[ENFP] Do ENFPs keep an INFP locked inside?

[hjomn]

Can I just chime in again that no, I don't feel I have an infp inside me. I also hope I don't have an intp inside me. I have an ENFP inside me and I have me inside me that struggles constantly to be out there and shine.

No offense, but as an ENFP and just me, life just seems harder as an INXP. I can identify sure, with a lot of the make up (or cognitive functions) of INTPs or INFPs and again, I have great friends of both types.

But, I really value and appreciate my extraverted functioning -- the fact I draw energy from the outside world and need to be in the mix and with people. Without it, I would not be who I am. Extraversion and the need and desire to be with the world stomping on grapes with the best of them, that is a core part of who I am.

I would not want to be an Fi or Ti dominant person, nothing personal. I just don't like how close-circuit those systems seem to me, I want to be with people and with the world, and though you can criticize Ne all you want, it at least prevents me from collapsing in on myself. Ne forces my being to pay attention to everyone and everything else around me.

INFPs and ENFPs are very different animals. Maybe made from the same clay but molded quite differently. This is why I like my INFP friends, we're from similar schools but very different people so we mutually pique one another's interest. This is also why sometimes I can get frustrated with them because I feel I can understand how they react to things but they reach very, very different conclusions and interpretations and ultimately make different decisions from me. This is why I don't identify with having an INFP inside me.

I think people are perhaps confusing true introversion with 'low' periods in one's life. Nothing at all wrong or judgement laden about true introversion, but just as it's stressful to force an introvert constantly in the limelight and force interaction with them at huge parties and schmoozing, it's stressful for an extravert to be forced into prolonged solitude, even even if it's 'self imposed'.

ENFPs, when you find yourself in that slump or too long gone in hiding, you're really just hiding from yourselves and how sensitive you are to the world. It doesn't work. You're not an introvert. You might be lazy (hahaha), you might be super laid back and go with the flow, but you're not an introvert. It's not going to sustain you in the long run or give you strength the way it can for a true introvert. And even introverts need to get out of the house once in a while!

Speaking of all that, I need to get my lazy, ennervated ass out of the house.

See ya!!

Amen... Totally second that...


Owhh, not seeing people is like a constant drip on your forehead; you'll last for a while, but after a while it drives you completely insane

 

[Aimee]

Your reply was so cute. I love that you cared about the INFP's not having their special traits co-opted and then you thought you sounded like an ENFP. This is like something I'd say. I absolutely adore infp's. They are who I want to be around. Lately I find myself becoming more introverted, although I am still an extrovert being energized by having others around (a quiet few though). I need an infp to hang out with just so i can get shit done around my house. If I could find an infp roomate, friend, or companion my life would be all the richer for it.

 

[Aimee]

Amen... Totally second that...


Owhh, not seeing people is like a constant drip on your forehead; you'll last for a while, but after a while it drives you completely insane

I third that. You're right. This solitude is draining the life out of me rather than giving me energy. I am wary to pursue opportunities for social engagement right now, having been squished around by more than a few over the past couple of years. It seems like no social interaction is better than negative or unhealthy interaction. Currently the only uplifting social engagement I am having is attending dance classes. I've made no friends there but at least it's a place I go where I can be moderately successful in a group experience. I can express myself through the dance which makes up for my social lacking. However, doing ballet later at home with the kitties is not providing me social stimulation and human connection I normally thrive with. No offense to the kitties. They're just not that into it.

 

[mr.awesome]

sorry for bumping so many threads -___-

but the ENFP's i know have extremes, ie they can be locked up by themselves and isolate themselves for days on end.. then out of nowhere be social butterflies. although i dont doubt jung and his theories here.. i dont think people can ever be defined by letters. in this situation at least i think everyone has their own E's and I's at different times. no, im not assuming one is an X, just that in certain social situations people will either isolate themselves or thrive in conversation and interaction, depending on the people. there is no absolute.

 

[Emmilou]

I think it's because a lot of ENFP's are Enneagram 6w7, and that is a very contradictory, ambiverted type.

 

[You]

I thought most ENFPs were 7?

 

[angell_m]

"Do ENFP's lock INFP's up inside," I thought this was an interesting topic about relationship until I read the content.

 

[Thalassa]

"Do ENFP's lock INFP's up inside," I thought this was an interesting topic about relationship until I read the content.

Personally, I like to keep INFP males locked up in my basement.

 

[Emmilou]

I thought most ENFPs were 7?

Well ENFP's can be very variable. They can be 7's, 4's, 2's and 6's. I think the two most common are 6w7 and 7w6.

According to Enneagram Blogspot

ENFPs, in particular can be difficult to type between 7s and other types, if they are indeed not 7s. (6w7s actually seems to be the most common type for ENFPs, followed by 7w6s, 9s and 9-wingers, 2w3s, and 4w3s.)

The Enneagram Blogspot: New! 4w3 vs. 7w6 - Misidentifying

 

[Lady_X]

I totally keep my infp locked up...yep.

