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[ISTP] Unhealthy ISTP

Poki

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I've done that as well - I don't think it's weird at all to use a color to describe a taste, as color is one of many aspects of a sensation for me.

I can recall tasting something and describing it as "purple". My friends were confused, because what I actually meant was that the flavor reminded me of artificial grape flavoring, and those things tend to be purple in color.

It's funny because my mind doesn't associate artificial grape flavoring with the flavor of a real grape or grape juice, since the flavor of real grape is so much more complex, so it associates that artificial flavor primarily with just the color purple.

Purple Kool-Aid, purple Flavor Ice, purple Gobstoppers, they all taste like purple to me!

Everytime I drink Guinness, or any other strong stout, the sensation of "black" is appearing in my mind, probably because of the color that it is, and also associating it with other black things like black coffee or motor oil.

Its funny you bring this up because I am Hawaiian and we are big on rice, but it has to be "REAL" rice. My brothers and sisters dont do "FAKE" or instant rice because its not real rice. Its like they have associated the chinese type of rice as "REAL" rice and everything else is a knock off and not worthy. To me I have different types of rice and I like what they call "FAKE" rice just as much as "REAL" rice. Its different, but different is not bad, its just different.

With me I dont associate anything vaguely. Purple kool-aid gets its own distinction as purple kool-aid because it tastes different then purple gatorade. I cant group these together because they dont belong together. I like to try things and if I were to group things like that I would not be able to distinguish between all the different things in life. To my dad things are in life for a purpose, maybe thats what you mean by intention. Food is to eat, to make the hunger go away. He is very simple in that sense. Its like he has to have a goal to do something. Maybe thats what you mean by an objects intention. The intention things sounds like my ISTJ dad. On the outside me and him are alot alike, but we have never been able to really agree verbally on things. We have different thought patterns, but when we have a common goal we compliment each other because we have different ways of looking at things. Its almost like we cover all angles and one always gives in to the other when their idea is better without any fights. Complexity scares my dad while simplicity bores me.

I go back to socionics and relations and I think I am starting to understand the connection between ENFJ and ISTJ. If ENFJ has trouble finding the intention and ISTJ categorize things by purpose. Its like both line up because of vague categorization. The things you deem as simple line up with each other. You are better able to use J and make a decision because of lack of complexity. Where a P type is more complex but we suck at making a decision and pushing through because of the complexity.

I am not saying one is better than the other, just different. Both have there good and bad qualities.
 

sculpting

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No offense, but you just don't come across as an ISTP. Needing to be brought into the world from being in your head so much?! How is that characteristic of an ISTP? You also seem very verbose for an ISTP. Their writing style tends to be more terse and concise.

The tert Ni thing can come out really odd for an ISTP-at least mine.

He is profoundly artistic but detests abstract art. He draws things with massive amounts of detail-sometimes so much that I can't tell what the drawing actually is. Think of some of those hot rod monster drawings withy little intricate lines everywhere.

He also can pop out with really odd, deepness but not normally verbally-typically in what he draws. He wanted to do welding sculpture for awhile for instance.

Now he is a tattoo artist.

What drives me insane is the inferior Fe. I hurt my shoulder and he keeps insisting I need to take a bath with epson salts. I dont take baths, so I didnt do it-then he comes back and says I am not trying to tell what to do, but you should really do this....AHHHHHHH!!!!! He doesnt even live with me.

His mom, also an ISTP, has gotten fucking crazy on this note. She uses the mosts screwed up Fe obsessive mannerisms towards me-to take care of me. I do love this woman, but she makes me want to drink.

However-on anothet topic of conversation-nothing makes an enfp tougher than spending time hanging out with an ISTP. It does stabilize the emo.
 

Poki

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The tert Ni thing can come out really odd for an ISTP-at least mine.

He is profoundly artistic but detests abstract art. He draws things with massive amounts of detail-sometimes so much that I can't tell what the drawing actually is. Think of some of those hot rod monster drawings withy little intricate lines everywhere.

