Fun with alter egos

[Galaxy Gazer]

WARNING: Get ready for the most snowflakey unicorn-like post you will ever see in your life, ironically brought to you by your local INTP.

I want to discuss alter egos because I genuinely believe that I have one. I know it doesn't make much sense, but it's just kind of... there.

This alter ego has ISFP traits, which I think is my shadow type? The opposite of Ti-Ne-Si-Fe would be Fi-Se-Ni-Te, wouldn't it?

I've nicknamed her Karissa, and she is everything that I am not: feminine, submissive, affectionate, appearance-focused, witty, and deceitful at times. I'll just be browsing the internet when I see/hear a trigger, and suddenly I'm overwhelmed with the desire to soak in a bath of rose petals, put on an airy sundress, bake some little tarts, and invite my nonexistent group of girlfriends over to take silly magazine quizzes and do our nails.

When I'm in this state of mind, I also tend to be more sensual and submissive. This is what caused me to go into several of my worst relationships, all with dominant men who ended up purposely hurting me. I can't stand them normally, but when my ISFP alter takes over, I become strangely attracted to them.

This feeling goes away after prolonged affection or just intimacy in general. I then return to my normal, careless, motivation-lacking self. This has made for some pretty awkward situations.

So, is this a thing? I'm thinking it could be some sort of weird spikes in my estrogen levels, but during one of my online relationships it lasted for months. It could also be a shadow function thing.

Also, do any of you guys have (or think you might have) an alter ego that just sort of came out of nowhere?

 

[Pionart]

I have some weird NF/ST split it seems. Though there are lots of different modes I go into.

 

[á´…eparted]

I'm effectively playing my alter ego (one of them anyway) in the D&D campaign I am in. Essentially, he's a ENTJ 387 and a complete sociopath. It's so much fun to play. We're at a point where the game can fork, and I decided to secretly side with the bad guys, and feed them information and act as a spy/saboteur while with the rest of the party. It's perfect

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I play a character at work. Otherwise, I'd never survive. It takes a lot of mental energy to keep up the facade.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

Maintaining a professional demeanor can be a type of alter ego if it requires you to adopt traits that are drastically different from your preferred expression. In some cases, people just have seemingly contradictory characteristics and values, a vast array of interests or a weak sense of identity; so it becomes easier to compartmentalize them into separate alter egos than to incorporate them all into a single identity with various inconsistencies.

It's interesting that you mention estrogen. I imagine that sexual/biological factors play a large role in your situation. It's the same reason why many girls struggle with bad-boy syndrome and many males suffer from nice-guy syndrome. Biological impulses sometimes contradict our rational, intellectual values. Wanting to be dominated vs wanting to be respected as an equal. Why have studies shown that nearly 50% of women admit to having rape fantasies, despite consciously not wanting to be raped? It's the sexual impulse to be dominated by masculine energy. No matter how refined and progressive people pretend to be, we can't escape our animal instincts.

I'm with you on the first paragraph.

I don't think women who choose a lifestyle of sexual submissiveness is inherently 'natural' or because of estrogen. *cringe*

That may not account for the vast number of men who prefer to be dominated by a female. Does that imply men who have submissive sexual proclivities are 'unnatural' vs 'natural' and have less estrogen than the average woman who does not prefer submissiveness? Or is this about preferences of perceived majority vs minority behaviors?...... Because very few people are so open about what they like between the sheets and one can't always tell if the personality outside of the bedroom matches the same one inside it.

These are valid questions.

This could be studied but alone each of these questions may imply correlation, yes. Causation not completely defined by that alone. As nurture/brain chemistry have a lot to do with it. Also, what about same-sex couples who play dominant or submissive roles? That would imply a "separateness" between gender and brain chemistry.



/biology/nurturing/brain chemistry all has a part to play in it.

 

[Amargith]

A while back, there was a thread about posting our 'evil' counterparts. And, I posted Drusilla (BTVS) and Tia Dalma (Pirates). Someone suggested Dark Galadriel, for me. I argued that, while I did think of her, I wasnt that into power but more into freedom, so I felt she didn't fit as well.

But, when we're talking about alter egos, those very hidden corners of your psyche locked away, completely..Yeah, I'd say Dark Galadriel fits the bill.

 

[Cellmold]

I'm never not playing a character

Just change the grouping I'm with and watch me morph. Identity is fascinating to me as I never have a stable one and don't understand those who appear to.

A set identity is like a quadruple rainbow. People have told me about it but I don't think I'll ever see it.

 

[Thalassa]

I have used alter egos both on-line (or else something I refer to as a caricature of myself) and as an adult entertainer. As long as you have a creative outlet for it and don't have Dissociative Identity Disorder, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Many performers have alter egos, some of the really familiar obvious ones are SP for some reason, but I don't think it's restricted to personality type. ..it could be shadow functions, like David Bowie talked about playing with his gender and bisexual experiences,but when all was said and done he actually was in fact a heterosexual man. Lana del Rey is one of my favorite examples, she had a more casual appearance early in her career, and is often spotted by fans wearing jeans and tee shirts and chuck taylors, but she sees Lana as a seamless extension of Elizabeth, not "another person" or "fake" but she lives out this glamorous portrayal of cultural femininity, like a female drag queen - which sounds weird, but a lot of every day strippers/exotic dancers or escorts are exactly the same way, they just don't elevate it to internationally best selling pop albums. She started doing this before she was famous, as can be seen in her parade of wigs and Old Hollywood molls she portrays in her home made videos.

