Thinking about it for a while I'm starting to think that I am an INFJ, at least based on my behavior and emotional state these last 2 weeks of hell since my friend was raped. I've been emphatically sucking up so much pain that I'm getting nightmares and panic attacks. :sad:
Perhaps so, But I have been questioning whether my axillary is Te for a while anyway, because though descriptions of INTJs match me on a superficial level my motivations are much more those of an INFJ. I've ALWAYS been known as "the sensitive, understanding guy" and people are surprised when I tell them I have Asperger's Syndrome because despite my social screw-ups I don't fit the un-empathetic, tone-deaf stereotype.I don't think you should be typing yourself after such a traumatic event.
very true, INTJs I think, since they are much less concerned with others feelings, will not restrain expressions of anger/frustrations the same way that I think the INFJ type tends to.^will get angry openly
I agree I believe 100%. I think I personally am an INFJ with the more highly developed Thinking faculties as mentioned in this postThis is indeed what makes an INFJ a peculiar type, the strangest of all no doubt.
It should be noted however that Introverted Intuition precedes Extroverted Feeling in the psyche of the INFJ. The two functions have a master-slave relationship, as this is the relationship all dominant functions have with regard to the lower faculties.
By itself, one may argue that Fe does tend to equate success with popularity, however the way the Fe of the INFJ works is very heavily influenced by Introverted Intuition. Introverted Intuition tends to be chiefly concerned with conjuring novel ideas, especially in relation to its external environment. (The external environment is relevant because Ni is a perceiving function and all perceiving functions tend to be concerned with their environment, as the environment is what is perceived. For this reason INJs are renowned as social critics and champions of moral or political views. Nietzsche, Sartre, Simon de Beauvoir and Ayn Rand are cases in point.) Extroverted Feeling, as aforementioned, is subordinated to Introverted Intuition. Hence, very often the INFJ manipulates the social conventions to the end of promoting their vision.
Hence, unlike an Fe dominant type, instead of behaving in accordance with the social conventions, the INFJ behaves in accordance to what he/she feels the social conventions should be like. It should be noted however that despite the fact that Introverted Intuition is superior to Extroverted Feeling in the psyche of the INFJ, Introverted Intuition by itself does not easily give one a clear perspective on life. That is the case because it merely leads to hunches and not coherent ideas. For this reason the INFJ reluctantly obeys social conventions as he or she cannot find a compelling reason to stand by their visions. In most cases however, the natural individualistic disposition of the INFJ prevails and he/she disregards the social convention in favor of following his or her vision. Because the INFJ sees no justifiable reason to behave in a way they did in that case, they experience inner conflict.
Ni is highly individualistic and idiosyncratic, Fe is conventional and collectivistic. Unless the INFJ has a highly cultivated Thinking faculty they cannot conclusively decide which way of behaving is appropriate. The one they have a hunch is appropriate (Ni way) or what they 'know' to be appropriate as a result of convention worshipping (Fe).
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the type most affected by inner turmoil.
I agree I believe 100%. I think I personally am an INFJ with the more highly developed Thinking faculties as mentioned in this post
^Yes, I think my compartmentalizing is a coping/reactive strategy rather than the way I normally approach the world in the first instance. I definitely feel all things crashing together the first chance I get if I have been keeping something painful at bay in order to work or fulfill some responsibility.
I agree the desire to communicate the inner world is there. I think I have just developed a very particular preference for expression. Most often in writing, (usually just for myself), often through what I do for work at those times I get to please myself, rarely in speaking with someone. Failing that I will keep it to myself.
I tend to keep my inner world to myself as well. Often times, I don't want to communicate what I think/feel/conceive/am pondering. Putting things into words is an unwieldy process. Unsatisfying and one dimensional. It lessens my enjoyment of the experience, especially if the person you are with isn't into the kind of things you are pondering.
(Though, there are not many things better than an exchange of ideas with someone where you can follow each others' trail and build/refine concepts and understanding together. )
Agreed, the INFJ type compared to the INTJ type has much more of an interest/passion in working with living feeling people.
In some ways, I'm stronger with empathizing/active listening than with communicating my own feelings. I can easily pick up on how someone's feeling and reflect it back to them, but there are times that I can't for the life of me explain myself. I'm also preoccupied with whether I'm being overly emotional/cliché/whatever when expressing myself, which is stupid, but it happens. I tend to fare better with expressing thoughts than feelings and probably can come across as more T than F sometimes.
i feel like this all the time. i remember one of the infj descriptions talked about needing context. how easy it is to write a beautifully flowing letter, but writing from a nowhere that doesn't exist feels next to impossible. it's one of the reasons it seems like infjs overuse the quotation feature, it helps us start from somewhere and serves as a point of interlocution for our thoughts and feelings to congregate around. Ni senses how things fit together so well and what their represent, it becomes constricting and squeezed dry to find a safe place to begin. thoughts are more ready-made, feels like rolling down the hill once the slaloms are already in place.
I would be curious to see how INFJ's respond to this.
Differences? Similarities? Is each on an Ni quest, but with different aims?