for years. Just trying to come out of it recently. Anyway, as I said, I was not always like this. So for some reason my attitude changed really crazily substantially. I didn't even have TBI, goddammit.

Anyway back to the Jason Padgett case. His emotional motivations seem to be changed; prior to the TBI, his motivation was just living in the moment, enjoying physicality for what it is. Afterwards, he started to be deeply motivated by his inner visions and by research. He states in the book several times that research was now his focus. Researching things online all day, 24/7, enjoying it greatly. He later married and his wife did help him go out into life more. But, he had to be helped, meaning he didn't really have the motivation for those Se&7-ish experiences anymore.


That's why I'm saying that a) I'm not a 5 and b) that other guy doesn't have to be a 5 either. 7s, for instance, are often extremely intellectual, and it's possible he just learned to access another part of his brain that helped him see the joy in these new concepts as opposed to his prior experience. Enneagram is far more about core motivations and psychological underpinnings, not necessarily behaviors, so it would depend on whether he now identifies with the motivations of 5. I don't see anything in that short article that suggested a true shift in his psychological orientation.

The temptation of 5 certainly seems to be true for him: "replacing direct experience with concepts", sitting and thinking all day about concepts seems to qualify IMO. He got the 5 desire of "mastery" too, he went back to school to understand things better. He even started to looked like a really bad stereotype of a 5 after a few years of just sitting at home locking the entire world out. That was also the PTSD stuff of course. What I could see as 7 is his joy in seeing the geometrical things in the world. Though you could say it's the joy of a 5, love of concepts more than the world itself. I don't know. I can be convinced that this somehow can still be 7-ish.

MBTI wise, I'm more certain that his Se really went down the drain.

Btw I see now that the article I linked really IS short :( I don't know if there's a better one out there... I guess the stuff I'm telling here does sum up the contents of the book somewhat.


Obviously, I'd have to read the book before coming to a definitive conclusion here, but most of the reclusive behavior seems to have been PTSD-related (it's possible the OCD is as well, since both involve the brain mis-firing anxiety signals). It also indicates he's using another part of his brain to see structures that didn't exist before--that's indicative of a new, uncommon ability, but again, not indicative of a change in psychological orientation or cognition.

If you are interested in the book, I'm happy to send the ebook. Feel free to PM me. :) It's pretty interesting and honestly I wasn't originally thinking about MBTI let alone enneagram when starting on the book, but the things in the book really jumped out at me as... really interesting in the context of typology (beyond simply being very interesting anyway).

The reclusive behaviour vs PTSD vs OCD, I don't know for sure. Part of it definitely due to it. Like, not even leaving the house for years (except at night once every week to be able to get groceries without people being around). That's definitely overkill and had to be PTSD. Otoh, I would think that if someone loves living in a world of concepts all day they would not have much time nor the interest to just party hard.

His OCD, you are right, it could be related to PTSD, not that I thought OCD was necessarily type related anyway. In the book he said something about not trusting people so he would develop OCD about cleanliness, e.g. when shaking hands with people, he has to use a cleaning towel immediately afterwards. I haven't finished the entire book yet but I just got to the part where it says that someone figured out there was this connection between the loss of trust in people and the OCD. Afterwards he was able to hug the person (could not before that due to the worry about germs).

It's interesting btw yes, he started using another part of his brain but seems like the organization of stuff of a more general nature changed too, I think he did get injury to the frontal lobe too, and maybe that part of the brain is related to whatever determines the MBTI preferences. The structures thingie is a parietal lobe thing but obviously the parts that got overactive there are only overactive because another part of the brain got injured that used to inhibit these parietal areas. Damage to that area would remove the inhibition and allow those parietal lobe functions to go overdrive. This again might be to do with the mechanism of how there are cognitive preferences in the first place, that is, that the brain has some areas habitually more active than other areas. (Though of course function theory isn't just about that but also about a hierarchy between these parts.)