He also can pop out with really odd, deepness but not normally verbally-typically in what he draws. He wanted to do welding sculpture for awhile for instance.

Now he is a tattoo artist.

What drives me insane is the inferior Fe. I hurt my shoulder and he keeps insisting I need to take a bath with epson salts. I dont take baths, so I didnt do it-then he comes back and says I am not trying to tell what to do, but you should really do this....AHHHHHHH!!!!! He doesnt even live with me.

His mom, also an ISTP, has gotten fucking crazy on this note. She uses the mosts screwed up Fe obsessive mannerisms towards me-to take care of me. I do love this woman, but she makes me want to drink.

However-on anothet topic of conversation-nothing makes an enfp tougher than spending time hanging out with an ISTP. It does stabilize the emo.

I have never had the internal vision to do any kind of art. I cant picture things in my head. I have thought this was lack of Si. I have a project car that I am working on, but I am stuck on the interior because I cant picture what I want it to look like. The detail in an interior is to complicated for me to vision in my head. Same with clothing, I grab similiar colors and put them on becuase I cant seem to see in my head how things would look. I end up with pants I like and a shirt I like and just make sure the colors of what I am wearing are similiar so I dont look stupid.
 

phoenity

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Its funny you bring this up because I am Hawaiian and we are big on rice, but it has to be "REAL" rice. My brothers and sisters dont do "FAKE" or instant rice because its not real rice. Its like they have associated the chinese type of rice as "REAL" rice and everything else is a knock off and not worthy. To me I have different types of rice and I like what they call "FAKE" rice just as much as "REAL" rice. Its different, but different is not bad, its just different.

With me I dont associate anything vaguely. Purple kool-aid gets its own distinction as purple kool-aid because it tastes different then purple gatorade. I cant group these together because they dont belong together. I like to try things and if I were to group things like that I would not be able to distinguish between all the different things in life. To my dad things are in life for a purpose, maybe thats what you mean by intention. Food is to eat, to make the hunger go away. He is very simple in that sense. Its like he has to have a goal to do something. Maybe thats what you mean by an objects intention. The intention things sounds like my ISTJ dad. On the outside me and him are alot alike, but we have never been able to really agree verbally on things. We have different thought patterns, but when we have a common goal we compliment each other because we have different ways of looking at things. Its almost like we cover all angles and one always gives in to the other when their idea is better without any fights. Complexity scares my dad while simplicity bores me.

I go back to socionics and relations and I think I am starting to understand the connection between ENFJ and ISTJ. If ENFJ has trouble finding the intention and ISTJ categorize things by purpose. Its like both line up because of vague categorization. The things you deem as simple line up with each other. You are better able to use J and make a decision because of lack of complexity. Where a P type is more complex but we suck at making a decision and pushing through because of the complexity.

I am not saying one is better than the other, just different. Both have there good and bad qualities.

I understand what you're saying.

Grape Gatorade and grape Kool-Aid do taste different when considering the whole flavor, all aspects of the flavor combined together.

What I was trying to explain is that flavors are very complex to me, but that fine details, such as the flavor of artificial grape, is the sensation that I use to describe things as purple, or relate it to other things that are artificially grape.

They absolutely do not taste the same, so I don't categorize them as one in the same, but, to me at least, they do have a similar taste, so that is how I can relate them vaguely.

These vague relations don't occur to me every time I eat these things. It's more like it randomly pops in my head sometimes. There is no practical use for the relation, other than noticing the similar flavors.

It's sort of like how you described hearing words or a phrase, and a song might pop into your head.
 

phoenity

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I have never had the internal vision to do any kind of art. I cant picture things in my head. I have thought this was lack of Si. I have a project car that I am working on, but I am stuck on the interior because I cant picture what I want it to look like. The detail in an interior is to complicated for me to vision in my head. Same with clothing, I grab similiar colors and put them on becuase I cant seem to see in my head how things would look. I end up with pants I like and a shirt I like and just make sure the colors of what I am wearing are similiar so I dont look stupid.

