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[Jungian Cognitive Functions] Does trauma exaggerate your personality?

ObeyBunny

New member
Joined
Mar 8, 2010
Messages
573
MBTI Type
INTJ
I’ve got a question: When a person goes threw something really scary (near death experience, abandonment, depression, etc.) does that person’s personality type become exaggerated?

For example, If a normal healthy INTJ was exposed to a scary situation, would he/she become insanely independent(I), constantly imagining danger around the corner(N), confronting anything that might later turn into a danger no mater how unlikely (T), constantly preparing supplies and memorizing multiple routes out of any situation?

I think my question is better illustrated with a little story of my childhood.
---
---
---
>>> life story
When I was 8, I was what I considered a perfectly normal girl. But one day, on the afternoon before my schools’ week long Easter vacation, I ran into my classroom to get some homework that I had forgotten on the desk just as my class mates had been escorted out of the room. The door closed behind me and jammed.

I basically cried and banged on the window for two hours until someone noticed that I was gone. It was only two hours, but I knew that if no one had found me, I would die of starvation (and dehydration) during the nine days between classes (9 days because I’m including both weekends.)

Anyway.

I became fanatical about being independent (stronger I). From my point of view, the people around me had failed to notice that I was gone and therefore would not have come to save me. So I figured that if I could be more independent, I would be safer in the future. And for those times where I couldn’t be autonomous, I made sure that I was absolutely crucial for the success of a project so that if I went missing, someone would have to take the time to find me.

I keep a backpack in my room that has survival gear, water purification tablets, medical supplies including an exacto-knife that I could use as a scalpel, and a change of cloths in it.
I make it my business to scout out several routes out of any place I visit. I did this even before I discovered Map quest.
My back yard is full of fruiting plants that can feed me for at least a month incase grocery stores stop getting shipments (like during a natural disaster.)
.
I also started imagining every conceivable situation where I might be in danger and started contemplating possible solutions to get out of it. (Stronger N) This way, if anything bad did happen, I could react instantaneously because I would have already formulated a plan of action

I’m not sure if my ‘T’ got stronger, but now if anything comes along that could possibly harm me or my goals (new laws, ass hole teachers, cut in allowance money, etc.), I confront the problem head on and in some cases, I can become vindictive. I don’t try to find a common ground or find a peaceful solution until I’m sure that I have something I can use to defend myself or cripple the enemy. (or maybe I’m evil, I don’t know)

Lastly, like I mentioned, I started keeping my house well stocked for emergencies. I draw road maps with multiple paths to take to get out of the city. (Stronger J)

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I wasn’t a fanatical INTJ when I was a kid, then I had my little scare, now I’m an extreme version of an I, an N, possible a T, and a J. Simple cause and effect thinking have led me to believe that that little childhood trauma was the trigger that lead me to design my life around self preservation.
---
---
---
end of life story

Anyway, going back to my original question, I was just wondering if everyone else would become a more pronounced version of their personality type if exposed to something terrifying.

Sorry for boring you with my life story.
 

ObeyBunny

New member
Joined
Mar 8, 2010
Messages
573
MBTI Type
INTJ
know anybody?

Yes, it's possible.

Do you know of anyone who might have lost all the moderate in their personality when they came in contact with something scary? If so, what event happened to them and what did they become?
 
T

ThatGirl

Guest
I’ve got a question: When a person goes threw something really scary (near death experience, abandonment, depression, etc.) does that person’s personality type become exaggerated?

For example, If a normal healthy INTJ was exposed to a scary situation, would he/she become insanely independent(I), constantly imagining danger around the corner(N), confronting anything that might later turn into a danger no mater how unlikely (T), constantly preparing supplies and memorizing multiple routes out of any situation?

I think my question is better illustrated with a little story of my childhood.
---
---
---
>>> life story
When I was 8, I was what I considered a perfectly normal girl. But one day, on the afternoon before my schools’ week long Easter vacation, I ran into my classroom to get some homework that I had forgotten on the desk just as my class mates had been escorted out of the room. The door closed behind me and jammed.