No, but many people assume special abilities = 5, and many extroverted PTSD sufferers have complained about being "introverts" now. It is better to state unequivocally that these things are not the same.

Well yeah I don't know if those extraverted PTSD sufferers still felt better being extraverted - if they managed to overcome their fears at times - or if their brain genuinely started being more active in certain areas that seem to be linked to introversion. Like, introverts in general have more activity in certain parts of the brain while extraverts need outside stimulation to have enough activity.


If he was an Se-dom, it's possible he's just developing his inferior. He may still extrovert his sensing primarily, but instead use it in the service of his new ability.

If the Se is used in service of another thing, then by definition Se is not the dominant function.

I have not tried to determine if he still prefers Se/Ni over Si/Ne though it's possible that this is the case. However he certainly uses more intuition, when he looks at things, he will associate them with concepts, going really far with speculation and imagination. His old self didn't seem to do that. Btw I mentioned I had some shift in emphases of cognitive attitudes, right? Even with all that, I still did not stop being an S type. This guy... yeah the change is more profound. I can see him as N type instead of S type.


I think so. I think people can do whatever they set their minds to, regardless of type, and if he suddenly saw the value of mathematical concepts, he'd be more than capable of embracing them with passion.

Still, an ESTP would still primarily deal with his/her surroundings in a very concrete fashion, not thinking of math literally all the time. Example, he has a furniture shop where he sells the furniture, he was doing that before the TBI too, and now he can only get through the day if he can have a chance to think about the stuff and it especially helps if he can discuss this stuff with customers of the more curious type. Some fun stories about that in the book :)


I wouldn't want to return to my old self, either. I am certain I didn't change my type, however.

Heh. What's your old self like that you don't want to return to?

I always wished to return to my old self myself, well partially at least.


It's possible that personality originates in an area untouched by the particular alteration he suffered, however.

Possible but how, if his entire life got turned upside-down as I said before in this thread?


From what I understand, he only suffered a deep concussion involving certain isolated areas, not the entire brain, and the results involved some anxiety-oriented fall-out (PTSD, OCD) as well as improved access to captivating new brain functions.

Just because it's not the entire brain it doesn't mean it can't be profound changes. Try removing just this little part of your brain called the thalamus for example and watch the results. Also the brain does not have "isolated areas", it's all interlinked, a lot of complicated patterns of areas affecting each other in several ways. Of course damage can be isolated in the sense that it doesn't affect your life too much, only part of your life. In his case it affected his entire life to a very substantial degree. I already said this too but he explicitly says that he felt like a different person after the injury and he had trouble for a while to reconcile that inconsistency but he did eventually accept the new self, over years.


A full-out type change is something I would hesitate to declare based on the information we have about this guy, as well as on what I understand of cognitive functions and enneatype.

What is it that you understand of cognitive functions and enneagram? I never believed in the dogma that type change isn't possible.
 

infinite

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Personality change is very common in TBIs; it's a primary indicator of severe trauma.

Yeah, I just found it interesting that it seemed to line up with some of typology theory, like, he changed from one pretty obvious stereotype to another. :)

(Don't misunderstand my wording. The guy certainly isn't just a shallow stereotype and wasn't even before the injury. Stereotype only in terms of typology)
 

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my visual memory improved a lot after some brain damage. no one can explain it.
 

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sx/so
My theory is that it might if you're at it long enough. I know someone else - not the same person I mention above -, she kind of seems like to have gone that route... I'm not that far along myself on it and I would not want to be. Though maybe her head fix is 5 anyway. Not sure
It's fairly cannon that as much as we might disintegrate, we never BECOME the that type. Most practitioners will make this explicit, and given that they've studied thousands of cases more than I, I am prepared to take their word on it.

How are you sure they were not part of e.g. mbti-related cognitive processes?
Those behaviors had more to do with my underlying sense of my relation to the world. I've always been obviously Ne-dom, both in profile and in thought processes.