Me too. I have to physically put things together to really make a determination on how they look. I can get a vague idea of how they would look in my mind, It's like I can't trust that vision, because often things turn out to look differently in reality. There are just so many fine details to objects in reality that the pictures in my mind don't have.

If I am dressing for something important, where I would be concerned with my clothing, I usually pick some things out, try them on, determine yay or nay, try something else together, yay or nay, try on the same pair of pants I put on the first time with a different shirt, because the pants will probably look different with the different shirt. The cycle can could go on forever until I ran out of clothing, if I allowed it.

That is why I prefer to dress casually and comfortably most of the time without putting a lot of thought into dressing. Because if I do put thought into it, it always turns out to be too much thought and taking forever.
 
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I think ISTP's with high N's tend to be less risk takers more cautious and afraid, anxious ect. "sensing" is starting to become more of a thing of the past since our world is now evolving towards the necessity of understanding theory in order to adapt. In order to counter the "N" you have be in situations where you could put your sensing to good use. So ISTPs with high N's go outside for Jog play sports ect. to get outside your head.

So do you think that ISTPs in general will need to develop N in order to be successful where the world is heading? I would think it would be awful to feel that you have to go against who you naturally are to adapt to an evolving world.


I dunno but I'm a prime example, I only think so because I tend to be happier and at peace being "in the moment" emotionally. Recalling my past I was never really into books or thoery, more so anything that involved being practical like building a go cart. I tend be spontaneous as well, up until I turned to my late teens i never really saw the bigger picture, but I look towards primary functions.

I, too, am happier and more at peace when I pull myself into the reality of being "in the moment". It's hard for me to do, though, because I majorly live in my head! It requires constantly reminding myself to do it. Maybe with practice, it will happen more naturally.

The tert Ni thing can come out really odd for an ISTP-at least mine.

He is profoundly artistic but detests abstract art. He draws things with massive amounts of detail-sometimes so much that I can't tell what the drawing actually is. Think of some of those hot rod monster drawings with little intricate lines everywhere.

He also can pop out with really odd, deepness but not normally verbally-typically in what he draws. He wanted to do welding sculpture for awhile for instance.

Now he is a tattoo artist.

What drives me insane is the inferior Fe. I hurt my shoulder and he keeps insisting I need to take a bath with epson salts. I dont take baths, so I didnt do it-then he comes back and says I am not trying to tell what to do, but you should really do this....AHHHHHHH!!!!! He doesnt even live with me.

His mom, also an ISTP, has gotten fucking crazy on this note. She uses the mosts screwed up Fe obsessive mannerisms towards me-to take care of me. I do love this woman, but she makes me want to drink.

However-on another topic of conversation-nothing makes an enfp tougher than spending time hanging out with an ISTP. It does stabilize the emo.

My ISTP artist friend does very detailed work, too, and detests the insane contemporary art world. He refers to contemporary art as "ugly crap". :laugh:

I know you have said previously how hurtful your ISTP has been in the past, but did you know that as men get older, and their testosterone levels start dropping, they get more in touch with their feelings? Your ISTP is probably going to be really great as he gets older. Older ISTP men rock.
 

Poki

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So do you think that ISTPs in general will need to develop N in order to be successful where the world is heading? I would think it would be awful to feel that you have to go against who you naturally are to adapt to an evolving world.




I, too, am happier and more at peace when I pull myself into the reality of being "in the moment". It's hard for me to do, though, because I majorly live in my head! It requires constantly reminding myself to do it. Maybe with practice, it will happen more naturally.



