I try and channel emotional energy into something creative. I don't go too literal with it... as FineLine mentioned, I too never found journaling useful (and I'm not particularly good at it; I draw blanks when it comes to direct expression like that). When I was younger, I'd draw a lot, and it would sort of lull me into an emotional neutral zone, and everything felt a little less important, so that it's put into its place. I write some bad poetry too
, but again, it's not literal (the way journaling tends to be). The tangible results feel good too.
There are INFPs who say, "Well, I just don't have any artistic talent", and that's fine, but it's still worth finding a creative outlet of some kind (doesn't have to be artsy). Many people benefit from such things, but I think Fi-dom especially do, because it allows for extraordinary ways of expressing when everyday language fails to do the job.
So ultimately, when I started feeling boxed in or squeezed or snowed under, I took that as a signal that I had fallen into a rut or something and needed to act directly on my circumstances to change things.
This too.
Take action! If you can't solve one thing, then look to some other area.
Take the focus off yourself too, which will actually benefit YOU. I do some volunteer work with my church; it's therapeutic for me AND it helps other people. When I've had a bad day, I've gotten up & just driven to do some work because it's THAT good for my head. Otherwise, I'm just going to wallow under the covers & listen to depressing music
The feelings I have in my day to day life are more... fierce, refined, and inconsequential, all at once. When something bothers me at once I work it and meld it to my worldview, figure out why I've made a judgement, and what changes, and how why what when where in my mental landscape is different, and integrate. Feelings I directly experience rarely move me, and serve more to define who I am.
However, I become incredibly emotionally invested in television/movies/theatre, music, and all forms of art. It's very cathartic.
I can certainly relate to this.... Do you ever get stuck in this analysis though? There's a great benefit to it, and such "melding into one's worldview" & "integrating into one's mental landscape" is precisely what makes one a Fi-dom (IMO), but there's this point where it's ALL introverting & you're cutting off from the external world and spiraling down into some black hole where things get rather distorted.... Even the internalized responses to art & all the enlightenment it provides can become like some substitution for real living... It's also precisely why the Fi type appears to not feel at all, because of the lack of external response due to an internalizing of feeling & rational examination. It's not repression, but it can become a kind of disconnect with the physiological aspect of emotions & the way they connect to feeling in terms of expressing valuation.
I find this a trap when I indulge in it too much, although it's a heavy part of my inner activity & general mindset.
