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[Fi] Dear INFPs, your Fi...

Eruca

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How do you express it externally?

I believe INTPs use there Ti to create theories internally, which they express via Ne in conversation. When writing, perhaps the INTP writes his thoughts directly on the page, I do not know.

So how does an INFP express his/her feelings? Through actions only? Through emotional gestures (hugs)? Through writing them down or other creative proccesses?

Or do you prefer not to express them at all? :huh:
 

prplchknz

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this thread is becoming retarded pretty quickly, but it had potential. and it depends on how fucking insane the person is how they are when they're drunk I am not an emotional drunk by a long-shot. So yeah your theory fails.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
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Sorry...what's the question again?

Seriously, I don't know how to express myself, except through anger (thanks, fam).
 

Eruca

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this thread is becoming retarded pretty quickly, but it had potential. and it depends on how fucking insane the person is how they are when they're drunk I am not an emotional drunk by a long-shot. So yeah your theory fails.

This thread was not initially about INFP drunks. Though I admit they are appealing.

Throw me a bone and answer the question in the OP prpl?
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
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Well, I met Biaxident over the weekend, and the only Fe going on was comments about women which was driven by alcohol.
but we got along well, if you care (which i do not expect).
 

prplchknz

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ok i express my like for someone by helping them out when i can, and if we're good enough friends i tend to be a sarcastic asshole, though i'm like that if someone does something retarded enough. but other infps could be different, i am generally a nice person and its never my intent to destroy someones life. This may be why i don't get along with sensitive people.
 

Eruca

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Sorry...what's the question again?

Seriously, I don't know how to express myself, except through anger (thanks, fam).

Well, I met Biaxident over the weekend, and the only Fe going on was comments about women which was driven by alcohol.
but we got along well, if you care (which i do not expect).

Well that is interesting don't you find your inability to express your emotions frustrating?

I don't know what you mean by the last quote. But I would like it if this thread wasnt derailed anyway so I guess no, I do not care.
 

Eruca

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ok i express my like for someone by helping them out when i can, and if we're good enough friends i tend to be a sarcastic asshole, though i'm like that if someone does something retarded enough. but other infps could be different, i am generally a nice person and its never my intent to destroy someones life. This may be why i don't get along with sensitive people.

This is somewhat opposed to my idea of INFPs, which is good, as I'm learning. :cheese:

I just imagined INFPs would be...warmer? Too concerned of causing offence or hurt to be a "sarcastic asshole" ;p? How do you feel when a friend gets hurt, can you express your sympathy?
 

Eckhart

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Ahaha, that alcohol thing is good. I tend to try not to overdo it with alcohol, but once I was totally drunk. I could not remember everything of what I did that night at first, but slowly got most of my remembrance back (mostly with some of my mates help). All agreed that I was ridiculous funny and silly, they had lots of fun with me. Someone said she has never seen me like that. I am kind of emberassed to write it even here what I did, so I will leave it for me :p


But I will give a try to bring this discussion on a more serious level. Well, it is not that I never show any emotions and feelings. Mostly I will show when I am funny and I am with comfortable people, but I still don't express them fully. Mostly smiling instead of laughing and if laughing, I will try to not laugh too loud. Showing that I am sad is very hard for me, you will see me very very calm then and nearly not talking at all. So I do express my feelings, but in a very weakened form. Only when I feel really comfortable I will show them a bit more freely. But alcohol amplifies my emotional expression (but it must be with people I like), though I will still then not totally forget myself.

Expressing feelings in written form is a relative good way for me to express my feelings.

edit: Sarcasm I am good with. Showing angryness happens to me when I am REALLY angry, so not too often - in a weaker form to strangers, but with my parents it can get cruel.
 

prplchknz

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This is somewhat opposed to my idea of INFPs, which is good, as I'm learning. :cheese:

I just imagined INFPs would be...warmer? Too concerned of causing offence or hurt to be a "sarcastic asshole" ;p? How do you feel when a friend gets hurt, can you express your sympathy?

yes, if it's bad enough but sometimes its like yeah that sucks but it's fine. And my friends tend to be sarcastic assholes and we're all pretty chill and don't really get offended easily. But we're also not malicious either.
 

