[Jungian Cognitive Functions] How does your inferior function show itself? (All types welcome to answer)

[Lord Lavender]

Ill start with myself. As an INTP my inferior is Fe which manifests in multiple ways as I will cover below.

For me inferior Fe shows as sudden emotional outbursts of rage and crying under stress, a underlying desire to be part of a group and strong feelings of excitement when I feel part of a group. It also shows that I always tend to fall into a type of sync with a group.

 

[Abendrot]

As an INTJ, my inferior Se manifests as uncharacterisically risk taking and thrill seeking behaviour, which satisfies a need to break out of the ennui that I often feel. Additionally, it manifests as an interest in very "physical" occupations.

 

[Star Atlas]

At my worst: I get very black and white and Being Right becomes the highest goal desired in all the lands. Ironically this is when I am (usually) the least "right".

At my best: I elope with bullet points and make all the words line up like charming little soldiers.

 

[Snickie]

I get control freak-y and perhaps a bit whiny and frustrated that things aren't going the way I need them to be going. I'm loud and uncensored (except for naughty words, that never happens) and I will immediately feel ashamed afterward because I have shattered the careful façade I have been striving to maintain. I'm angry at something, and now I'm angry at myself for being angry, which is a laughable scenario that usually results in tears, and then I'll be angry at myself for crying. No matter how hard I try to logic away the feelings, my body and neurochemicals betray me.

When not gripping, Fe is my filter which keeps me from saying all the stupid things. (Some still get through of course.) It is a hidden need for community and social interaction, at least for someone to complain about stupid stuff with. It's a subpar ability to assess and pander to the needs of others (or get annoyed when others don't contribute their all to the collective). It's my inability to think for myself and always defer to the next person on whether the carpet should be blue or red. It's the twinge of guilt when I intentionally betray someone else. It's the part of me that wants others to experience what I have to offer even when that person's presence or absence will not change my own experience.

 

[Rouskyrie]

Ill start with myself. As an INTP my inferior is Fe which manifests in multiple ways as I will cover below.

For me inferior Fe shows as sudden emotional outbursts of rage and crying under stress, a underlying desire to be part of a group and strong feelings of excitement when I feel part of a group. It also shows that I always tend to fall into a type of sync with a group.

I'm not completely sure what my Mbti type is, but the closest thing I can think of is when I go from acting like my usual self (Empathetic, social, open to all points of view) to becoming unlike my usual self (Detached, unsociable, critical of other points of view).

 

[Lord Lavender]

I'm not completely sure what my Mbti type is, but the closest thing I can think of is when I go from acting like my usual self (Empathetic, social, open to all points of view) to becoming unlike my usual self (Detached, unsociable, critical of other points of view).

That seems inferior Ti to me (possibly inferior Te but probably an inferior thinking function)

 

[Mayflower]

I agree as well. Ti is more critical through logical analysis. Te is more critical of progress (the lack of thereof).

 

[Star Atlas]

I agree as well. Ti is more critical through logical analysis. Te is more critical of progress (the lack of thereof).

I think this is a good discernment of differences between the two. Ti-users in my family tend to get bogged down by tiny ripples of inconsistency and their fine tooth combs come out and they are about 2" from the object of their annoyance.

I, on the other hand, fire up my bulldozer because Things Aren't Going The Way They Should Be, and whom can be trusted? No one but me.

 

[geedoenfj]

My inferior Ti shows when I'm truly interested in the subject, and also when you can give me an obvious and simple big picture and where can I place or apply this information in reality, or else I would feel lost and my Ti will shut down..
I don't do good with any thing that involves mathematics, simply because I don't like doing it, even though I know that I can do excellent if I am willing to just practice more..
When it comes to build an opinion for instance, I'm always guided by my Fe when I don't feel I got enough of a certain subject, there's something missing, I need to dig more and more, do more analysis, I hold on to my feeling about it and keep coming back to check on it, I don't easily come to a conclusion unless I feel really satisfied that I worked my brain enough on it and tested all of its aspects, and that I am certainly right about my conclusion, but then I'm always open to new information and new ideas, new opinions, I keep testing them, basically working my 6 when it comes to uncertainty and working my 1 to draw lines of right and wrong, what to take and what to reject, have more certainty..

 

[527468]

I agree as well. Ti is more critical through logical analysis. Te is more critical of progress (the lack of thereof).

