Eating Disorders & Addictions of the Types
Type 1 The Reformer
Excessive use of diets, vitamins, and cleansing techniques (fasts, diet pills, enemas). Under-eating for self-control: in extreme cases anorexia and bulimia. Alcohol to relieve tension.
Type 2 The Helper
Abusing food and over-the-counter medications. Bingeing, especially on sweets and carbohydrates. Over-eating from feeling "love-starved;" in extreme cases bulimia. Hypochondria to look for sympathy.
Type 3 The Achiever
Over-stressing the body for recognition. Working out to exhaustion. Starvation diets. Workaholism. Excessive intake of coffee, stimulants, amphetamines, cocaine, steroids or excessive surgery for cosmetic improvement.
Type 4 The Individualist
Over-indulgence in rich foods, sweets, alcohol to alter mood, to socialize, and for emotional consolation. Lack of physical activity. Bulimia. Depressants. Tobacco, prescription drugs, or heroin for social anxiety. Cosmetic surgery to erase rejected features.
Type 5 The Investigator
Poor eating and sleeping habits due to minimizing needs. Neglecting hygiene and nutrition. Lack of physical activity. Psychotropic drugs for mental stimulation and escape, narcotics for anxiety.
Type 6 The Loyalist
Rigidity in diet causes nutritional imbalances ("I don't like vegetables.") Working excessively. Caffeine and amphetamines for stamina, but also alcohol and depressants to deaden anxiety. Higher susceptibility to alcoholism than many types.
Type 7 The Enthusiast
The type most prone to addictions: stimulants (caffeine, cocaine, and amphetamines), Ecstasy, psychotropics, narcotics, and alcohol but tend to avoid other depressants. Wear body out with effort to stay "up." Excessive cosmetic surgery, pain killers.
Type 8 The Challenger
Ignore physical needs and problems: avoid medical visits and check-ups. Indulging in rich foods, alcohol, tobacco while pushing self too hard leads to high stress, strokes, and heart conditions. Control issues central, although alcoholism and narcotic addictions are possible.
Type 9 The Peacemaker
Over-eating or under-eating due to lack of self-awareness and repressed anger. Lack of physical activity. Depressants and psychotropics, alcohol, marijuana, narcotics to deaden loneliness and anxiety.
For more information about all of the Enneagram addictive personality types and the self-defeating patterns they form with themselves and in their relationships, see the Enneagram type descriptions and the books Personality Types and The Wisdom of the Enneagram from with the above chart has been taken. For practices that can be helpful to the types to overcome their addictions and imbalances, see Understanding the Enneagram and Enneagram Transformations.
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My experiences: As a 6, I am an alcoholic, and I do use stimulants daily, to stay alert and awake. I don't seem to have any nutritional balances due to rigidity in diet, though. I generally like and enjoy a wide variety of foods. I would say that most of the description fits me.
As an 8, my S.O. also indulges in rich foods. He will eat a whole bag of candy I bought, and I have to watch what I buy. He does avoid medical visits and checkups. He doesn't really have a problem with alcohol today, but he had problems with alcohol and cocaine previously. He is addicted to cigarettes, and still has massive cravings even though he quit. I think the description fits him fairly well.
As a 7, my dad was DEFINITELY the most addictive person I have ever seen. He had to actively be addicted to something all the time, whether it be waffles, coffee, cigs, alcohol, pain-killers, etc. He hit rehab several times for alcohlism and was a MASSIVE alcoholic. He also did have cosmetic surgery. This description fits.
As a 9, my mom does alternate between over and under eating. She will gain a bunch of weight, and then eat like a bird and lose it all. She has been on anti-depressants and sleeping pills, but has never had issue with any other drugs or alcohol, mainly because she has never tried them too much.