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[Type 6] Type 6 - Phobia and Counterphobia

iHeartCats

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I have three close friends (esfj, isfj and istj) - about 10 years of friendship with them - who are seem to have "type 6" characteristics and they are emotionally healthy and stable people.

Then there was that entp friend from high school who was a true phobic (she was generally emotionally unhealthy), and then suddenly turned very counterphobic and emotionally agressive at the age of 17.
The change from phobic to counterphobic was permanent and it essentially looked like she turned into an opposite of everything she was before.
I found her likeable as a phobic, but I couldn't stand her counterphobic side - in her friendships, it was like she would often disagree with people just for the sake of disagreeing, and was ready to verbally fight to death with anyone who would disagree with her about any little thing.

A lot of people seem to adopt a generalized opinion about "type 6" based on those phobic/counterphobic individuals, it seems.

Any thoughts?

EDIT: Lately I've spent some time researching the Enneagram theory, but I found out that the Enneagram theory has no real scientific basis and is not recognized in academic psychology, so I don't place any significance on it any more.
 
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Bullterrier

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I have three close friends (esfj, isfj and istj) - about 10 years of friendship with them - who are all Type 6 and they are emotionally healthy and stable people. The isfj can sometimes display mildly phobic or counterphobic behavior, usually when life gets rough, but is nonetheless generally grounded and emotionally stable.

Then there was that Type 6 entp friend from high school who was a true phobic (she was generally emotionally unhealthy), and then suddenly turned very counterphobic and emotionally agressive at the age of 17.
The change from phobic to counterphobic was permanent and it essentially looked like she turned into an opposite of everything she was before.
I found her likeable as a phobic, but I couldn't stand her counterphobic side - in her friendships, it was like she would often disagree with people just for the sake of disagreeing, and was ready to verbally fight to death with anyone who would disagree with her about any little thing.

Since I have three emotionally stable Type 6 friends, and I've seen a lot of prejudice about 6s on MBTI forums, I think it's a bit unfair.
A lot of people seem to adopt a generalized opinion about 6s based on those phobic/counterphobic individuals, it seems - or even worse, based on some Type 6 descriptions - which I think generates confusion and prejudice about that type. I think that most of 6s are neither truly phobic or counterphobic, but those who are emotionally unhealthy, like that high school friend, seem to have it so bad that they give a bad reputation to all 6s.

Any thoughts?

Aren't all emotionally unhealthy, unhealthy?

Is it your views on 6s or others views on 6s? How do they differ?
 

iHeartCats

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Aren't all emotionally unhealthy, unhealthy?

Sure, but the unhealthiness doesn't manifest as phobia/counterphobia in all people, right? As far as I understand, chronical phobia/counterphobia is something that is more common with unhealthy 6s than with other unhealthy types...... with other types unhealthiness would more likely manifest itself in ways other then phobia/counterphobia, according to the Enneagram theory at least

Is it your views on 6s or others views on 6s? How do they differ?

A lot of people seem to adopt a generalized opinion about 6s based on those phobic/counterphobic individuals, it seems - or even worse, based on some Type 6 descriptions - which I think generates confusion and prejudice about that type. I think that most of 6s are neither truly phobic or counterphobic, but those who are emotionally unhealthy, like that high school friend, seem to have it so bad that they give a bad reputation to all 6s.

I explained it here.....The impression I get is that a lot of people think that all 6s are more or less phobic/CP, while I myself make a distinction between the ones who display no phobia/CP whatsoever and the ones who display a lot of it and I think that the "displayers" are in the minority compared to "non-displayers", so I think that type 6 shouldn't be generally considered phobic/counterphobic.
 

Starry

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I have three close friends (esfj, isfj and istj) - about 10 years of friendship with them - who are all and thu are emotionally healthy and stable people. The isfj can sometimes display mildly phobic or counterphobic behavior, usually when life gets rough, but is nonetheless generally grounded and emotionally stable.

Then there was that Type 6 entp friend from high school who was a true phobic (she was generally emotionally unhealthy), and then suddenly turned very counterphobic and emotionally agressive at the age of 17.
The change from phobic to counterphobic was permanent and it essentially looked like she turned into an opposite of everything she was before.
I found her likeable as a phobic, but I couldn't stand her counterphobic side - in her friendships, it was like she would often disagree with people just for the sake of disagreeing, and was ready to verbally fight to death with anyone who would disagree with her about any little thing.

