what about 5w4 infps? what makes them tick, how do they work, etc?
I imagine the dominant Fi makes me much more emotional or aware of my feelings than Thinking Fives are. The way I deal with emotions is different than INFPs of other types. They're not 'sacred' to me so I intellectualise them, along with everything else, to death. Truly to death: the aim is to overcome negative emotions by thinking my way out of them. I'd also happily undergo brain modification that would enable me to remain permanently and exclusively happy, and I don't consider that a disturbing or warped concept. I think most people are irrational and mistaken for thinking it would be a bad thing for humanity.
I relate to the Four in so much as I can immerse myself in negative moods, but the aim is to understand and conquer them, not to identify with them. Sometimes it fails and they actually spiral out of control and proportion, and sometimes they're the only emotions I feel capable of experiencing so I actually surrender and follow them because it's the path of least resistance, as I've spoken about on here, but usually I'm good at vanquishing irrational reactions and rationalising away even what most people consider normal negative emotional responses.
I've also always been uncomfortable with much emotional expression, especially for an F. I was an intensely sensitive and empathetic child, feeling traumatised when people stepped on insects, fretting over people running on grass or teachers conducting experiments on plants, being one of just two in the class with the socio-emotional intelligence to be understanding and kind to the mentally retarded boy etc., but I still found it hard to express gratitude, love or sympathy in a really deep, sincere way. That's because I find emotions too powerful and they threaten to overwhelm me if I make them the focus of the social situation. It's harder to detach and keep them on hold for later when they're undeniably out there in the present moment for everyone to see and react to.
I also don't feel at all comfortable with people expressing strong positive emotions towards me. I like hearing and saying 'I love you' as a statement of a fact that should be kept in mind reassuringly, but I don't like to actually hear or see that love in the statement. It's too much, and I don't feel confident in responding well because it won't come spontaneously, as my natural response to feelings that aren't unfortunately bursting out like a flash flood is to think first, express later if at all (and preferably not to anyone's face). Other people don't perceive me as anywhere as emotional as I am, which is a common feature for Fives in general.
