I am never going to understand this.

[brainheart]

I wonder the same thing. The description for type four overall sounds slightly better to me, and it's the same with the levels. But I don't identify at all with the instinctual variants for type four. Maybe something's missing, maybe we're not fulling understanding this, or maybe we're we're just right on the border of 4 and 5. If we were, what would we call ourselves? e4½?

I know, it's goofy. I did what you did in your what's my type thread and read all the enneagram blogspot stuff. The instinctual variant descriptions I related to the most were sx 5, 7, 2, 4 and sp 9. I was surprised, actually, how much I related to aspects of the 2, which got me thinking maybe I'm a 5w4 with a 5-9-2 tritype, I dunno. I'm more confused than ever.

I can say this-

Some descriptions of four I relate to much, some I don't relate to at all.
For another viewpoint, my husband says it's ' really weird' when I'm pms'ing because otherwise I am never bitchy. He also says that over all I am the opposite of our cat; in other words, I'm not emotionally needy. My husband is way more emotionally needy and demonstrative than I am, by the way. I am very reserved, contained, self-sufficient, private, non verbal for the most part, awkward with intimacy, but also kind and empathetic. When I meet someone with whom I feel a connection I become very open and enthusiastic, fun and flirty. If I fear that person isn't interested in being a part of my life, I can get manipulative and coy and fearful. If I lose interest I feel a sense of relief because now I can go back to being my usual self. I married my husband because we have fun and he loves me and I feel comfortable with him, I never got into the crazy obsessive insecure thing with him. It was easy.
Some negatives to that are I don't fully feel like I share myself with him, I keep a lot inside because he doesn't get a lot of what I think, it's too dark and cerebral and odd. This creates a distance which sometimes is fine with me, sometimes makes me feel alone and detached.
Sorry, that was a lot of blabbing.

Leaning toward sx 5 or sx 9, but-dare I say- fives seem too geeky and thinking center and nines seem too happy and absent, while fours seem too brooding and temperamental... Blah

 

[21%]

I thought the main characteristic of a five was "knowledge hoarding"

I'm a generally happy 4 -- so I don't really identify with a lot of the emo descriptions of 4. But, I know that somewhere deep down inside me resides this secret fear of being "just another one of them" -- that I'm mediocre. I also secretly identify with being emo and broken and oh-so-unique-and-tragic -- so I know I'm a 4.

I identify somewhat with 5s in that I feel like I need to be equipped with knowledge in order to deal with the world. Fives try to understand the world in order to define their place in it and feel safe?

I don't think 9s are generally happy and absent. I think their ultimate comfort zone is a happy, safe place, but it's not true that they are there all the time. Like I said in the other thread, I think my INFP bf is a 9w1, but he identifies a lot with 4 and 5 too!

 

[Plush Cat]

Hehe, you wanted me to help you in return so here I am...

The thing is that all those instinctual variant and variant stacking descriptions also confuse me quite a lot. I guess they actually confuse everybody... In the end I've just decided to not pay any attention to them.

I'm most likely a 6(w7) but if I went with what the variant descirptions say, I would be a 4 or a 5. I also do score 4 on all tests followed by 6 and 5 and then 9. And I neither relate to the variant descriptions of the 6 nor do I relate to most regular descriptions of it.

...so maybe you're as 6 as well... (hm...couldn't find a regular innocent angel smiley)
Just saying...might be wrong.

 

[Silveresque]

And I neither relate to the variant descriptions of the 6 nor do I relate to most regular descriptions of it.

If you don't relate to the descriptions or variants of 6, then how do you figure that's your type?

 

[Plush Cat]

If you don't relate to the descriptions or variants of 6, then how do you figure that's your type?

Because I've had several people type me based on information I gave them about myself and videos and based on what they had seen me write on the forums (PerC).

I also got 5w4 4w5 9w1 as a test result on PerC...btw. But that tritype wouldn't fit me afaik.

 

[brainheart]

If you don't relate to the descriptions or variants of 6, then how do you figure that's your type?

Yeah, I don't understand this either. I've read lots about six and considered it in the past and it is really not my deal, but thanks.

I get these enneathoughts sent to me daily, both nine and four. The four ones tend to speak to me more than the nine, like today: the four asked what would happen if I stopped spending so much time trying to understand myself vs the nine it was about maintaining peace. I def do way more of the former. And way too much.

 

[Plush Cat]

The four ones tend to speak to me more than the nine, like today: the four asked what would happen if I stopped spending so much time trying to understand myself vs the nine it was about maintaining peace. I def do way more of the former. And way too much.

yup...same here... ...just saying.