Since I have three emotionally stable Type 6 friends, and I've seen a lot of prejudice about 6s on MBTI forums, I think it's a bit unfair.
A lot of people seem to adopt a generalized opinion about 6s based on those phobic/counterphobic individuals, it seems - or even worse, based on some Type 6 descriptions - which I think generates confusion and prejudice about that type. I think that most of 6s are neither truly phobic or counterphobic, but those who are emotionally unhealthy, like that high school friend, seem to have it so bad that they give a bad reputation to all 6s.

Any thoughts?


Ummm...I was responding in a different thread about counterphobia haha and just know that nothing about ending up here confused me. Nothing. (totally thought there had been a thread split or a bunch of posts got dumped for a short while.)

Thoughts... <-if you weren't Fi aux I would be a bit nervous about responding in this thread but...
Something that came into mind reading the OP is your ENTP friend...I would bet large sums of money which I totally have being rich and all...on her actually being an e7 and what occurring thereafter (around age 17) was a 6 wing kicking-in. In other words, what seems to be the general understanding from the little there is out there on the topic...is for counterphobia to come into existence in the way you appear to be describing it (although correct me if I'm wrong) there needs to be a link to e5 and e6. 6w7 does not have a connection to 5...but 7w6 does by way of our point of integration. So the "defender of the underdog" styled cp will only manifest in the 5w6, 6w5 and 7w6.

This does not mean that 6w7s do not use a variety of coping strategies to alleviate their fears but there's a semblance of forethought. I always think of 6w7 as the "inside the actors studio" point. With a connection to e3...once that 7 wing hits they can spin images that bring them a great deal of admiration...they use displays of strength and sexuality...or...some will actually use helplessness and cuteness to be taken care of...I'm thinking of Marilyn Monroe or Meg Ryan. And like for a male...that stupid dude from the show Friends. It's a whole different kind of "counterphobia."
 

iHeartCats

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Sx 6 are usually CP. Not sure if health is something which tells you whether they're mostly CP or P.

Read this

Passions and counterpassions


The CP6 person from high school was definitely SX-dom - like 100% SX-dom, not even a slightest doubt about it. She was even a nymphomaniac, and those are her own words, and not mine, as she had no problem admitting it, and the nymphomania was quite obvious - she just wasn't able to participate in a conversation without mentioning sex for longer than 5 minutes, let alone the other, more literal, displays of that trait.

Passions and counterpassions
Excerpt from the aticle:
1. The duality of the Six is in direct relationship to its passion: fear. In both cases, fear (like the other characteristics of the type) is present. Phobic Sixes know that they're afraid and show it. Counterphobic Sixes also are afraid; however, they deny their fear and seek to prove to others, and themselves, that they are not afraid.
2. Counterphobic Sixes often believe that they're practicing the virtue of their type: courage. However, counterphobia is a caricature of courage.

Yes, this was exactly what her behaviour looked like: a caricature. When she went CP, she would commonly insist on strongly disagreeing with people about such insignificant subjects and do it in such unnecessarily intrusive manner, that she appeared like a caricature of courage indeed, as she would so boldly state her strong opinions about movies and shirts and aggressively oppose people who would disagree with those opinions, and yet remain insecure and cowardly anytime she was faced with serious stuff that required real courage and real decisions.

"Six: Temerity
The passion of Sixes is fear. The counterpassion is a caricature of the virtue of courage. In these situations, Sixes are harsh; they aggressively face dangers that don't exist or don't need to be confronted. This is the counterphobic Six so often described in Enneagram literature."

Yes - this was exactly it.
 

iHeartCats

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Something that came into mind reading the OP is your ENTP friend...I would bet large sums of money which I totally have being rich and all...on her actually being an e7 and what occurring thereafter (around age 17) was a 6 wing kicking-in. In other words, what seems to be the general understanding from the little there is out there on the topic...is for counterphobia to come into existence in the way you appear to be describing it (although correct me if I'm wrong) there needs to be a link to e5 and e6. 6w7 does not have a connection to 5...but 7w6 does by way of our point of integration. So the "defender of the underdog" styled cp will only manifest in the 5w6, 6w5 and 7w6.