Btw I'm sure you just happened to word the bolded the wrong way but they were definitely psychological processes. Just maybe not within the scope of one specific typology or other psychology theory. Still, as said, the behaviours all originate in your brain so it's psychological processes by definition.
Right, but, not part of the processes we're describing here (i.e., associated with MBTI and Enneagram). Something far more universal and non-type specific.

OK, that makes sense. If it doesn't come to you naturally but you have to force it by adopting this philosophy thing then you're not Se-dom :) However then the bolded part in your original statement was not really precisely put: "I currently wander the world, live for the moment, and fight anyone who gets in the way". Because, you know, without providing the context you did now, it was pretty much in the context of MBTI (Se) which you mentioned in the same sentence later. So, easy to misunderstand.
Well, it wasn't intended to be precise--it was a summary statement, one that's obviously easy to misunderstand. That's why I was saying it's NOT necessarily indicative of being Se-dom. It's even conceivable that wandering the world and fighting people is more indicative of Enneagram 7 or 8 than anything specifically Se. That's why I'm saying those behaviors don't necessarily prove one sort of associated process or another.

OK. I see. Unfortunately, I certainly related to these 5 issues in a certain period of my life. As a result, I had to temporarily withdraw from being around people as they were sucking my energy away so much. I got depleted even by friends. They did nothing wrong to me, I didn't blame them or anything for it, it just simply was that way. I was not like that before that period of my life. I was in this state for years. Just trying to come out of it recently. Anyway, as I said, I was not always like this. So for some reason my attitude changed really crazily substantially. I didn't even have TBI, goddammit.
Disintegration, you think?

Anyway back to the Jason Padgett case. His emotional motivations seem to be changed; prior to the TBI, his motivation was just living in the moment, enjoying physicality for what it is. Afterwards, he started to be deeply motivated by his inner visions and by research. He states in the book several times that research was now his focus. Researching things online all day, 24/7, enjoying it greatly. He later married and his wife did help him go out into life more. But, he had to be helped, meaning he didn't really have the motivation for those Se&7-ish experiences anymore.

The temptation of 5 certainly seems to be true for him: "replacing direct experience with concepts", sitting and thinking all day about concepts seems to qualify IMO. He got the 5 desire of "mastery" too, he went back to school to understand things better. He even started to looked like a really bad stereotype of a 5 after a few years of just sitting at home locking the entire world out. That was also the PTSD stuff of course. What I could see as 7 is his joy in seeing the geometrical things in the world. Though you could say it's the joy of a 5, love of concepts more than the world itself. I don't know. I can be convinced that this somehow can still be 7-ish.

MBTI wise, I'm more certain that his Se really went down the drain.

Btw I see now that the article I linked really IS short :( I don't know if there's a better one out there... I guess the stuff I'm telling here does sum up the contents of the book somewhat.

If you are interested in the book, I'm happy to send the ebook. Feel free to PM me. :) It's pretty interesting and honestly I wasn't originally thinking about MBTI let alone enneagram when starting on the book, but the things in the book really jumped out at me as... really interesting in the context of typology (beyond simply being very interesting anyway).
COULD YOU?? Before I comment anymore on the case, I'd like to review the evidence. If you have a copy of a larger pool of information, I'll take a look.

The reclusive behaviour vs PTSD vs OCD, I don't know for sure. Part of it definitely due to it. Like, not even leaving the house for years (except at night once every week to be able to get groceries without people being around). That's definitely overkill and had to be PTSD. Otoh, I would think that if someone loves living in a world of concepts all day they would not have much time nor the interest to just party hard.
Yeah, the thing about not going out if there are people around is more like a phobia, not necessarily a 5ish thing. Fives detach mentally, but most are capable of going shopping with others in the store.