I basically cried and banged on the window for two hours until someone noticed that I was gone. It was only two hours, but I knew that if no one had found me, I would die of starvation (and dehydration) during the nine days between classes (9 days because I’m including both weekends.)

Anyway.

I became fanatical about being independent (stronger I). From my point of view, the people around me had failed to notice that I was gone and therefore would not have come to save me. So I figured that if I could be more independent, I would be safer in the future. And for those times where I couldn’t be autonomous, I made sure that I was absolutely crucial for the success of a project so that if I went missing, someone would have to take the time to find me.

I keep a backpack in my room that has survival gear, water purification tablets, medical supplies including an exacto-knife that I could use as a scalpel, and a change of cloths in it.
I make it my business to scout out several routes out of any place I visit. I did this even before I discovered Map quest.
My back yard is full of fruiting plants that can feed me for at least a month incase grocery stores stop getting shipments (like during a natural disaster.)
.
I also started imagining every conceivable situation where I might be in danger and started contemplating possible solutions to get out of it. (Stronger N) This way, if anything bad did happen, I could react instantaneously because I would have already formulated a plan of action

I’m not sure if my ‘T’ got stronger, but now if anything comes along that could possibly harm me or my goals (new laws, ass hole teachers, cut in allowance money, etc.), I confront the problem head on and in some cases, I can become vindictive. I don’t try to find a common ground or find a peaceful solution until I’m sure that I have something I can use to defend myself or cripple the enemy. (or maybe I’m evil, I don’t know)

Lastly, like I mentioned, I started keeping my house well stocked for emergencies. I draw road maps with multiple paths to take to get out of the city. (Stronger J)

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I wasn’t a fanatical INTJ when I was a kid, then I had my little scare, now I’m an extreme version of an I, an N, possible a T, and a J. Simple cause and effect thinking have led me to believe that that little childhood trauma was the trigger that lead me to design my life around self preservation.
---
---
---
end of life story

Anyway, going back to my original question, I was just wondering if everyone else would become a more pronounced version of their personality type if exposed to something terrifying.

Sorry for boring you with my life story.


I did not read all of the op. This sounds like Si.
 

Fluffywolf

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Mar 31, 2009
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sp/sx
Trauma changed me from your average person, first into your average rebel, and after that into your average saint of ultimate awesomeness.

So it can change your personality. But... I don't know if it exaggerates a personality... *ponders*
 

Kalach

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INTJ
Well, since you made yourself the case study for this question...

If you take pride in these preparations and consider them acheivements that do not hinder but in fact aid in some utilitarian way what you would consider to be your broader interests and projects, then you have become Super Awesome INTJ. If these preparations are onerous to you and you find them curtailing your broader interests, then you are traumatised and neurotic. And probably still Super Awesome INTJ.

For the broader question itself... I dunno. It'd depend on the trauma, wouldn't it? Some traumatic experiences would feed directly into particular personality types characteristic vulnerabilities, and others wouldn't so much. I guess.
 

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
I tend to think that traits can become exaggerated as a result of life stress or critical incidents, when I get stressed out or miserable many of the traits that I've disowned become more accentuated. I tend to think the eneagram's axis takes greatest stock of these tendencies.
 

Oddly Refined

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May 27, 2009
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Do you know of anyone who might have lost all the moderate in their personality when they came in contact with something scary? If so, what event happened to them and what did they become?

Yes. I sustained several different forms of abuse in different time periods. Consequently, My Ni kicks with my Fi (fears) overwhelming it and then I start speculating (J). That's when I have to stand back, pull in third person, and start asking questions instead of hastily forming conclusions. Someone mentioned Si earlier? From my personal experience, these things don't happen often because I analyze pattern, my reactions, and try to map the situation from multiple points of view. I know another intj with similar functional issues with a different cause.
 

ObeyBunny

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If you take pride in these preparations and consider them acheivements that do not hinder but in fact aid in some utilitarian way what you would consider to be your broader interests and projects, then you have become Super Awesome INTJ. If these preparations are onerous to you and you find them curtailing your broader interests, then you are traumatised and neurotic. And probably still Super Awesome INTJ.