The reason why I find her unlikely to be a 7w6 is that type 7 is supposed to be essentially carefree, and she was really always quite the opposite of that - she would always worry about non-existent problems (mostly relationship-related) that she would invent in her head and about a lot of other stuff that most people don't worry about, she was never truly carefree.
Also, she didn't turn from type 7 to CP - she turned from phobic to counterphobic. Before she became predominantly CP, she was a description of phobic type 6 personified - she was quiet, shy, would avoid anything that even remotely resembled a confrontation and constantly tremble with fear of non-existent problems.

Also, 7s are supposed to be enthusiastic and inspiring, which she never was. Also she didn't make new friends with ease like 7s do - she was distrustful towards people whom she didn't know well. She was also too stuck in her own head to be a 7 - 7s are supposed to be outwardly oriented, which she wasn't - when she was phobic she believed that the role of her friends, from her perspective, was to lead her and reassure her that there was nothing wrong with her (she could never really be reassured though, and always needed more external reassuring), and when she went predominantly counterphobic, the role of her friends was to agree with everything she said, so pretty much the role of the external was always to serve the internal, and that was why, no matter whether acting phobic or counterphobic, she would always end up stuck in her own head.

I do believe that she is 6w7, certainly not 6w5, and that 7 wing combined with SX-dom would explain her extraordinary need for sexual adventures which pretty much kicked in somewhere about the time she went counterphobic.

She was also never the defender of the underdog - she would actually need to look somewhere outside of her own head to actually notice an underdog.

This does not mean that 6w7s do not use a variety of coping strategies to alleviate their fears but there's a semblance of forethought. With a connection to e3...once that 7 wing hits they can spin images that bring them a great deal of admiration...they use displays of strength and sexuality...or...some will actually use helplessness and cuteness to be taken care of.

Well, she did that quite often.

If you still can't see type 6 here, I give up
 
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Starry

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If you still can't see type 6 here, I give up

Umm sorry...I didn't mean to put you out (???) [note to self - whatever you do, do not respond to OPs that end with a solicitation of 'thoughts.' It may no longer mean what you think it means.]

I was merely trying to account for the fact that an e6 doesn't just suddenly *become counterphobic* like you describe in the OP. <-And that's not merely 'my own understanding.' Any enneagram book with a chapter on e6 will express that same sentiment. People with 6 wings though... wings are believed to emerge in the late teens so I thought that explanation made more sense and suggested it. For example, my sister is the more explosive, 'classic' kind of e6 counterphobe being INFJ 6w5 sx/so. And while this nature didn't take its final form until her senior year in high school...(same as you say)...there were many, many, many, many, many displays of counterphobia in her youth.

Like I can remember being on an elementary school field trip with her to an aquarium where we had been asked to vote for our favorite fish by putting our name tag on the tank. And from across the room I saw that this one small, out-of-the-way tank containing the butt-ugliest fish you've ever seen had a name tag vote on it and in spite of not being able to read it... I knew exactly who that vote was from and why. And yes, she violently defended her underdog fish against the other kid's mocking causing a scene.

So, I guess if you still can't see that counterphobics are counterphobic their entire lives here, I give up.
 

HongDou

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Umm sorry...I didn't mean to put you out (???) [note to self - whatever you do, do not respond to OPs that end with a solicitation of 'thoughts.' It may no longer mean what you think it means.]

We keep getting ourselves into trouble with posting our thoughts Starry haha.

Like I can remember being on an elementary school field trip with her to an aquarium where we had been asked to vote for our favorite fish by putting our name tag on the tank. And from across the room I saw that this one small, out-of-the-way tank containing the butt-ugliest fish you've ever seen had a name tag vote on it and in spite of being able to read it... I knew exactly who that vote was from and why. And yes, she violently defended her underdog fish against the other kid's mocking causing a scene.

Omg this is adorable. That kid is awesome. :cry:
 

Starry

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We keep getting ourselves into trouble with posting our thoughts Starry haha.

Maybe the forum needs to accommodate Ne doms? We're possibly coming into these things with too broad a "thought field" or something. People asking for "thoughts" should maybe help us out by identifying the boundaries like "only thoughts that are in total agreement with what I put forth"... stuff like that would be helpful for us.



Omg this is adorable. That kid is awesome. :cry:

I know, I love that story. On the bus ride back to the school I said to her "that was not your favorite fish." And she replied "I know but I just felt so bad because I knew no one would vote for him."
 

skylights

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I might be biased by my type, but I appreciate the OP thoughts for sure. :)

I tend to think that every 6 contains both phobia and counterphobia, and I assume how much of each we think in and behave with is a complex mixture of genetics, environment, and development. I assume that each 6 has a baseline tendency of where we tend to lie on the P-CP spectrum, but I would be willing to bet that most 6s go through fluctuations on that scale during their lives as they grow and change.