OrangeAppled

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My internal self is comprised of ideas, idealistic visions, thoughts, concepts/theories, beliefs, principles, etc. I am often content to stop there (or I don't know how to express it).

But I can express these through:

conversation - not the preferred way, but if I can manage to exude some degree of what I feel, and maybe even inspire or connect to someone, then it works
writing (blogging/journal, poetry/lyrics, short stories, forums, letters, etc)
visual art (drawing, design)
other self-expression (ie. fashion)
volunteering (church stuff)
keeping moral integrity in my overall life
exercise of empathetic feeling (trying to see from other people's perspectives so as to extend some understanding, withholding judgment & choosing to be compassionate, offering solace, etc.) - this is an unexpected side of me that not everyone experiences. A family member may say I am a rather critical and cool person, and a friend may say I am sweet and caring.

I basically do things which bring the world closer to my ideal world.
I also look for things which resonate as true to me, be it in literature, religion, film, art, music, psychology, photography, etc. These serve as inspiration and guides on how to go about making a vision reality.

I am not a huggy or emotionally expressive person most of the time. I am not often warm, or personable, or very friendly. I can seem caring and gentle at times, or I can seem prickly and self-absorbed.

I'm not interested in serving people so much as bringing my external realm into accord with my internal one; this includes people who are happy and peaceful in some sort of utopia, and so I feel a pull to solve people & their problems. I feel far more than I act though, which isn't a good thing. I don't go out of my way much.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
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This is somewhat opposed to my idea of INFPs, which is good, as I'm learning. :cheese:

I just imagined INFPs would be...warmer? Too concerned of causing offence or hurt to be a "sarcastic asshole" ;p? How do you feel when a friend gets hurt, can you express your sympathy?

Seriously now...

I am pretty warm most of the time, even to strangers, but...

I know the limits of that friendliness. I know that it only goes so far, and will change based on the other person's whims, so I don't expect anything in return. This may make me less than enthusiastic about puting anything out there of my internal life. I will not reveal anything, but I'm not an asshole; just very reserved and careful.
expressing sympathy is very different than revealing anything about myself. I can feel sympathy for a stranger, but to share myself requires a vetting of the person, or there have to be strong vibes going on. even then...
 

Snuggletron

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I rarely seriously project my Fi, it's something that I've found speaks better when spoken to, since no one else particularly cares about your feelings or opinions unless they've got something in common with you or they are your mother (it's like telling people your dreams).

Every now and then though I'll let it slip, but it usually comes out looking like a george carlin punch line except sometimes not funny

does that make sense
 

Southern Kross

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How do you express it externally?

I believe INTPs use there Ti to create theories internally, which they express via Ne in conversation. When writing, perhaps the INTP writes his thoughts directly on the page, I do not know.

So how does an INFP express his/her feelings? Through actions only? Through emotional gestures (hugs)? Through writing them down or other creative proccesses?

Or do you prefer not to express them at all? :huh:
I guess I express my feelings indirectly. Mostly they are only apparent to others by what engages me. My natural outward state is disengagement but I constantly looking at the world, trying to find a connection to people, places, things, ideas, conversations, experiences that will zap me to life. Basically, if something has my attention or gets me really talking, I am expressing an inner emotion. There is, however, a vast difference depending on whether the emotion is positive or negative. I tend to carefully contain my negative emotions but I feel more inclined to let the positive stuff out, albeit in a edited, indirect form

I certainly don't spell out my emotions very frequently at all. I feel like they are for me, and that putting them on display serves little purpose. Nor am I an especially huggy person. I think hugs are like compliments, I only want to give them when I feel strongly compelled to. I don't like giving them when I feel obliged to, I want to really mean it. I guess thats what it comes down to, I can't fake an emotion and resent having to do so. I want to feel it naturally and let it push and pull me in the right directions.
 

