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[INFJ] Problems with inferior SE

Kristennfisherr

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Jun 16, 2017
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4
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So, most of the time I find I have a remarkable amount of self control and ability to stick to goal based routines. But the more I do this I find I am prone to occasional explosions which are basically the need for sensory stimulation. A lot of the time this includes terrible decisions, like binge drinking or eating or willingly getting myself involved with questionable (untrustworthy, although interesting) people. Today I was thinking about devising healthier ways to integrate chaos into my life, but I need help brainstorming on this issue. Has anyone else experienced something similar and how did you deal with it?
 

Cellmold

Wake, See, Sing, Dance
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Mar 23, 2012
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I don't know how much this can be attributed to inferior Se as it seems to be more of a general issue, but I have similar issues. I get restless from repetition and I have to shake it up with something else.

Although I also get extremely pent up and irritated by an environment that is 'too busy' too much light, sound and people crowding me can really set me off and makes me defensive and aggressive.

This is probably just a consequence of living in a time of attention bombardment, where the best remedy is to cut out a significant portion of that influence at its various sources, such as social media, TV etc..

Although it may just be that we become irritated by too much of the same, our brains (us) like patterns but too much of the same pattern is boring and it can only be extended in interest by the levels of inspection a person is willing to invest and most of us lack a certain genius to do that.
 

Kristennfisherr

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Jun 16, 2017
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You bring up a lot of good points. I had also wondered if it's not just inferior SE. I think you really hit the nail on the head when you talk about media and choices for entertainment. Often theres no integration of sensory stimulation and substance. We can't help the fact that we were brought up and acclimated to media with high sensory stimulation and the newer media, like Instagram and all of the crap tv shows coming out, only seem to be progressing with more sensory stimulation and less substance. One thing I had been considering was moving somewhere with a lot of rock concerts since I find the lyrics meaningful but the enviroment has a lot of positive energy. I also thought about being somewhere with more of a mix of nature and hiking that would also be close enough to a city.

Other than that, I've been wondering if there are ways to plan chaos into your life. I mean there s urban exploring rings and things like that. Maybe creative outlets would be safer. The problem I keep running into is that it seems that if you live in certain areas your options for exciting and meaningful entertainment seem to be more dangerous.
 

Kristennfisherr

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Although it may just be that we become irritated by too much of the same, our brains (us) like patterns but too much of the same pattern is boring and it can only be extended in interest by the levels of inspection a person is willing to invest and most of us lack a certain genius to do that.
This is an interesting point. Can you elaborate more on this paragraph for me?
 

Cellmold

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This is an interesting point. Can you elaborate more on this paragraph for me?

Sure.

Basically I'm saying that we're looking for objects (or subjects) of attention that satisfy the intellectual level we're at (or are given depending on your view of nature vs nurture). As a random example take Whitney Smith (Whitney Smith - Wikipedia) a Vexillologist who formalised it. It's an interesting area of study, the study of the history, symbolism & usage of flags (or just general interest in them) and I might even find it engaging for a while.

But I lack that spark of genius, as I would call it, that would keep me interested in that field of inspection. I'd say that in this particular case it's my failure to maintain a more in-depth interest of that particular pattern (I mean pattern here to generally refer to whatever holds our perception at the current time).

I use the term genius in this context, not as a marker of high intelligence, but as the ability to maintain intense interest in a certain subject or field. Whatever that happens to be.

In that sense most of us are looking (perhaps unknowingly) for the subject that excites our genius and fulfils us. That doesn't have to be an area of technical study by the way, I just used Whitney Smith as an example of someone who found their's.

And sometimes we get bored because the subject doesn't engage us (whether that is due to our failings or not is up to the person).
 

IndigoViolet11

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Apr 28, 2016
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125
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1w9
So, most of the time I find I have a remarkable amount of self control and ability to stick to goal based routines. But the more I do this I find I am prone to occasional explosions which are basically the need for sensory stimulation. A lot of the time this includes terrible decisions, like binge drinking or eating or willingly getting myself involved with questionable (untrustworthy, although interesting) people. Today I was thinking about devising healthier ways to integrate chaos into my life, but I need help brainstorming on this issue. Has anyone else experienced something similar and how did you deal with it?

Let me guess. It is when you are using your Se, and to satisfy it you ran into problems when Se just boils up to the surface waiting to explode. Even with ordinary logical thinking, nothing satisfy. This is not only your problem, but I too experience it, and maybe others too, when every single bubble is justat times, too much. So I be it, do it, and rush for it, but this is not always the best solution.

But then, still, no matter it is you or I, I think that we can only enrich ourselves and your rest of the three functions with hard experience. This applies to all mbti, but being an INFJ also, your pain is like a dynamite that hides underneath, and I feel what you are feeling, exactly the way you describe it.

I do not have a must work solution but here is what I know. Sometimes you will need the fresh air, and touch the grass, wind, etc, without detatching yourself from it. Our inferior is about the five sense - smell, touch, see, hear and taste. It is that, the rest of the functions can be satisfied. It is as if you suddenly walk into some place and like, wow that girl looks fabulous.
 

Kristennfisherr

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Yeah, I like what you have to say about being present in the moment. I guess that's a lot of the problem with constantly driving toward future goals. It puts you in a mindset where you are constantly living in the future and sometimes that makes creates so much stress that you have to overload yourself with sensory stimuli to bring your attention back to the moment. Because when the moment is overloaded it demands your attention. Perhaps another answer would be to strike a balance to where the usual mindset isn't so deeply entrenched in the future. Then you won't basically need an explosion of present to knock you out of it.
 

IndigoViolet11

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Yeah, I like what you have to say about being present in the moment. I guess that's a lot of the problem with constantly driving toward future goals. It puts you in a mindset where you are constantly living in the future and sometimes that makes creates so much stress that you have to overload yourself with sensory stimuli to bring your attention back to the moment. Because when the moment is overloaded it demands your attention. Perhaps another answer would be to strike a balance to where the usual mindset isn't so deeply entrenched in the future. Then you won't basically need an explosion of present to knock you out of it.

You can say that as well, but from a general prespective, we have the past, present and future. And they always try to strike attention in many different ways.

It is more about the sense of real touch, and nothing more than that. You don't have to overcomplicate the five sense for example. Sometimes the senses alone are the answer to the question - because falling off the stairs hurt so it does hurt. No other reasons needed. To simplify an explaination, but explain it in the way it is.
 
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