His OCD, you are right, it could be related to PTSD, not that I thought OCD was necessarily type related anyway. In the book he said something about not trusting people so he would develop OCD about cleanliness, e.g. when shaking hands with people, he has to use a cleaning towel immediately afterwards. I haven't finished the entire book yet but I just got to the part where it says that someone figured out there was this connection between the loss of trust in people and the OCD. Afterwards he was able to hug the person (could not before that due to the worry about germs).
OCD is an anxiety-related disorder, so it's not necessarily linked to type. Some, such as 6s and 1s who get into more anxious rhythms might be more prone, but I think anyone can experience this, particularly as part of PTSD. It sounds quite extreme in his case!

It's interesting btw yes, he started using another part of his brain but seems like the organization of stuff of a more general nature changed too, I think he did get injury to the frontal lobe too, and maybe that part of the brain is related to whatever determines the MBTI preferences. The structures thingie is a parietal lobe thing but obviously the parts that got overactive there are only overactive because another part of the brain got injured that used to inhibit these parietal areas. Damage to that area would remove the inhibition and allow those parietal lobe functions to go overdrive. This again might be to do with the mechanism of how there are cognitive preferences in the first place, that is, that the brain has some areas habitually more active than other areas. (Though of course function theory isn't just about that but also about a hierarchy between these parts.)
I'll have to review the evidence before commenting.

Well yeah I don't know if those extraverted PTSD sufferers still felt better being extraverted - if they managed to overcome their fears at times - or if their brain genuinely started being more active in certain areas that seem to be linked to introversion. Like, introverts in general have more activity in certain parts of the brain while extraverts need outside stimulation to have enough activity.
It's possible I suppose. I read several cases of it online, that's all. So it's not exactly a definitive study. But most of them assumed their "fear of people" made them "introverts", which, of course, is a misunderstanding of introversion on their part. Still, I'd hesitate to rule someone as having totally changed type when it's clear that there's also brain trouble afoot.

I have not tried to determine if he still prefers Se/Ni over Si/Ne though it's possible that this is the case. However he certainly uses more intuition, when he looks at things, he will associate them with concepts, going really far with speculation and imagination. His old self didn't seem to do that. Btw I mentioned I had some shift in emphases of cognitive attitudes, right? Even with all that, I still did not stop being an S type. This guy... yeah the change is more profound. I can see him as N type instead of S type.
From the short article you posted, I didn't think he necessarily experienced a type shift. But again, there's clearly much more to this.

Heh. What's your old self like that you don't want to return to?

I always wished to return to my old self myself, well partially at least.
Total shut-in loser with no friends. Not that I'm much different now, but at least I am free to navigate my own life.

Just because it's not the entire brain it doesn't mean it can't be profound changes. Try removing just this little part of your brain called the thalamus for example and watch the results. Also the brain does not have "isolated areas", it's all interlinked, a lot of complicated patterns of areas affecting each other in several ways. Of course damage can be isolated in the sense that it doesn't affect your life too much, only part of your life. In his case it affected his entire life to a very substantial degree. I already said this too but he explicitly says that he felt like a different person after the injury and he had trouble for a while to reconcile that inconsistency but he did eventually accept the new self, over years.
Well the article said it was a part of the brain that wasn't used much that got activated. I assume that would count as relative isolation. As to the person himself

What is it that you understand of cognitive functions and enneagram? I never believed in the dogma that type change isn't possible.
Well I've read most of the literature on enneagram, and it is actually repeatedly emphasized that you do not change type. You can move up and down levels of health and adopt the strategies of your wings and connecting points, but the type appears inborn and unalterable as your DNA. It is not dogma, it's based on tens of thousands of case studies, including atypical ones.

As to MBTI, I'm less well-versed and don't know what is generally accepted about the system regarding type changes.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
3,900
MBTI Type
INFP
can you say more about this? what kind of things do you remember better?

I have a chronic condition that effects the brain.
I used to have a limited ability to visualize, but now i can call up the image of what i remember. Also the snow storm you see when you choose your eyes? The pattern became much cleaner, to the point where I could see people in detail, people who would just appear in my mind eye. It's something i could never do before. I t think it was my brain rerouting around damaged tissue.
 
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