Thank you for the complement, I secretly do feel a certain since of pride. However, a few of the people who know me have accused me of acting paranoid(N) and wastefully preparing for completely unrealistic circumstances (J). Which is partially why I asked my original question.

Some traumatic experiences would feed directly into particular personality types characteristic vulnerabilities, and others wouldn't so much. I guess.

Now I'm curious about what kinds of trauma could induce different effects in people.
  • Would physical injury (and depending on others) strengthen your E?
  • Would abandonment strengthen your I?
  • Would being confined to small, texture-less room strengthen your S?
  • Would being over stimulated cause you to retreat into your mind (N)?
  • Would being in the middle of emotional abuse strengthen your T?
  • Would being in a loveless parent/child relationship strengthen your F?
  • Would living in a constantly changing environment (moving, bipolar parent) strengthen your J?
  • Would living a drearily unchanging life strengthen your P?

PS. you have a pretty good vocabulary. :)
Sorry it took so long for me to respond, I was on vacation for about 5 days.
 

ObeyBunny

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INTJ reaction to trauma

Yes. I sustained several different forms of abuse in different time periods. Consequently, My Ni kicks with my Fi (fears) overwhelming it and then I start speculating (J). I know another intj with similar functional issues with a different cause.

Okay, that makes three INTJs where this exact thing has happened. Maybe this kind of thing (namely having each letter in one’s personality become supper stronger as a result of some trauma) only happens to INTJ’s

Does this mean that INTJ's are supremely susceptible to trauma? Or that all the side effects of trauma (i.e. becoming withdrawn, more prone to drifting off into space, less caring towards other's feelings, making extensive plans so that the trauma can never happen again) resemble a personality with off-the-scale I,N,T,J?

(Sorry that I took so long to reply, I went on vacation)
 

ObeyBunny

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Anything can affect our personality in positive and negative ways. Childhood trauma in particular.

This may be of interest: http://www.typologycentral.com/foru...nality-matrices/29028-form-inferior-injs.html

Interesting. I've notice the same in my self at times.
So far, my observation is thus:
Regular stress causes people to become their opposites (short term)
While trauma can cause people excaudate the strength of their original letters.

I'm curious where one ends and another begins.
 

Kalach

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Sorry it took so long for me to respond, I was on vacation for about 5 days.

Did you take the backpack?

"Trauma" seems like a really big topic, and if it has to be related to typology, I suppose we have either to start classifying types of trauma or start discussing type-characteristic coping mechanisms. And then talk about whether the stress of the trauma is chronic or acute.... Too many variables for an easy discussion.

Or, to put it another way, that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger or leaves us broken and confused?
 

ObeyBunny

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Did you take the backpack?

I brought it, but had a lingering sense of guilt for unpacking it. (It was so neatly packed, I could never get everything back in its place) :(

"Trauma" seems like a really big topic, and if it has to be related to typology, I suppose we have either to start classifying types of trauma or start discussing type-characteristic coping mechanisms. And then talk about whether the stress of the trauma is chronic or acute.... Too many variables for an easy discussion.

I'm not even sure how to go about researching this kind of thing [dark humor=moderate] (aside from kidnapping dozens of children of all different personality types and subjecting them to different types of trauma.)[/dark humor]

Not that I would want to...:devil:
---
As an unrelated question, what are you doing at Typology Central at 1:30am? You're either up really really early or it's very very past
 

Kalach

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Just looking through the MBTI Manual, there's a study that looked at American combat veterans admitted to a Veterans Administration domiciliary who had requested psychotherapy, namely:

Otis GD & Louks JL (1997). Rebelliousness and psychological distress in a sample of Introverted veterans. Journal of Psychological Type, 40,20-30.

Apparently, there were type-related differences in likelihood of particular diagnoses. (Sample size=158.) They found, INFP were most likely to have anxiety disorder, INTJs major depression, ISTP combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. ITPs were most likely to display antisocial and avoidant personality disorders, and ISTJs most likely to be designated obsessive compulsive. IFJs were likely to be characterised as "dramatic".