My ISTP artist friend does very detailed work, too, and detests the insane contemporary art world. He refers to contemporary art as "ugly crap". :laugh:

I know you have said previously how hurtful your ISTP has been in the past, but did you know that as men get older, and their testosterone levels start dropping, they get more in touch with their feelings? Your ISTP is probably going to be really great as he gets older. Older ISTP men rock.

My mom is ENFP and I wonder if early on I learned how to not be so hurtful. I have seen her show my son visually with facial expressions when he does something to hurt her and think I remember her doing that to me. It really makes you pickup on facial queues instead of words. So they can say on thing and you can realize thats not what they really want.
 

phoenity

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So do you think that ISTPs in general will need to develop N in order to be successful where the world is heading? I would think it would be awful to feel that you have to go against who you naturally are to adapt to an evolving world.




I, too, am happier and more at peace when I pull myself into the reality of being "in the moment". It's hard for me to do, though, because I majorly live in my head! It requires constantly reminding myself to do it. Maybe with practice, it will happen more naturally.



My ISTP artist friend does very detailed work, too, and detests the insane contemporary art world. He refers to contemporary art as "ugly crap". :laugh:

I know you have said previously how hurtful your ISTP has been in the past, but did you know that as men get older, and their testosterone levels start dropping, they get more in touch with their feelings? Your ISTP is probably going to be really great as he gets older. Older ISTP men rock.

So all this time I was thinking I was just maturing, emotionally and intellectually.

But it's actually due to my testosterone dropping?? I thought I was much too young for that to start.
 

phoenity

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My mom is ENFP and I wonder if early on I learned how to not be so hurtful. I have seen her show my son visually with facial expressions when he does something to hurt her and think I remember her doing that to me. It really makes you pickup on facial queues instead of words. So they can say on thing and you can realize thats not what they really want.

I had quite the opposite experience with my INFP mother.

I have learned to pick up on other's feelings via sensing, from facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc, because I have always relied on sensing as my best source of information.

With my mother, there was very little outward expression of feeling. It was never apparent to me exactly what I did or said wrong according to her values, I was always expected to just know somehow. And since I never understood I was given the silent treatment until she decided she was over it.
 
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My mom is ENFP and I wonder if early on I learned how to not be so hurtful. I have seen her show my son visually with facial expressions when he does something to hurt her and think I remember her doing that to me. It really makes you pickup on facial queues instead of words. So they can say on thing and you can realize thats not what they really want.

What a great mom you have! I think teaching children facial queues is a wonderful thing to do. :)

So all this time I was thinking I was just maturing, emotionally and intellectually.

But it's actually due to my testosterone dropping?? I thought I was much too young for that to start.

Testosterone doesn't start dropping until men are in their 40's, and then it is only a modest drop. When I said older ISTPs, I meant men in their later 40's, 50's, and 60's. I believe I read somewhere on the forum that you are in your 20's, so no worries! :)
 

sculpting

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I know you have said previously how hurtful your ISTP has been in the past, but did you know that as men get older, and their testosterone levels start dropping, they get more in touch with their feelings? Your ISTP is probably going to be really great as he gets older. Older ISTP men rock.

But-is it Fe coming out???? Whatever it is, it feels like control, caring, but controlling.... However anyone who wants to date a great ISTP guy just let me know and I'll pass him your way... :) He is an awesome guy as he ages-just not for me.
 

Poki

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I have learned to pick up on other's feelings via sensing, from facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc, because I have always relied on sensing as my best source of information.

How have you been able to rely on others feelings? I have had someone make a comment at me out of frustration until she realized it was me and then apologized for that comment because it was me. So in this case how did they really feel about what I did? All you get are there feelings toward you, not the action. Have you ever laughed at something while someone told you something that hurt them. You laugh at the action while you feel sadness for them. All they see is a laugh. This is when I confuse myself trying to figure this out. I get lost in internal abstract thought and get confused as to what I saw vs what is real.