Mmm I would not call Te lacking logical analysis in any sense however. Ti tendency is just to internally rationalize about subjects without directing itself outwardly in-of-itself, where instead cognition switches to Te. Te logic is the situational alternative, based around interpreting and effecting the specific moment happening, and processing things quickly in order yield sufficiently practical outcomes for the moment. Te will never progressively rationalize topics in depth, past a given moment of experience. Instead, Si or Ni will collect and represent many of the decisions and experience of Te. The extroverted realm plays off and effects the introverted realm and visa versa, but they don't bleed into one another. So Te is quite analytical, but simply, its analysis never enters into reflection.

Immediate reflection from a moments experience ago is often the realm of Xi. Those moments when you feel like you could've done something different but it's too late, where instead strong Te, Ne, Se and Fe shine. The "aw, now it just occurs to me (your Xi)" but you've already started again into internal reflection. The moment is over. Te is a great analyst for these situations, but you won't find it idling deeply in rationalization for thought's sake. It's simply a different mechanism of logic from Ti, this is why conflict happens between Te and Ti types. They both have a separate interpretation and experience of what logical thinking is.

This may be why Ti thinkers (esp Ti doms) undervalue Te's ability to be analytical--they're just less aware of the extroverted realm and its perceived necessities. They're not attuned to Te so they're not attuned to Te types method of intellect.

(Also the introverted regret I described is what happens a lot to Te types with Fi we think... "man I could've been a littler nicer back there or more catering to emotions, to bond and not be so serious and logical, but alas, I'm a Te type not an Fe type." I still find that I'm a very nice person in the moment, it's just natural for Fi types like INTJ to often think in this fashion, because INTJs have severe problems with Fe.) Which is particularly why in this thread I wanted to talk about my Fe instead of Se, how Fe is ultimately a blind spot blocked by Fi.)

 

[Justmeonhere]

My inferior Te manifests in two differents modes.
1) When I'm not in the grip:I'm not a perfectionist, but if I do something I like I'll try to reach perfection. I'd hate to make stupid mistakes on subjects that I like ( This effect is emphatised by my ennatype as well)
2) When I'm in grip: I became really stressed and don't strive for perfection only for myself but even from other around me. If this don't happen my stress levels increase.
I realized that Te has an influence when I talk too. In discussions and debates I rarely say things like( in my opinion, I think) I prefer to go directly to the point and prove why I'm right and I think the others are wrong.
My Te explodes when someone go against my values too!

 

[neuskens]

When I'm under stress or in a Ne-Fe loop, I tend to focus on a lot of information that don't really matter to me or the problem at hand. Things just dont make sense because I see nothing behind them, just useless info that are actually the problem itself.

Example:
*under stress*
I'm hungry.
What would the solution be? Eat something.
*problem adds to the stress*
I'm hungry!!! *doesn't see the solution*
My stomach hurts and is nearly talking, I feel a void, my energy in on low, I AM HUNGRY!!!!
iamhungryiamhungryiamhungryomgimsohungry i can't do anything i'm so hungry

- - - Updated - - -

When I'm under stress or in a Ne-Fe loop, I tend to focus on a lot of information that don't really matter to me or the problem at hand. Things just dont make sense because I see nothing behind them, just useless info that are actually the problem itself.

Example:
*under stress*
I'm hungry.
(What would the solution be? Eat something.)
*problem adds to the stress*
I'm hungry!!! *doesn't see the solution*
My stomach hurts and is nearly talking, I feel a void, my energy in on low, I AM HUNGRY!!!!
iamhungryiamhungryiamhungryomgimsohungry i can't do anything i'm so hungry

 

[Dreamer]

Hmm... First sign of stress is to cocoon myself and isolate myself from people, well ok, first stage of SERIOUS stress, where I seek to best protect my emotions and keep myself mentally balanced and not let my thoughts run wild with all the negative outcomes or possibilities of something. Second stage of seriousness is that I was unable to protect my emotions and keep my thoughts at bay, and I end up feeling numb with absolutely no sensation. At that point I feel as though I'm just going through the motions with no joy or even sadness being felt. At that point I could no longer control my emotions, so the only thing left to maintain at that point is my home and tirelessly focus on things that absolutely don't matter like cleaning a window no one uses, or cleaning a corner of the room no one cares about. It's sad... Thankfully I've only experienced this twice in my life so far. Typically I'm able to snap myself out of the funk before progressing to stage 2.

 

[Yama]

Shutting down, rejecting all suggestions, advice, and information thrown my way because nothing feels "right" and I have a paradoxical relationship with already "knowing" the future and that their advice will fail me despite the reason for my shutting down in the first place being that I have no idea what's going to happen. Digging my heels into the ground and refusing to budge and being dragged along kicking and screaming.