So, magnification of type? Seems a bit inappropriate to say so. Maybe something more like: different types have different reactions to stress. But even that seems a bit too global a claim.


Perhaps for types and traumatic events (as opposed to on-going stress), perhaps something like "Different types learn different lessons from similar situations and go on to develop those lessons in different ways"?

Too vague, I guess. Plus a bit too mechanistic. Those people units are unruly when one fails to address their inner states.
 

ObeyBunny

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Just looking through the MBTI Manual, there's a study that looked at American combat veterans admitted to a Veterans Administration domiciliary who had requested psychotherapy, namely:

Otis GD & Louks JL (1997). Rebelliousness and psychological distress in a sample of Introverted veterans. Journal of Psychological Type, 40,20-30.

Apparently, there were type-related differences in likelihood of particular diagnoses. (Sample size=158.) They found, INFP were most likely to have anxiety disorder, INTJs major depression, ISTP combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. ITPs were most likely to display antisocial and avoidant personality disorders, and ISTJs most likely to be designated obsessive compulsive. IFJs were likely to be characterised as "dramatic".

So, magnification of type? Seems a bit inappropriate to say so. Maybe something more like: different types have different reactions to stress. But even that seems a bit too global a claim.


Perhaps for types and traumatic events (as opposed to on-going stress), perhaps something like "Different types learn different lessons from similar situations and go on to develop those lessons in different ways"?

Too vague, I guess. Plus a bit too mechanistic. Those people units are unruly when one fails to address their inner states.

Highly intriguing, so that means that my reaction was unusual and that most INTJ’s would have reacted with depression. I wonder why I didn't become depressed?

Anyway, I suppose my ultra INTJ-ish behavior has little to do with that event I had as a kid. Maybe I would have grown to be as neurotic as I am now regardless.

Although, the ISTJs who became obsessive compulsive seemed to become stronger SJ’s (obsessing about little details and organizing them to ungodly perfection [J])

Hmmm.....
 

Kalach

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Highly intriguing, so that means that my reaction was unusual and that most INTJ’s would have reacted with depression. I wonder why I didn't become depressed?

Depends. Did you take part in any significant combat ops before you were eight?
 

hilo

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Just looking through the MBTI Manual, there's a study that looked at American combat veterans admitted to a Veterans Administration domiciliary who had requested psychotherapy, namely:

Otis GD & Louks JL (1997). Rebelliousness and psychological distress in a sample of Introverted veterans. Journal of Psychological Type, 40,20-30.

Apparently, there were type-related differences in likelihood of particular diagnoses. (Sample size=158.) They found, INFP were most likely to have anxiety disorder, INTJs major depression, ISTP combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. ITPs were most likely to display antisocial and avoidant personality disorders, and ISTJs most likely to be designated obsessive compulsive. IFJs were likely to be characterised as "dramatic".

So, magnification of type? Seems a bit inappropriate to say so. Maybe something more like: different types have different reactions to stress. But even that seems a bit too global a claim.


Perhaps for types and traumatic events (as opposed to on-going stress), perhaps something like "Different types learn different lessons from similar situations and go on to develop those lessons in different ways"?

Too vague, I guess. Plus a bit too mechanistic. Those people units are unruly when one fails to address their inner states.

Antisocial makes sense for INTP. Especially if it manifests not as an active, hateful type of disorder but a passive disregard for humanity. It's something that all INTPs, I suspect, have had to wrestle with at some point. Usually this comes up when there is a conflict with two potential positions: screw everyone else and do whatever it takes to win (using all tactics/smarts available) or to actually come down to the level of a human being and do what is right or ideal in some way without assurance of a good personal outcome. As a younger human I would feel the desire to do both at various times.

Aside from social alienation, which I hesitate to classify as "traumatic" because it is more of a long-term situational problem, I don't think INTPs are as easily traumatized as INTJ. We're more likely to just sit back and think about things.
 
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