Why would they feel a need to hide it?
I'll use myself as an exmaple.
Throughout my entire life, I've been literally SURROUNDED by people...especially girls & women who just love to torment me, mentally (though there have been a few guys). Whether it be getting a thrill about keeping a very "big" secret from me, or mocking me for no apparent reason, they just can't get enough of it.
I one of my theories is that my non-masculine masculineness has something to do with it. To have it make any sense what so ever...let's just say I'm masculine in the same way that Jesus was (not Christian...just using him as an example). I consider my forgiveness & love for pretty much anyone my greatest strength (or in the top 3). Not only that, but I don't easily take offense. Even by people who outright try to hurt me.
To connect the dots between those two paragraphs, I think that at least for me, I become a semi-unintentional 'mental-punching bag'. When people lash out, they usually expect that they'll get at least some recoil back. With me though, I don't give them that recoil. I don't even
get/feel angry with them at all. Instead, I help them talk it out, give them sympathy for whatever made them "lash" out, etc. Which in turn, instills the thought/semi-pathology that says "
Oh, Brian doesn't get angry at me if I get angry at him...I can use him as a vent!".
And as you can imagine, that becomes a pattern with many people I meet. Even my own family. Thus producing a hardening of myself. I am however, working on correcting that and giving more "push back" even if I don't feel the need to lol. There is another cause that I'm aware of though.
The inner-world of the INFJ is interesting to say the least. So interesting, that it must be understood all at "once"...otherwise, it's like reading a half-complete theory on the nature of existance. Thoughout my life, I've made the
mistake of letting people hear bits & pieces that can
ONLY be heard with the complete story behind them. As a result of that + some odd process in which people get a thrill out of putting me down, a lot of semi-deep feelings/thoughts that I've shared backfire on me pretty baddly.
That goes back to my last post in which I talk about letting people in that I "trust". The biggest mistake was trusting most people...which I truly can't (and by trust...I mean share a DEEP bond with). 'Tis why I only shared my Enneagram with a very few & selected individuals.
I'm aware that my post sounded extremely "pesimistic/biased" about people at large...but I'm actually not. I'm pretty much willing to give anyone a chance. Unfortunately though, to see my inner-most being requires a high-classification-rank =). Wish it weren't that way =/. My Fe wants to share EVERYTHING (like I was saying in my last post)!
So yeah...lol. That's even the
shortened version 0_0. Consider it a bird's-eye view into the mind/perceptions of an INFJ lol. And also, sorry for the extreme length. All you did was ask a small question lol =P.