I think that one of the hardest parts of being a 6 is weighing the appropriateness of reaction - sometimes I find it very difficult to figure out what a middle ground between phobic response and counterphobic response would be - the key, I believe, is that it lies on a different axis, one of action versus non-action. I think one of the most difficult but healthiest things we learn as 6s is how to not respond (perhaps the reason 6 integrates to 9), which opens the door to understanding that response itself is a choice, and that we can modulate how much we choose to respond, rather than just whether we choose to fight or flee in proportion to the perceived threat.

To me, seeing a phobic or counterphobic response out of someone seems basically the same in terms of level of health, as in the level of (un)health corresponds with the intensity of response. So, as for your friend who shifted from phobic to counterphobic, I do wonder what may have caused that shift (I assume some major environmental trigger), but it doesn't strike me that her level of health probably changed - in other words, just a different manifestation of the same unhealth, much like a different symptom of the same disease.

At the same time, I would be very genuinely surprised if your friend had never shown any hints of CP response prior to her shift - especially from an ENTP! Do you think it's possible that you just didn't get to see it much? I know that personally, I rarely show my bursts of CP in public - rather, they're generally reserved for the few people closest to me during argument of issues I care deeply about. Yet they are there, and they also tend to fuel some longterm behavior on my part that would perhaps be surprising otherwise - but I tend to keep it more under wraps than phobic response, perhaps in part because I grew up in a very supportive and Fe-valuing household.
 

iHeartCats

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Umm sorry...I didn't mean to put you out (???) [note to self - whatever you do, do not respond to OPs that end with a solicitation of 'thoughts.' It may no longer mean what you think it means.]

I was merely trying to account for the fact that an e6 doesn't just suddenly *become counterphobic* like you describe in the OP. <-And that's not merely 'my own understanding.' Any enneagram book with a chapter on e6 will express that same sentiment. People with 6 wings though... wings are believed to emerge in the late teens so I thought that explanation made more sense and suggested it. For example, my sister is the more explosive, 'classic' kind of e6 counterphobe being INFJ 6w5 sx/so. And while this nature didn't take its final form until her senior year in high school...(same as you say)...there were many, many, many, many, many displays of counterphobia in her youth.

Like I can remember being on an elementary school field trip with her to an aquarium where we had been asked to vote for our favorite fish by putting our name tag on the tank. And from across the room I saw that this one small, out-of-the-way tank containing the butt-ugliest fish you've ever seen had a name tag vote on it and in spite of not being able to read it... I knew exactly who that vote was from and why. And yes, she violently defended her underdog fish against the other kid's mocking causing a scene.

So, I guess if you still can't see that counterphobics are counterphobic their entire lives here, I give up.

Lol...I didn't think you were trying to put me out, I was only starting to feel uncomfortable with analyzing that high school friend so much on here (I didn't mean for this thread to turn into such deep analysis of her, but it seems to have naturally taken that direction) so I was like this is my final analysis of her and if you still disagree, I'm not taking the analysis further

Actually, it's good that you disagreed with me and explained it because now that you explained it I do notice that I have probably overlooked something.....sometimes when you disagree with me about something that I have a very strongly formed opinion of, you need to be a little pushy to make me notice and understand your point, or else I will probably just overlook it

Why do you think that phobic 6s can't go from phobic to counterphobic? I did read that in type 6 phobia/CP is like 2 sides of the same coin, but is it not possible that a person who is placed in a new environment (high school) only shows their phobic side and then, after 2-3 years when they have established friendships, starts showing CP a lot but still remains phobic on the inside?

She might have been counterphobic before I met her, who knows....I met her when she was 15, so it's possible that she was always both phobic and CP, but didn't show CP behavior in front of me and other high school friends at first, and then slowly started to show it more and more to the point when she showed it so much that CP was very obvious....when I think about it, she didn't go from phobic to CP behavior in one day, it was a process and it may have actually lasted for months, but for me it was still sudden, because I've sort of formed an opinion about her and when her behavior started changing (ultimately ending in the highs of CP spectrum), I was like wtf is this, I don't like this annoying person, I want my cute shy friend back

So it's possible that she was always CP but didn't show it in front of high school friends when she just got into high school, she was showing only the phobic side for about 2-3 years.....I'm judging on what I've seen and what I saw was her behavior changing from predominantly phobic to predominantly counterphobic, so that was why I said that she herself changed from phobic to CP because I just sort of assumed that her behavior was an image of what was actually going on inside her, but the truth is that I can't really know if she was actually always both phobic and CP, so the case becomes even more complicated now.....There she is, confusing me even now ;-;

It doesn't strike me that her level of health probably changed - in other words, just a different manifestation of the same unhealth, much like a different symptom of the same disease.