 

[Plush Cat]

Hmm...sorry...

What I wanted to add is that I do think descriptions are quite misleading. I can relate to a description as much as I want. But if I compare myself to the people that the type 4 description was actually based upon, I will see that the description probably isn't describing me. And as I said: I don't relate to type 6 descriptions. But when I compare myself to people that description was supposed to describe, I can actually - reluctantly - relate a bit more to them.

You might be a 4 or 5 after all. But I'm just an example of how mistypings can happen based on descriptions...

 

[brainheart]

Hmm...sorry...

What I wanted to add is that I do think descriptions are quite misleading. I can relate to a description as much as I want. But if I compare myself to the people that the type 4 description was actually based upon, I will see that the description probably isn't describing me. And as I said: I don't relate to type 6 descriptions. But when I compare myself to people that description was supposed to describe, I can actually - reluctantly - relate a bit more to them.

This is a good point. That's usually what makes me wonder, the difference between me and other fours. Since you are about the third or fourth person to tell me to consider six, I will consider it.

Any advice/sources that could be helpful/useful?

 

[VagrantFarce]

The worst thing you can do is trawl descriptions - there's never going to be one that describes you, so you'll never be quite content. The best thing you can do is identify the compulsions that drive each type, and then identify the compulsions that drive you.

If something fits, it fits. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Don't drive yourself crazy over it, this isn't a perfect system. At least you learned something about yourself in the process.

 

[Plush Cat]

Hmmm...ok

alttongue: sorry... I still need to get used to the abundance of emotes... )

The following link was actually the last one I got to read. For some reason it made things a tiny bit clearer. Maybe you already know it. It's actually just short things from different authors put together. If you change the type number near the end of the url you will also be able to read the descriptions of the other types.

http://webspace.webring.com/people/cl/lifexplore/type6.htm

Ugh...dunno if this helped at all... but I don't have more right now. Maybe later.

 

[brainheart]

Hmmm...ok

alttongue: sorry... I still need to get used to the abundance of emotes... )

The following link was actually the last one I got to read. For some reason it made things a tiny bit clearer. Maybe you already know it. It's actually just short things from different authors put together. If you change the type number near the end of the url you will also be able to read the descriptions of the other types.

http://webspace.webring.com/people/cl/lifexplore/type6.htm

Ugh...dunno if this helped at all... but I don't have more right now. Maybe later.

Thanks. I like this one, too: (all of the stuff about six)http://www.9types.com/descr/6/

All right... six is definitely seeming like a possibility, sexual variant, primarily counterphobic, although I definitely oscillate between the two. (Can see sx/sp, so/sx, sp/sx (although not one-like) in the ocean moonshine descriptions, otherwise sexual variant.)

From http://ocean-moonshine.net/e1428573...ser_op=view_page&PAGE_id=9&MMN_position=33:33

Sixes and Fours can mistype, although generally it is the Six who mistypes, or is mistyped by others, as a Four. This is especially true if the Six is creative and prone to depression. Both types can be emotionally complex and suffer from ambivalence. But Sixes, unlike Fours, are not essentially self-absorbed; they automatically consider the positions and feelings of others. Sixes, moreover, are not concerned primarily with being authentic because they are far less image oriented than are Fours.

Definitely the bold.

Sixes with the Five wing generally tend more towards introversion than do those with a Seven wing. They characteristically withdraw under stress and typically have a few trusted friends to whom they can turn in times of trouble. They are often drawn to systems of thought, whether religious, political or philosophical which help them explain their experiences and which provide them with a framework which confers on them some semblance of control and prediction. Sixes with a Seven wing tend to be somewhat more amiable and adventurous, generally more optimistic overall. They tend to look outside themselves for the means of assuaging their anxiety and thus often have a more extroverted nature than do those with a Five wing. They tend to have multiple hobbies and interests, but they are somewhat less capable of focus than are Sixes with a Five wing, but only as a very general rule.

more 6w5 than 6w7, I think.

 

[brainheart]

The more I contemplate 6, the less it seems a possibility. I answered this test as honestly as possible, it seems like a good one: http://www.9types.com/cgi-bin/ennea/tal/test.cgi

And I got- 4, balanced wings, followed by 7wbarely 6, and then 9 (no wings)

I'm never going to understand this.

 

[Plush Cat]

The more I contemplate 6, the less it seems a possibility. I answered this test as honestly as possible, it seems like a good one: http://www.9types.com/cgi-bin/ennea/tal/test.cgi

And I got- 4, balanced wings, followed by 7wbarely 6, and then 9 (no wings)

I'm never going to understand this.

hm...

well...I also always end up a 4 in (almost) all tests. But the way you're questioning the whole thing doesn't seem very 4-ish, afaik. It reminds me a bit of myself and what I have been told to be 6-ish behaviour. Maybe you have got a 4 in your tritype. it IS possible - also from the vibe I'm getting from you, actually...kinda...maybe...