Udog

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I express myself through interpretive dance! ...Okay, maybe not.

First, Fi isn't about emotions. How I express my emotions is very different than how I express Fi. Yeah, Fi is often strongly rooted to my emotions, but not always.

Fi consists of the values, principles, and meanings I hold dear. It's awkward for me to communicate them through words, because I rarely view them as words in my mind. I think this is why INFPs can be such talented artists/musicians - because once they find a medium to express themselves, it becomes a part of us, and our art/writing etc is a part of our being.

So to answer your question, we express Fi in the way that comes most naturally to us, yet is the most likely to allow us to speak directly to the other person's core.
 

purplesunset

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One thing I don't really like about type theory is all the prick waving that goes on.

"My type has a bigger dick than your type" is pretty much what most of the type against type arguments boil down to. :duel:

One big source of conflict that people have with INFP's is Fi. Nope, there is still isn't any satisfactory description of Fi anywhere online, except the ones made by articulate INFP's themselves such as Orangeappled.

Fi just cannot be communicated by words. It's just like how many Ni insights seem to come from nowhere. How could you put into words the special meaning that an old sock that was your childhood friend have for you. To other people, it would seem ridiculous and downright silly. Many INFP's get that reaction when they put themselves out there, and nothing nothing hurts an INFP more than getting shot down after putting him/herself out there.

It goes straight to our existential core. It questions our reason for even being alive, because the meanings we attach to concepts, theories, academic pursuits, inanimate objects, relationships etc. are what we live for. This is what Fi is all about. Poetry, art, music often do a better job of communicating abstract meanings than words.

Unless the INFP is particularly gifted with words. I always think of how, Tolkien, in his own recordings where he reads his work, would convey the special, intimate meaning that the characters had for him. Something that can't be picked up if the work is read by you or a professional audiobook reader.

Fi is about meaning. Meaning is such an intimate, personal experience that when communicated, it is bound to be misunderstood or at worst, ridiculed by an outsider, no matter how empathic that person may be.
 

OrangeAppled

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It's awkward for me to communicate them through words, because I rarely view them as words in my mind. I think this is why INFPs can be such talented artists/musicians - because once they find a medium to express themselves, it becomes a part of us, and our art/writing etc is a part of our being.

It questions our reason for even being alive, because the meanings we attach to concepts, theories, academic pursuits, inanimate objects, relationships etc. are what we live for. This is what Fi is all about. Poetry, art, music often do a better job of communicating abstract meanings than words.

Fi is about meaning. Meaning is such an intimate, personal experience that when communicated, it is bound to be misunderstood or at worst, ridiculed by an outsider, no matter how empathic that person may be.

:yes:

And to quote Jung again:

Jung on Fi said:
It is extremely difficult to give an intellectual account of the introverted feeling process, or even an approximate description of it....

However, the very fact that thoughts can generally be expressed more intelligibly than feelings demands a more than ordinary descriptive or artistic ability before the real wealth of this feeling can be even approximately presented or communicated to the world. If subjective thinking can be understood only with difficulty because of its detachment, this is true in an even higher degree of subjective feeling. In order to communicate with others, introverted feeling has to find an external form not only acceptable to itself, but capable of also arousing parallel feeling in them.

-----

One big source of conflict that people have with INFP's is Fi. Nope, there is still isn't any satisfactory description of Fi anywhere online, except the ones made by articulate INFP's themselves such as Orangeappled.

:hug: Don't egg me on! :D
 

Thessaly

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I generally only express my emotions to my private blog or my MS Office journal. I would instantly overwhelm most people if I began to communicate the turbulence I feel inside on even an hourly basis. I believe writing is probably the best way to express Fi because not only does it force you to diagnose in concise terms what you are experiencing and therefore lead to acceptance and resolve, but it also activates parts of the brain that suppress emotional reactivity resulting in greater logical analysis.

I think communicating with someone who possesses mature and strong Fe would be the next best option.
 
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