 

[Lady Lazarus]

An excessive preoccupation with refining my problems or whatever into the form I think is most representative by thousand fold repetition. That is, a lack of external information coming in/being considered at all and a hypnotization with my impressions of things. Namely perfecting them in some way. Binding, constricting, tapering. Horse-blinder donning. I wouldn't say stubbornness is my faulty MO there so much as it is prejudice, the aforementioned narrowness, and dismissiveness. As an aside, it's obvious when I'm in a dom-tert loop because I won't acknowledge other's existences or communicate anything at all. While when I'm not I act more like a person. Even though that's more difficult by far.

 

[magpie]

Exacting, rigid, extremely critical of others and myself, having an ends justify the means viewpoint when normally I only care about the means, annoyance at sentimentality, lack of empathy or lack of "true" empathy, sarcastic/cynical, and an urge to hurt people which I'm not sure is inferior Te or just my personality.

 

[Shaedow]

My normal self:
Generally I can put aside feelings/emotions and work towards the best outcome. I can accept what is outside of my control, have a high tolerance for the inconvenient/annoying/frustrating aspects of life. I can see where things are going, and I can manage my time accordingly to ensure goals are achieved. I am able to priorities, plan ahead, and able to switch my focus or recalibrate when the unexpected occurs. I have an inner calm I can maintain and a sense of which direction I need to take in life.


My inferior self:
A slow but sure progression from emotional neutrality to emotional chaos. I have little tolerance. Become much more expressive emotionally and do my best to contain it with the eventual eruption. I stall and fall into a depressive hole of self pity stuck in my own emotions trying to understand where they have come from.

This usually occurs when I get stuck in life, where I feel no progress and it seems like I'm stuck in the moment. Kind of like groundhog day. I lose my ability to plan ahead and all I can do is focus on the one task in front of me losing sight of the bigger picture. My stressors also tend to involve other people. I have been able to identify it's a boundary issue which gives me a solution to work towards.

I also find I get an urge to 'shake things up'. I want to be impulsive, to just do what ever I feel like in the moment, be that eat what I crave, drive off to the middle of no where, to drink and get drunk, punch a hole in a wall, just tell people what I really think, to just completely ignore the future consequences of my actions.
I have yet to be in such a stressed state to act on such impulses and ruin any future plans.


Getting back to my normal self:
I find taking a break from my stressful environment helps. I also try to take what my emotional responses are telling me as 'input' and come to some decision or solution and force myself to act on it rather than dwell in my hole of self pity. I find I begin to draw motivation and to create momentum from reminding myself why I am in the situation I am in and the direction in life I am making. That is to remind myself of the bigger picture and what I am working towards. Looking towards the future again and what I want to make of it really helps to bring me back to my normal self.

 

[Yuurei]

Because of my lack of Fi I'm often seen as greedy, selfish and bossy.

That really isn't the case. For me, an inferior doesn't mean that I don't care about others feelings or opinions, but that they just don't even occure to me-doesn't sound much better, I know.

For ex most if my friends are agreeable and considerate INFP's. When making group decisions "Where/when do you want to go?" they tend to give indirect answers "I don't care." " Whatever is fine." Ect. To me those aren't opinions.
I, on the other hand, always have a definite opinion or preference and I express them. "I want to do this. No one else has a preference so that's what we're doing." ...I am also the first one to make a move and often without asking. It's just because I assume that if others wanted to do something different they would have.


Often times it only later occure to me " Oh. I think that person really didn't like/want to do that. They probably think I'm a total dick now."
Most people who know me well have caught on. They know if they want me to consider their opinion they have to voice it strongly.

 

[á´…eparted]

I become incredibly critical of everything, including myself. I ignore emotion outright in any contexts and deem any expression/feeling of it in others or myself as erronous and flawed, despite feeling a crap ton of things at the same time that I won't always understand. I stop caring about people and causes, and see everything as bleak and pointless. I place logic on a pedastal but fail to use it properly. I become incredibly stubborn and intracted and will refuse to budge from any pressure anyone tries to put on me. I also withdraw from my friends and anything that is social or fun. Overall, I feel awful and lose sight of long term things.

 

[cosmic royal]

With inferior Se, I become more reckless and addicted to pleasure-seeking activities. I listen to ear-splitting music for hours on end, restrict what I eat, even pick fights with people when I'm in the mood. Plus I become even more impatient if my plans don't go along at an ideal pace. Or I just procrastinate using mind-numbing activities. I definitely feel more empty inside after indulging my Se.