[INFP] INFPs: Not Taking Care of Yourself

[AlexM]

This seems like a natural occurance from the combination of INxP to me. Es keep it together because it's only natural to want to be presentable if you're going to be sociable. Ss keep it together because they can't conceive of doing things differently from "the pack". And Js keep it together because they're Js. Lacking ALL of these qualities makes it difficult.

Even Ts might decide it's logical to keep it together, although I believe that INTPs are worse, but that may be largely due to the gender differential rather than the F/T, since women are much more heavily brainwashed into caring about their appearance than men.

 

[yvonne]

i like feeling fresh and comfortable and i care about my health... also i care about appropriateness, or better explained, i don't want people to feel like i underdress for a birthday party, for example, because i don't respect them, or the occasion... and i don't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself. i do like to dress up occasionally and i do like feeling pretty, but that's not a high priority for me. when i'm alone and lost in thought, i can neglect eating properly, brushing my hair, changing my clothes...

 

[quietmusician]

I don't know, I'm guilty of all of this. I don't have it "together". I couldn't care less about simple things because I'm so focused on my creative outlets. Being on a healthy diet does not concern me because I like eating the things I like eating without compromising. However, from my MBTI results my J isn't that high, nor is it low. I'm guilty of spending so much time inside my head instead of taking care of my appearance. So I play the "starving artist" role well.

 

[soft]

yeah, i definitely agree. i am sooo lazy that sometimes i'll go a day or two without eating any substantial food or drinking much water. i'm sick all the time because of it but i don't really care.
honestly, as long as i (or others) don't notice any extremely negative effects, health is not my top priority.

 

[Cephalonimbus]

I'm terrible. My place is a pig sty, my diet isn't very regular and i postpone chores as much as possible. I'm not exactly the most punctual person either.

However, in most social situations, i find that the way i look greatly influences my confidence, which in turn has a huge impact on my mood and spontaneity. Socializing is not an easy thing to do for me when it's more than just a handful of people, as i tend to be self-conscious and introverted and i find that it helps a great deal to boost my confidence this way. This is why i go to the gym three days a week, buy nice clothes and fragrances and generally look well groomed. I'm actually quite vain, i don't even go to the grocery store without freshening up. But when i don't have to leave the house and don't expect visitors, i look and smell like a hobo. Well, a hobo with an appartment anyway.

Why? I guess my surroundings and appearance are a reflection of my chaotic mind, i'm very scatterbrained. I frequently find myself thinking things like "i should really tidy up" but then i get distracted and occupy myself with other things for hours before remembering i intended to tidy up.

 

[Red Herring]

Good to hear I´m not alone with this!

Going out to meet people is one thing (we do want to leave a good impression, right?), but when I´m home alone working at the computer for days you might not be able to tell if a hurricane just passed through or I just didn´t "get around" to taking care of the appartment. Food? yeah right, now that you mention it, that would explain the occasional fainting (just kidding, but sometimes my best friend who reads my body language like a book tells my I´m hungry before I notice it myself... because that´s when I ten to uncontiously hold my arm in front of my stomach). As soon as I notice it myself I get cranky like a little child though, so beware!

It´s probably the perceived separation between mind and body that lets us "forget" to take care of such mundane things.

 

[gromit]

However, in most social situations, i find that the way i look greatly influences my confidence, which in turn has a huge impact on my mood and spontaneity. Socializing is not an easy thing to do for me when it's more than just a handful of people, as i tend to be self-conscious and introverted and i find that it helps a great deal to boost my confidence this way. This is why i go to the gym three days a week, buy nice clothes and fragrances and generally look well groomed. I'm actually quite vain, i don't even go to the grocery store without freshening up.

Interesting. I wonder if this has to do with why my INFP friend is seriously one of the best-dressed people I know... it always seems to amaze me how nicely put-together she is. I can look put-together if I want to, but I'm definitely not as interested in fashion as she is. She is terribly shy though.

 

[Synapse]

Umm no!

There is a difference between P and D.

P for procrastination and D for depression. So that you know neglecting through procrastination means a little bit messy is fine and dandy. Hell even a trail of clothes littered across the room would be almost peachy if you come to your senses the next day and clean it up. Then there comes a point where you look at it and take effort to make it all groovy and chillin. A bit like an absent minded visionary in daydream distracted by other places.