Here's some incomplete list of some tritype descriptions:

http://socionics.ws/wiki/index.php?title=User:Aestrivex/tritypes

Maybe you'll find something in it.

 

[brainheart]

I get what you're saying. I'm pretty confident my tritype is 4-7w6-9 in some order. My main, most problematic issues are seven-related, but I'm always told introverts can't be sevens... But I'm incredibly impulsive, always chasing the next possibility as being the real right thing that I can stick to and finally accomplish something... I don't know. It even happens here... Yes! This is my type! I finally found it! Wait... Dammit... No... I suck.... No.... Wait! This is it! Yes!

In this way elfboy and I are very similar.

 

[brainheart]

Totally relate to this:

Self-pres/Sexual Seven
This subtype is similar to the self-pres/social, but their plans and pursuits are more passionate in nature. There is often more of an artistic flair. They can be moodier then the other subtype. Their focus is more on relationships, although commitment can also be a problem for this subtype. This subtype can even be known to use introspection as an escape. They can go inward with a seeming depth, but they will usually avoid the most troublesome areas, the areas and characteristics most painful to them. This subtype of Seven is overall more focused than the self-pres/social. Their focus is on their intimates although certainly not solely on them as they usually have many other fires burning also. They generally have a great sense of humor, sharp quick minds and many interests. These qualities might be common to all subtypes of the Seven, but in the self-pres/sexual subtype, the infusion of enthusiasm comes through when they are engaged in their plans and fulfilling them.

 

[Plush Cat]

How about 6w7? Have you read that description on the page I have linked you to? And compared the 6w7 and 7w6 description? It was actually the only 6w7 description I could relate to kinda...

 

[brainheart]

How about 6w7? Have you read that description on the page I have linked you to? And compared the 6w7 and 7w6 description? It was actually the only 6w7 description I could relate to kinda...

I read it... You know, I don't know what to say. I gave it an honest try. There are 6w7s in my life and their fears and need to have the answer, always asking my opinion kind of drives me bonkers. I know I've been doing that a bit on here, but in real life, I state my opinion, I don't ask for advice. Psychiatrists get annoyed by me because I never ask for advice, I already figured it out on my own and I need the medication, so...

Six wing, maybe. Having it be my dominant type seems a stretch. I'm just not that cautious or distrustful. I am not a team player. I have never had an us vs them mentality, I don't root for the home team, etc.

I'd say my qualities lean toward quick grasp of ideas, artistic sensibility, trusting of those I love, empathy, and I'm inventive, non-conformist. My faults are lack of follow-through, wandering eye, slave to feelings, laziness, and stubbornly independent. Unsure what enneatype that makes me, but I know my number one thing in my life I need to improve is picking one artistic pursuit and following it through until it's finished, even if I get bored with it.

 

[Silveresque]

Have you seen this before? This link here leads to a thread in which attempts to create a formula for finding your enneagram type: http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-8520.html

According to this, type 6 is anticipating/turbulent, which means they neither approach nor avoid situations, and they make no attempt to suppress or control their emotions. Type 7 is pursuing/controlling, and type 4 is avoiding/turbulent.

Based on this system, which type fits you best? Although I'm not sure I'd rely on this alone. There are also the motivations, fears, and levels to consider for determining your type. It seems the enneagram is prettier in theory than in practice; when it actually comes down to typing people, it gets messy because not everything is necessarily going to fit perfectly.

 

[brainheart]

Have you seen this before? This link here leads to a thread in which attempts to create a formula for finding your enneagram type: http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-8520.html

According to this, type 6 is anticipating/turbulent, which means they neither approach nor avoid situations, and they make no attempt to suppress or control their emotions. Type 7 is pursuing/controlling, and type 4 is avoiding/turbulent.

Based on this system, which type fits you best? Although I'm not sure I'd rely on this alone. There are also the motivations, fears, and levels to consider for determining your type. It seems the enneagram is prettier in theory than in practice; when it actually comes down to typing people, it gets messy because not everything is necessarily going to fit perfectly.

Thanks for that link, Revlis. According to that, my preliminary type is without question 4 (it will take a minute to digest the nuances and reflect in order to figure out the rest. Not only that, having been on mood stabilizers for the last five years makes it all the more complicated- ' what's me? What's medication?')

Also, for sure sx/sp/so.

Thanks again.