At the same time, I would be very genuinely surprised if your friend had never shown any hints of CP response prior to her shift - especially from an ENTP! Do you think it's possible that you just didn't get to see it much? I know that personally, I rarely show my bursts of CP in public - rather, they're generally reserved for the few people closest to me during argument of issues I care deeply about. Yet they are there, and they also tend to fuel some longterm behavior on my part that would perhaps be surprising otherwise - but I tend to keep it more under wraps than phobic response, perhaps in part because I grew up in a very supportive and Fe-valuing household.

The more I think about it, the more I conclude that she was probably always CP, but didn't show it when she started going to high school and was surrounded by a bunch of strangers.
When she had already established friendships, she probably started to show the CP side more and more (she was intelligent and was probably aware that her CP moments were unpleasant and if she showed them early on, she probably wouldn't have made many friends)

I guess that I'm guilty of assuming that she wasn't CP before she actually started showing it in front of me (I usually assume that other people are what they seem to be, which is not always the case), what she showed in high school environment was a strong phobic and then after some time, when CP started to show more and more, I was kind of shocked (back then I wasn't aware that this was phobia and CP, I just thought that she went from shy to crazy)

I met her when she was 15, so it's very possible that she was actually always both phobic and CP.

Also, I agree that her level of health didn't change, and that it was just a different manifestation of the same unhealth.
 

Starry

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Lol...I didn't think you were trying to put me out, I was only starting to feel uncomfortable with analyzing that high school friend so much on here (I didn't mean for this thread to turn into such deep analysis of her, but it seems to have naturally taken that direction) so I was like this is my final analysis of her and if you still disagree, I'm not taking the analysis further

Actually, it's good that you disagreed with me and explained it because now that you explained it I do notice that I have probably overlooked something.....sometimes when you disagree with me about something that I have a very strongly formed opinion of, you need to be a little pushy to make me notice and understand your point, or else I will probably just overlook it

Why do you think that phobic 6s can't go from phobic to counterphobic? I did read that in type 6 phobia/CP is like 2 sides of the same coin, but is it not possible that a person who is placed in a new environment (high school) only shows their phobic side and then, after 2-3 years when they have established friendships, starts showing CP a lot but still remains phobic on the inside?

She might have been counterphobic before I met her, who knows....I met her when she was 15, so it's possible that she was always both phobic and CP, but didn't show CP behavior in front of me and other high school friends at first, and then slowly started to show it more and more to the point when she showed it so much that CP was very obvious....when I think about it, she didn't go from phobic to CP behavior in one day, it was a process and it may have actually lasted for months, but for me it was still sudden, because I've sort of formed an opinion about her and when her behavior started changing (ultimately ending in the highs of CP spectrum), I was like wtf is this, I don't like this annoying person, I want my cute shy friend back

So it's possible that she was always CP but didn't show it in front of high school friends when she just got into high school, she was showing only the phobic side for about 2-3 years.....I'm judging on what I've seen and what I saw was her behavior changing from predominantly phobic to predominantly counterphobic, so that was why I said that she herself changed from phobic to CP because I just sort of assumed that her behavior was an image of what was actually going on inside her, but the truth is that I can't really know if she was actually always both phobic and CP, so the case becomes even more complicated now.....There she is, confusing me even now ;-;


I definitely understand the (negative) experience of feeling you have said too much with regards to someone that isn't here to defend themselves...or fearing you will give away too many identifying characteristics, etc. When I first arrived here I was trying so hard to figure out what the hell happened to my ex...and yet kept coming up against those same feelings...and so I would try to tweak some of the details around in an effort to try and keep him private...but on occasion ended-up compromising my ability to get meaningful feedback in the process. I always imagine people thinking "dude did Starry's ex have multiple personality disorder?" (<-which may have been...) Fortunately, I found a member I trusted that talked to me off-board.