What a great mom you have! I think teaching children facial queues is a wonderful thing to do. :)


Its funny when her and my dad argue because The second he says something I dont think she will agree with I turn to her and watch her face and her words and they dont match up. Then she notices I noticed. Its kinda funny. She did this the other day and as me and her walked towards the house she said to me, "i'll fix it later" refering to the way something looked that her and my dad didnt agree on.
 
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But-is it Fe coming out????Whatever it is, it feels like control, caring, but controlling.... However anyone who wants to date a great ISTP guy just let me know and I'll pass him your way... :) He is an awesome guy as he ages-just not for me.

At his age, it's probably just him maturing more than Fe coming out, unless he knows about MBTI and is making a real effort to develop Fe. Have you told him that it feels like he's being caring but in a controlling way? It's so sad that he's an awesome guy, the father of your children, yet he isn't for you.
 

Poki

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At his age, it's probably just him maturing more than Fe coming out, unless he knows about MBTI and is making a real effort to develop Fe. Have you told him that it feels like he's being caring but in a controlling way? It's so sad that he's an awesome guy, the father of your children, yet he isn't for you.

Yes, but her sadness and hurt from him is real, the sadness and hurt of them splitting up that you are referring to is toward what "should be". There is only so much "should be" that you can endure.
 
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Yes, but her sadness and hurt is real, the sadness and hurt of them splitting up that you are referring to is toward what "should be". There is only so much "should be" that you can endure.

Being the idealistic person that I am, I can personally endure a whole lotta "should be", but I realize that isn't necessarily the case for other people. :)
 

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You confused with the thinking that an object can have intentions. I think i understand the thing about getting purple instead of sweet/salty, etc. Its like when you taset something it brings up the thought purple. More than likely you have associated that with a purple object. I strangely understand you because my brain works on things like that, but not as vague. Things pop into my head, for example songs. you can sit there and say something and a song pops into my head with those words or meaning. I think I may spend more time in my head so these things are more well defined and not as vague as purple.

Ni is a strange animal. My INFJ father and I were sitting in the doctor's office a few months ago. He was chatting with me to take my mind off the 60+ needles being jabbed into my arms. We were talking about introverted Intuition, and he said it reminded him concretely of "Slaughterhouse Five". Jumping from one moment to the next, creating a spider web of connections between seemingly disjointed items. At another appt, he and I wound up talking about John Wayne movies with my INTJ doctor. It got rather existential with all of that unfettered Ni flying around.

I'm always astonished where my Ni will drag me.

does that mean I'm fucked for good?

Sure, why not! :D

I think ISTP's with high N's tend to be less risk takers more cautious and afraid, anxious ect. "sensing" is starting to become more of a thing of the past since our world is now evolving towards the necessity of understanding theory in order to adapt. In order to counter the "N" you have be in situations where you could put your sensing to good use. So ISTPs with high N's go outside for Jog play sports ect. to get outside your head.

It seems to me that ISTPs that are high in Ni would seem similar to INTPs. How can one tell the difference?

I can answer both of these at once, I think.

In my auto garage, there was an INTP genius. He and I had dated. There was also my laid-back ISTP best friend (who liked INTP and went everywhere with my group). But there was also (in a rival group) another ISTP mechanic that I got entangled with. He was obviously not an N primary, but it was very high tertiary N, and it made him terribly neurotic and maladaptive (drug/substance addictions) at points. He was really smart and shrewd, played his cards close to his chest, was good with his hands, but wanted way more than what was in front of his eyes. He had a level of physical confidence too that seems to exert itself more strongly in Se users. When he was coming on to me, I knew he wasn't just playing around with an idea. It was serious business.

When I looked into INTP's eyes, I could see a brilliant but immaterial human being. When I looked into ISTP's eyes, it was sometimes human, sometimes animal, flickering back and forth madly.

Then there's the irritatingly vague Fe/Ni remark of "the vibe was different".

I've done that as well - I don't think it's weird at all to use a color to describe a taste, as color is one of many aspects of a sensation for me.

