[INFP] Starting to doubt my INFPness

[sacklome]

I have always identified with the INFP character type but lately I've started to doubt it. I mean how does INFPness manifest itself?

Introverted feeling. Okay I have that. Definitely I bottle up emotions. But doesnt everyone to some extent? I feel like my emotions are so far removed some unknowable starting point that you know can my INFPness even measure up?

Extraverted intuition. I like making jokes and coming up with ideas. I like to make people happy this way. Its not how I am most of the time but its what I tap into when I interact with people. But its always what I am seeking. Is it what I prefer to be or who I actually am?

Introverted sensing. Lots of INFPs seem to have this dreamy like quality to them lost in their own memories and I definitely daydream. But when interacting with people I often feel like I am missing large depths of information? Like I cant communicate that part of me? Another way in which my INFPness has its shortcomings.

Finally, extraverted thinking. I always thought of my self as a thinker and tried to be more like that because all my close friends were. I even sometimes did tests and got INTP! I was as sure as that as I was of this. So does anyone know there type, really?

Does anyone have any answers? Like I said I'm not sure if my INFPenis measures up. No need to be short with me.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Does anyone have any answers? Like I said I'm not sure if my INFPenis measures up. No need to be short with me.

Good question. I'm not an INFP myself, but I hope another INFP can help you.

 

[Hawthorne]

Are you asking "Am I INFP?" or "Why don't I relate to other INFPs?"?

If the first, I think this thread needs to be moved to the "What's My Type" subforum. Knowing how you decided on INFP in the first place would also be helpful.

If the second, what traits are in conflict and why do you feel they de-legitimize you being INFP?

 

[sacklome]

Are you asking "Am I INFP?" or "Why don't I relate to other INFPs?"?

If the first, I think this thread needs to be moved to the "What's My Type" subforum. Knowing how you decided on INFP in the first place would also be helpful.

If the second, what traits are in conflict and why do you feel they de-legitimize you being INFP?

Well It's not so much "Am I INFP" as it is "Is my INFPness as big as other peoples?" so yeah its like, relating

 

[Gawain]

I can totally relate to the "questioning my type" thing. Not sure if that's an INFP thing or something more broad, but I get it quite frequently. Luckily for me, my test was done professionally, three times, so that kinda helps with the anxiety. And I usually end up doing something that obviously reflects my type within a few hours of when I start questioning myself, so that helps, too.

You might wanna lookup Funky MBTI Fiction. That's helping me a lot with the functions. It shows how the functions actually stack on fictional characters, so you can get a feel for how it's supposed to look. Keep in mind that everyone can use every function, it's just that certain ones stack a certain way for your type. And the ones you use most are the ones you probably don't even notice you're using at the time.

 

[Gawain]

Forgot to mention, I tested as IXFP all three times, so we'll have some differences. That's why I don't have more answers as far as how our functions should look. The functions a T would have that an F doesn't will come more easily to you than to me, coloring your functions ever so slightly. While my S is probably more highly developed than yours. I'm having trouble understanding functions partly because I tested with an X, and so am unsure if I'm displaying an even mix of functions or am more N, but I think I'm leaning slightly toward N because of my failure to be as concrete as I would like.

 

[sacklome]

Hahahahaha

 

[Southern Kross]

You sound more like a ISFP. I'd need more information to say with any certainty.

 

[efnenu]

(before i start: i'm not an expert, a lot of this is personal experience, blah blah blah.)

hey. i think it’s great that you’re sharing your thoughts and doubts. examining yourself is so important, and it’s always wonderful if someone takes the chance (and has the courage) to talk to others about that. yay. also, we all struggle with our types sometimes. if anyone tries to tell you they’ve always been 100% certain about what type they are, they’re lying. they’re lying, and probably trying to impress you, and you better run. you run so fast.

sooo then.. let’s take a closer look at your infpenis. where do i start- alright. fi is not about bottling up emotions. it’s so totally not. fi is about internal morals (whereas fe is about group dynamic/morals, and ti is about internal logic). so with everything new that you experience, you’d measure it up to those values you have inside yourself, try to fit it in that moral network of yours, and then decide if it’s good or bad; desirable or undesirable; a bunch of horsesh*t or whatever’s the opposite of that.

and with that, you wouldn’t care much about logic in your morals. that might sound weird, but even though there have to be connections between your values and ideals (oftentimes ne plays a huge role in building those connections, or finding new values based on already established ones), logically, they can completely contradict one another. if you’re totally down with accepting that, there’s a good chance you’re not a ti-dom.

of course a heavy system of values, morals, feelings and ideas, together with introversion, can lead to you bottling up your emotions (especially those you feel strongly about), but i’ll say that’s really just a side-effect. every type can do that to a greater or lesser extent, and even with infps it differs from person to person. your type does not ultimately determine how socially healthy your lifestyle is.

one other thing about fi/fe that you’ll often see is how they make you relate to others’ feelings:

• fi: how would i feel if i were in your situation? how can i relate to that? how can i make you feel better if you’re down?
• fe: your feelings are mine. i feel what you feel. (in inferior position more like: i have a great desire to mirror what you feel, and it helps me with getting through my own life, but i don’t always succeed in doing so)

so, on to ne. i think this is more important to an infp’s daydreaming than tert si, because their daydreaming is not just about reliving the past, but about imagining different and new possibilities. and you might have to completely get rid of any certainty of reality for that. which is where the lack of ti kicks in again. an infp might ignore consistent reality/logic when imagining and build on emotions; an intp might ignore consistent morals/feelings while imagining and build on RL connections.

and i’m not gonna talk about tert si and inf te right now. there’s loads of stuff about all the functions on the web, and i guess you know best what you want to search for. good luck! ^^ and i hope i could help a bit.

 

[dog]

yeah i feel like i'm intp at times. i can be very logical. but overall i identify more with infp. . i dont know enough how to say that- P cusp with T? idk. . . its fun aint it? good luck exploring