Like I alluded to...what you described in the OP actually makes perfect sense if this was an IXTP 5w6 or an ENTP 7w6 like I assumed she must have been. I am an ENFP 7 with a counterphobic 6 wing...and might have appeared to have made the same dramatic transition your friend made...had I not been so damn busy rushing myself to the emergency room every other day thinking I was having a heart attack (which were really panic attacks that went undiagnosed due to the fact *7* kept me and everyone else from recognizing my issue might be fear-based.) I've talked to so many 7w6s that report this same experience though...of having the experience of perpetual happiness stripped from them around age 18 and replaced with anxiety and paranoia that they have no explanation for that they can determine (6 wing.)

If you are convinced your friend is e6...then yah...you were probably just over-summarizing the experience from your perspective. Here though I should say that I hope what may be (although idk for sure) our differing understandings of counterphobia won't become too confusing. It does often appear to me that most people on these kind of forums attribute the more challenging form of counterphobia to both the 6w5 and 6w7 and I do not. If your friend is truly a 6 and became more challenging around age 17 then I would attribute that to an emerging 5 wing. It's not that a 6w7 won't be emotionally volatile...but this will be more "behind the scenes" <-something that the 6w7 will strive to conceal because it works against their particular brand of counterphobia. The 6w7 wants to appear to be some desirable quality generally along male and female gender lines. Hot, smoldering, cute, innocent, sexy, strong/unflappable male, sweet/in need of care female. Most young, fearful 6s become more charming when the 7 wing emerges not less. They're gaining a semblance of positive outlook from the 7 which will appear to improve their confidence and attitude.

^^I don't need you to accept the above definition of cp. Like I indicated I think more people may believe as you seem to...but wanted to acknowledge that if your friend went from shy to "less charming" then I, myself, am imagining her to be eNTP 6w5cp or ENTP 7w6cp.

I think a lot of people...even individuals that identify as 6...completely misunderstand the "defender of the underdog" brand of cp. It's not just "now that I'm pissed I'm no longer fearful" <-total news flash: everyone has that mechanism and it's called adrenaline. No, this is a state of being...and you are in this state regardless of your current emotional experience/mood. It's not on some continuum...you aren't counterphobic when your mad and then return to being phobic once you're no longer mad.

Honestly, I don't fully know how to explain it in a way that would make sense to a general audience going off my experience of it...and detailed descriptions of it by theorists are extremely confusing I feel. The defender cp... it's being so sensitive to threats...especially threats that have the potential to exploit others... that you can almost create this instant framework in your mind and quickly locate the actual source of the threat, why it has occurred, and subsequently follow each consequence of that threat to its possible end point. The problem is...is most others don't have this sensitivity. They don't believe you and don't trust that you even know what you're talking about. The cp individual is often made into the "crazy person"...so the cp individual becomes (learns to become) more forceful to be heard. And it's frustrating really. And so yes, many cps become angry and bitter all the time.
 

iHeartCats

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I definitely understand the (negative) experience of feeling you have said too much with regards to someone that isn't here to defend themselves...or fearing you will give away too many identifying characteristics, etc. When I first arrived here I was trying so hard to figure out what the hell happened to my ex...and yet kept coming up against those same feelings...and so I would try to tweak some of the details around in an effort to try and keep him private...but on occasion ended-up compromising my ability to get meaningful feedback in the process. I always imagine king "dude did Starry's ex have multiple personality disorder?" (<-which may have been...) Fortunately, I found a member I trusted that talked to me off-board.

Like I alluded to...what you described in the OP actually makes perfect sense if this was an IXTP 5w6 or an ENTP 7w6 like I assumed she must have been. I am an ENFP 7 with a counterphobic 6 wing...and might have appeared to have made the same dramatic transition your friend made...had I not been so damn busy rushing myself to the emergency room every other day thinking I was having a heart attack (which were really panic attacks that went undiagnosed due to the fact *7* kept me and everyone else from recognizing my issue might be fear-based.) I've talked to so many 7w6s that report this same experience though...of having the experience of perpetual happiness stripped from them around age 18 and replaced with anxiety and paranoia that they have no explanation for that they can determine (6 wing.)