What I hate is not being able to use a concrete term for what I want to describe. "Purple" may describe the taste, but there's a BETTER word for it and I struggle with my own brain to give it to me.

I can recall tasting something and describing it as "purple". My friends were confused, because what I actually meant was that the flavor reminded me of artificial grape flavoring, and those things tend to be purple in color.

It's funny because my mind doesn't associate artificial grape flavoring with the flavor of a real grape or grape juice, since the flavor of real grape is so much more complex and different, so it associates that artificial flavor primarily with just the color purple.

Purple Kool-Aid, purple Flavor Ice, purple Gobstoppers, they all taste like purple to me!

Everytime I drink Guinness, or any other strong stout, the sensation of "black" is appearing in my mind, probably because of the color that it is, and also associating it with other black things like black coffee, motor oil, or ash - essentially a very earthy flavor.

Interesting! Could that be back-to-back interplay between Se and Ni?
 

phoenity

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How have you been able to rely on others feelings? I have had someone make a comment at me out of frustration until she realized it was me and then apologized for that comment because it was me. So in this case how did they really feel about what I did? All you get are there feelings toward you, not the action. Have you ever laughed at something while someone told you something that hurt them. You laugh at the action while you feel sadness for them. All they see is a laugh. This is when I confuse myself trying to figure this out. I get lost in internal abstract thought and get confused as to what I saw vs what is real.

I didn't say I rely on others feelings.

I said I rely on sensing to pick up on cues about other's feelings. This doesn't tell me exactly how they feel or why the feel that way, just gives me an idea. I could intuit how they feel and why they feel that way, but that would not be my strong point, so I would prefer to rely on straight-forward, honest communication.

If I'm working with someone, trying to communicate an idea or whatever, if they aren't getting it, I might be able to detect frustration from their facial expressions or hear it in their voice. If this happens, and I suspect they might not be following, I will be patient and calmly ask them what they don't understand so that our communication is clear. I don't know how they feel, but I pick up on something that may indicate a feeling, so I follow up on that to find out, rather than ignoring it until the situation explodes.

I have been humored by a situation where I did something and unintentionally hurt someone's feelings. I was not humored by the fact that I hurt their feelings, but at the situation itself - the difference in perception between people. I would smile innocently, explain that it was unintended and sincerely apologize.

If I were to laugh outwardly, but be experiencing a different feeling inside, that only contributes to the confusion.


What you see is real to you. But it may not be real to someone else. This is especially true concerning human interactions and feelings.

So I don't get lost in internal abstract thought about what is real to me. I open up and communicate to the other person to find out what is real to them.
 

Poki

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Being the idealistic person that I am, I can personally endure a whole lotta "should be", but I realize that isn't necessarily the case for other people. :)

I like how people pull things outta what is not said. How do you know how much should be was endured and that you could endure more? This is what I pulled out of what you said :newwink:
 
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I like how people pull things outta what is not said. How do you know how much should be was endured and that you could endure more? This is what I pulled out of what you said :newwink:

OK, you got me. I don't know how much she endured or if I could endure more if in the same situation. My J was coming out in that post- should have known that would get me a little hassled on a SP forum. :cheese:

I guess I'm just against divorce. Nobody in my family has ever gotten a divorce, out of grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. I know that people can work things out in a marriage, even though it's not always easy. (If someone is being abused, though, or their spouse has seemingly intractable addiction issues, that's another matter.)
 

Poki

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So I don't get lost in internal abstract thought about what is real to me. I open up and communicate to the other person to find out what is real to them.

All you get is what they want you to know, you dont get what is real. You get a skewed perception of what they want to let out. The more hurt they have the less they want to let out, the more skewed your reality becomes. All of this is all from bringing what I have seen from the people I interact with into my head and abstracting it. I try to get behind what is in front of me in an unintrusive way so as not to disturb it so to say.
 
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