 

[skylights]

"No" might not be the response you're looking for, but all the same, "No."

gotta admit, he said it best

This is also why sometimes I can get frustrated with [INFPs] because I feel I can understand how they react to things but they reach very, very different conclusions and interpretations and ultimately make different decisions from me. This is why I don't identify with having an INFP inside me.

this is how i feel too.

i do have a more concealed but still strong Fi, but i don't have an INFP locked inside. i was more like the IFP child than the ENP child, and i am not super socially extraverted, but i have since learned that none of those things are actually related to not being an ENFP.

i've always tested INFP but felt like there was something "wrong" with the type descriptions. they didn't fit me well enough. that's what brought me to typoC, actually - i wanted to figure out what was up with that. why i wasn't as moral or averse to conflict, why i didn't sound nearly as "grounded", etc. but all those tests said no way i could be an E because i wasn't the life of every party, etc.

so no, there's no latent INFP. i might be a quiet ENFP, but i am ENFP to the core, baby

 

[angell_m]

gotta admit, he said it best



this is how i feel too.

i do have a more concealed but still strong Fi, but i don't have an INFP locked inside. i was more like the IFP child than the ENP child, and i am not super socially extraverted, but i have since learned that none of those things are actually related to not being an ENFP.

i've always tested INFP but felt like there was something "wrong" with the type descriptions. they didn't fit me well enough. that's what brought me to typoC, actually - i wanted to figure out what was up with that. why i wasn't as moral or averse to conflict, why i didn't sound nearly as "grounded", etc. but all those tests said no way i could be an E because i wasn't the life of every party, etc.

so no, there's no latent INFP. i might be a quiet ENFP, but i am ENFP to the core, baby

I was a full blown IFP as a kid. And today, INFP. No doubt about it. But I used to perform as a kid, had a bit of ENP in me. That was in the better days, when things settled down. But I was always hurt, and put back down as an IFP eventually. Some would say I'm ISFP too because of many reasons unknown to me.

 

[skylights]

I was 80% IFP as a kid, and 20% ENP. Today, full blown INFP.

yeah. i think it has a ton to do with your environment and your parents, too.

looking back, i can see that i was always relatively Ne first. it just didn't present in the supposedly-ENP way because of the circumstances i was in.

 

[angell_m]

Sorry, I ninja edited that.

 

[Thalassa]

Do we ENFPs actually keep an INFP locked up inside like a caged animal?? Strange question I know but so many ENFPs that I speak to have said that they feel as though they are in fact INFPs or are at least confused by the term extrovert when it is applied to them? They do not think it appropiate somehow.

Also there seems to be a common story emerging amongst the ENFPs that I have had contact with IRL, As very young children they seemed to display definite INFP traits which were either trampled on by parents or schools etc. They then went on to develope a false sense of confidence to make a better fit into the world. Most of the ENFPs mention a particular time in their lives when they chose to be more confident. This process could be simply maturity, something that happens to us all, it could even be an explanation for extraversion in general. Have other Es had a similar experience?

I do know that the difference bewteen ENFP and INFP is not simply a difference in extroversion and introversion but I think that more so than many other types, the lines between ENFPs and INFPs are blurred.

What are your thoughts or experiences?

This really resonates with me, the bolded, but um...actually I think I acted like an ISFJ as a child or something...really...I was obedient...and "nice"...and did what I was supposed to...and read all the time...and was SO FUCKING SHY...but about the time I hit puberty, through being a performer (I took dance for eleven years, play piano, acted in plays, being in beauty pageants, etc.) I developed this totally FLAWLESS cover. I can still use it when I want to employ it. But people drain me. I need to be alone. Was I forced into false extroversion? Or is this who ENFPs are? I relate so much I think to having tertiary Te that it makes me hesitate to think I'm INFP. I can be so "Hey stop your whining shit and just do it" which is so paradoxical to my usual sensitivity. I'm so outspoken at times.

Hmm.

 

[Vamp]

This really resonates with me, the bolded, but um...actually I think I acted like an ISFJ as a child or something...really...I was obedient...and "nice"...and did what I was supposed to...and read all the time...and was SO FUCKING SHY...but about the time I hit puberty, through being a performer (I took dance for eleven years, play piano, acted in plays, being in beauty pageants, etc.) I developed this totally FLAWLESS cover. I can still use it when I want to employ it. But people drain me. I need to be alone. Was I forced into false extroversion? Or is this who ENFPs are? I relate so much I think to having tertiary Te that it makes me hesitate to think I'm INFP. I can be so "Hey stop your whining shit and just do it" which is so paradoxical to my usual sensitivity. I'm so outspoken at times.

Hmm.

This resonates with me. People don't really draim me, their stupidity and thoughtlessness does. I need to be away from that or at least have a physical outlet for it. I relate so much to E and dom Ne I can't be anything other than ENFP.

 

[Queen Kat]

I think all INFPs keep an ENFP locked inside.

 

[angell_m]

I think all INFPs keep an ENFP locked inside.

he comes out when i drink, and he's HILARIOUS.. oh my me i make me laugh

 

[Lily flower]

The only ENFP I know has been an extreme extrovert her whole life, but she does operate from a base of insecurity. It's kind of like - I must have 100 friends to prove that I am worthy of people's friendship.

 

[Betty Blue]

I was pondering this just yesterday. I'm pretty big on extroversion but i can relate to infp's well and i identify hugely, so um yes maybe.