 

[Thalassa]

Maintaining a professional demeanor can be a type of alter ego if it requires you to adopt traits that are drastically different from your preferred expression. In some cases, people just have seemingly contradictory characteristics and values, a vast array of interests or a weak sense of identity; so it becomes easier to compartmentalize them into separate alter egos than to incorporate them all into a single identity with various inconsistencies.

It's interesting that you mention estrogen. I imagine that sexual/biological factors play a large role in your situation. It's the same reason why many girls struggle with bad-boy syndrome and many males suffer from nice-guy syndrome. Biological impulses sometimes contradict our rational, intellectual values. Wanting to be dominated vs wanting to be respected as an equal. Why have studies shown that nearly 50% of women admit to having rape fantasies, despite consciously not wanting to be raped? It's the sexual impulse to be dominated by masculine energy. No matter how refined and progressive people pretend to be, we can't escape our animal instincts.

Some people just have underlying traits that they feel compelled to play out. They look crazier on the surface, but in many ways are likely "saner" or more in touch with themselves than someone who is convinced playing one single socially accepted role is "who they are." People who think always wearing "church clothes"and appearing a certain way in society makes them normal give me the mother fucking creeps.

I would not be so quick to assume rape fantasies are the result of estrogen if only fifty percent of women have them. What about the other half, they have estrogen too...I'm not denying some things are biological, but even then, rape fantasies tend to revolve around an attractive mate and their own desire, which actually makes it not a rape fantasy, but a D/s fantasy.

People who do not acknowledge BDSM fantasies can actually be more dangerous or a danger to themselves, because they simply "act upon" which is likely where serial killers, and Stockholm Syndrome come from.

 

[Luke O]

I wondered recently whether "type fluidity" (like gender fluidity) could be a thing. We're all bags of hormones and from time to time these hormones get imbalanced, and influence the way we think. There may be other ways we can switch on/augment our lesser used cognitive functions for a time, after all our brains are so big we would need to be different sometimes to get out of a tight spot.

For me I have moments where, thinking on it, my Se goes haywire, I can take everything in and become hyper-aware of everything around me (but not necessarily record it), I can be so in the moment my actions are perfectly co-ordinated, but it doesn't last very long. Controlling how I get in the zone in this way would be useful.

As for alter egos, I've been working on seeing whether I can slip into different types, some take more work, some happen automatically but as they're not my natural INTP state, I just don't have the stamina to do it indefinitely. If I could master all 8 functions and type shift like a Shang Tsung type character depending on the situation that would be awesome or would fuck me up

 

[Duffy]

As for alter egos, I've been working on seeing whether I can slip into different types, some take more work, some happen automatically but as they're not my natural INTP state, I just don't have the stamina to do it indefinitely. If I could master all 8 functions and type shift like a Shang Tsung type character depending on the situation that would be awesome or would fuck me up

I used to wonder the purpose of a static personality....like what benefits does this have in comparison to someone who's more... fluid? Why do people become this way? The enneagram, for instance, refers to each personality type as being distortions. It's the same way with people who argue for a one true religion or god. People want static, predictable things - basically operating against nature (entropy).

 

[Luke O]

I used to wonder the purpose of a static personality....like what benefits does this have in comparison to someone who's more... fluid? Why do people become this way? The enneagram, for instance, refers to each personality type as being distortions. It's the same way with people who argue for a one true religion or god. People want static, predictable things - basically operating against nature (entropy).

Is it 'refining your strengths' vs 'reducing your weaknesses'?

 

[Galaxy Gazer]

I've come to the conclusion that my personality has sort of separated into two extremes due to some unfavorable experiences.

Once upon a time, I was much more fluid and balanced. I was many things: emotional, deep, logical, romantic, idealistic, unkempt, sarcastic, information-loving, and antisocial.

I've always struggled with my identity, but my split personality formed when my life was literally going in two different directions at once. For anyone who is interested in an egocentric chapter of my life story, read on. I'm just "vocalizing" my thoughts here and it seems less pointless if there's a possibility that someone else will see it. Ideally not someone on Vent, because I'm not a fan of virtual hugs.

My alter ego sort of spontaneously came into existence when I made the mistake of pursuing a sociopathic, sadistic INTJ "dom." In an attempt to win him over (and be something to him; it was online so I couldn't really call myself his girlfriend), my heart completely took over and made me into something I wasn't. Suddenly about half of my personality traits (ie. rebellious, careless, outspoken) were completely gone and I had fully turned into this soft-spoken, elegant flower. I wasn't even initially aware of the complexity of the change; I literally just woke up one day and felt nothing like myself. As my old identity disappeared, so did my spiritual beliefs, political views, values, etc. I had become a simplified, hyper-focused version of one side of myself. During this time, I often felt how I feel now in reverse: my sweet and feminine side trying to keep my stronger side from getting out and ruining everything.

Well, things ended badly between this INTJ and me (who could have foreseen it?!) and not long after, my romantic life took a traumatic turn that forced me out of this elegant flower persona. This was essentially the first change in reverse: half of my personality traits were almost completely eliminated, and I was hyper-focused on the other half.

For some reason, though, my non-dominant side takes over every now and then when she decides I've been suppressing her for too long. It's something I can't really control. I'm essentially two people now; I'm just this one more often than not.

On a side note, I wonder how this has affected my MBTI/enneagram/socionics types.