Of course then there is depressive neglect where you totally do squat all, and you let stuff pile up for weeks without lifting a finger then that isn't really neglect folks its being in a funky funk.

I know the difference quite well. Sure you can neglect yourself like, chuck the laundry in a corner for a week or have your clothes scattered across the place like its a warzone, and books and stuff all over the place in a precarious balance between sweet mayhem and sweet order. But lets be hip about this, when you totally start neglecting its more than just your P acting up.

But of course everything else would follow, diet, exercise, appearance. With a healthier attitude you neglect less with a more stressed attitude you neglect more.

 

[chooi]

I switch back and forth. For the most part, how I'm feeling is more important than how people perceive my appearance. So, I'll bum it for a few days if I'm preoccupied with something.

If I do decide to clean up (both myself and my environment) I do it well, and am almost obsessive about it. Hygiene and health are things that I can't really neglect, though.

 

[chooi]

I'm terrible. My place is a pig sty, my diet isn't very regular and i postpone chores as much as possible. I'm not exactly the most punctual person either.

However, in most social situations, i find that the way i look greatly influences my confidence, which in turn has a huge impact on my mood and spontaneity. Socializing is not an easy thing to do for me when it's more than just a handful of people, as i tend to be self-conscious and introverted and i find that it helps a great deal to boost my confidence this way. This is why i go to the gym three days a week, buy nice clothes and fragrances and generally look well groomed. I'm actually quite vain, i don't even go to the grocery store without freshening up. But when i don't have to leave the house and don't expect visitors, i look and smell like a hobo. Well, a hobo with an appartment anyway.

Why? I guess my surroundings and appearance are a reflection of my chaotic mind, i'm very scatterbrained. I frequently find myself thinking things like "i should really tidy up" but then i get distracted and occupy myself with other things for hours before remembering i intended to tidy up.

I share the same sentiment as you on everything except the nice fragrances and clothes 'n such. More often than not, I do like to freshen up before leaving the house, even if it's just to go to the bank. But this was more true in the past, than it is now. Now, I have no problem waking up at a friend's house after an insane party, looking like hell, and going to a restaurant. Usually there's a group of us, though. I think it's kind of funny, and makes for a good story.

Also, I'm going to have to retract my previous statement about not caring how people perceive my appearance. I don't care if I'm "well-received". Quizzical looks are just as welcome as admiring ones.

 

[MoneyJungle]

I didn't care about taking care of myself until I realized I was an overweight adult with bad teeth. I had the metabolism of a lab mouse until roughly the age of 23 and could drink plenty of beer and eat a cornucopia of junk while remaining quite thin. A few years later getting to a point where I don't feel like crap is hard work. Going to the trouble of taking care of myself didn't really affect how I generally felt until I was well into adulthood and thus was put on the back burner. I also served a few years in the military, where a standard of appearance was strictly enforced.

 

[paradox fox]

It's pretty easy for me to forget to eat and drink water and clean my room and wash up and stuff. The only thing I'm good about is washing my hands after using the restroom. Lol.
I do love eating healthy. But it doesn't happen as consistently as I'd like.
Pretty much nothing with me happens consistently. Blaaaargh
I dress ok. Fashionable, but not freakish (usually ) I'm trying to make my wardrobe more versatile and classic so I don't have to worry about stuff not matching, going out of style, or being bothered to actually GO SHOPPING. Right now I feel like if I never go shopping again it'd be pretty much fine by me.
I need to go to bed f'reals...

 

[sunflower]

When I was a young INFP I often neglected hygiene in favor of spending time pondering my fantasy worlds and reading books or playing around on computers all day. With maturity and a big dose of "the real world" I learned how to properly groom myself.

Sometime during my 20s I developed a love for scented body lotions.

I dress for comfort. My wardrobe consists of t-shirts, jeans, sneakers and sandals. However, there is one thing that will make me go on a wardrobe splurgefest, and that is renaissance faire dresses! I LOVE them!! Unfortunately, I can't justify buying all the ones I like because I only get to wear them once a year when the local renaissance faire is in town. That, and they are pretty expensive. *chuckles*

Eating is something I've always had trouble with. If I'm researching random things or delving into an art project, or just spending a lot of time daydreaming, I completely forget that I'm hungry.

My home is always tidy because I live a minimalist lifestyle. Less furniture/things = less to dust and less to get messy.