If you are convinced your friend is e6...then yah...you were probably just over-summarizing the experience from your perspective. Here though I should say that I hope what may be (although idk for sure) our differing understandings of counterphobia won't become too confusing. It does often appear to me that most people on these kind of forums attribute the more challenging form of counterphobia to both the 6w5 and 6w7 and I do not. If your friend is truly a 6 and became more challenging around age 17 then I would attribute that to an emerging 5 wing. It's not that a 6w7 won't be emotionally volatile...but this will be more "behind the scenes" <-something that the 6w7 will strive to conceal because it works against their particular brand of counterphobia. The 6w7 wants to appear to be some desirable quality generally along male and female gender lines. Hot, smoldering, cute, innocent, sexy, strong/unflappable male, sweet/in need of care female. Most young, fearful 6s become more charming when the 7 wing emerges not less. They're gaining a semblance of positive outlook from the 7 which will appear to improve their confidence and attitude.

^^I don't need you to accept the above definition of cp. Like I indicated I think more people may believe as you seem to...but wanted to acknowledge that if your friend went from shy to "less charming" then I, myself, am imagining her to be eNTP 6w5cp or ENTP 7w6cp.

I think a lot of people...even individuals that identify as 6...completely misunderstand the "defender of the underdog" brand of cp. It's not just "now that I'm pissed I'm no longer fearful" <-total news flash: everyone has that mechanism and it's called adrenaline. No, this is a state of being...and you are in this state regardless of your current emotional experience/mood. It's not on some continuum...you aren't counterphobic when your mad and then return to being phobic once you're no longer mad.

Honestly, I don't fully know how to explain it in a way that would make sense to a general audience going off my experience of it...and detailed descriptions of it by theorists are extremely confusing I feel. The defender cp... it's being so sensitive to threats...especially threats that have the potential to exploit others... that you can almost create this instant framework in your mind and quickly locate the actual source of the threat, why it has occurred, and subsequently follow each consequence of that threat to its possible end point. The problem is...is most others don't have this sensitivity. They don't believe you and don't trust that you even know what you're talking about. The cp individual is often made into the "crazy person"...so the cp individual becomes (learns to become) more forceful to be heard. And it's frustrating really. And so yes, many cps become angry and bitter all the time.

I was basically over-summarizing the experience.
I'm like 100% sure that she wasn't happy before she started showing CP - in those 2-3 years of close friendship before she "went CP", I've never seen her truly happy. She was equally anxious as a "phobic" and as a CP - l never knew her as a healthy, happy person - what I saw during the years of our friendship was either a strong phobic or strong CP, or both (while her behavior was going through the transition from predominantly phobic to predominantly CP, both phobic and CP behavior was present).

She was sensitive to threats, yes, but never sensitive to threats that would have an impact on others, only to threats that she imagined would impact her, and those "threats", from my perspective, were mostly must perceived and not real.
In fact, she would often try to exploit others herself, in ways that I don't feel comfortable sharing the details about on here. Essentially, she was pretty selfish and manipulative, and very Machiavellian - when she started to show CP she would often state things like "life is unfair, so you need to manipulate if you want to succeed", "all men are cheaters", etc. - I really can't see type 7 thinking and doing that sort of things.

The very essence of type 7 is the need to always be and appear optimistic, and she was never an optimistic person - in fact, she was quite pessimistic. She didn't have that inner need for optimism that 7s have. A type 7 tries to appear cheerful even when things don't look good and avoids acknowledging their painful emotions. She was again very different from that mind framework, always thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong and overthinking it, always assuming and expecting the worst, both as a "phobic" and as a "CP" and she was aware of her negative emotions and negative consequences of her behavior (she would even analyze and verbalize her negativities quite well) but didn't want to change it. She was extremely stubborn and when she "became" a strong CP, she would actually force her friends to either frequently suffer her unpleasant counterphobic side or leave - that was a counterphobic manifestation of that type 6 "fight or flee" mind pattern, I think - she was forcing her friends to make a choice between two unpleasant extremes, obviously completely oblivious of the fact that there was a multitude of other possible, more positive solutions. She would prepare and fuel herself in advance to respond to a future negative and possibly threatening outcome of a situation, to the point of overlooking the possibility that the outcome maybe won't be negative at all.

I really can't see any type 7 characteristics in her (with the exception of sexual adventurousness) and I see a lot of type 6, so I still think she is type 6. Maybe actually 6w5.
So I'm not really sure about the wing but I'm very sure that she's type 6. I've also read that type 6 is one of the most common types for ENTPs (I'm very sure that she's ENTP too).

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