[INTP] The Unhealthy INTP

[Oom]

Ok, I know that these copy threads are getting annoying. But I was in the SP section and saw the "Unhealthy ISTP" thread, and it sounded a lot like me.

So out of interest and curiosity, I'd like to hear about your experiences with unhealthy INTPs and see how similar and different they are to the other introverted thinker.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Having been one myself. I'd say the typical unhealthy INTP is:

- Avoidance of responsibility.
- Lack of morals.
- Uncaring and cold.
- Drinks a lot and likes to get into trouble.

Basicly, an INTP that makes up his own rules according to his own impulses.

 

[ring the bell]

Having been one myself. I'd say the typical unhealthy INTP is:

- Avoidance of responsibility.
- Lack of morals.
- Uncaring and cold.
- Drinks a lot and likes to get into trouble.

Basicly, an INTP that makes up his own rules according to his own impulses.

I would have to second this. In some of my worst times, I've even been mistaken for being bipolar with some of the extremes of behavior I took on. I:

-threw caution to the wind and did whatever I wanted without any thought of consequences
-lost all respect for myself and allowed myself to get used and misused.
-drank a lot/ abused substances more than was even remotely healthy
-complete loss of feeling.. the going cold mentioned above was very correct for me in my darker times.
-refused to deal with any problems. I knew they were there, I just didn't have the ability to face up to them to move past it.
-sought out attention in any way, even if it was ill obtained.

Luckily I'm at a much better place now. I wouldn't go back to those darker times for anything, but I appreciate having seen them. Big lessons on life were learned and I like to think my viewpoint on how to deal with the world was altered for the better.

 

[Strawberrylover]

- Drinks a lot and likes to get into trouble.

You mean they don't typically like to do that? heh.

 

[Fluffywolf]

I would have to second this. In some of my worst times, I've even been mistaken for being bipolar with some of the extremes of behavior I took on. I:

-threw caution to the wind and did whatever I wanted without any thought of consequences
-lost all respect for myself and allowed myself to get used and misused.
-drank a lot/ abused substances more than was even remotely healthy
-complete loss of feeling.. the going cold mentioned above was very correct for me in my darker times.
-refused to deal with any problems. I knew they were there, I just didn't have the ability to face up to them to move past it.
-sought out attention in any way, even if it was ill obtained.

Luckily I'm at a much better place now. I wouldn't go back to those darker times for anything, but I appreciate having seen them. Big lessons on life were learned and I like to think my viewpoint on how to deal with the world was altered for the better.

Yeah same here, I completely turned around as well, several years ago.

Completely relate to your points. Ill obtained attention I favored over other forms of attention though. Like I said, I loved getting into trouble.

 

[Willfrey]

You mean they don't typically like to do that? heh.

Its a hindsight thing. I used to drink and say 'screw the world' and act retarded and say the most ignorant things... Looking back I wonder how I ever even considered that fun or never had my ass kicked.

To add, some bad traits that I may have exhibited..

- Close yourself off from friends and family
- Blow your money stupid things, instead of paying bills or rent
- Allowing others to walk on you
- Letting everything just go to shit, messy apartment, unwashed car, etc
- Bad Breath

 

[avolkiteshvara]

Can forget booze. We tend to drink too much.

I stopped heavy drinking a couple months ago. Feel so much better.

 

[Ace_]

- being snobbish(actually this might be a trait even for the healthy ones)
- making other people feel worthless without even realizing it
- extreme laziness(they try to use that as an excuse for not realizing their potential)
- never accepting defeat in a debate
- not understanding people(bitterness towards everyone), misanthropy, thinking they are above everyone else
- everyone is stupid, normal people(sensors) have no value at all, they are robots, a lesser species because they actually do stuff in the real world instead of observing life as it passes them by
- thinking that people who follow schedules are robots, pitying J people because they are "bound" by schedules and plans
- cutting the external world off and living like a hermit so that the illusion of their ingeniousness isn't affected by reality, drinking also helps, drugs too
- extreme clutter in their homes which starts to cause health problems

and so on

 

[Strawberrylover]

- Bad Breath

Hah! I think that might be a sign of unhealthiness for everyone but ISFJs. hee

 

[Lurker]

Having been one myself. I'd say the typical unhealthy INTP is:

- Avoidance of responsibility.
- Lack of morals.
- Uncaring and cold.
- Drinks a lot and likes to get into trouble.

Basicly, an INTP that makes up his own rules according to his own impulses.

ISTP, you mean? Sounds like an ESTP or ISTP description. I figured INTPs would get lost in their own world and obsessed with their interests to the complete exclusion of the outside world. They may drink and take drugs, but it tends to be a very solitary thing. Just speaking for myself and what I've heard/seen, etc. They don't tend to be hellraisers.

 

[Fluffywolf]

No, definatly INTP. I was very reclusive in my mind. I wouldn't tell anyone a thing about me, but I'd still manipulate and use anyone I could though.

I think an INTP looking for solitary is a healthy INTP. Definatly compared to how I used to be those two years.

 

[ring the bell]

No, definatly INTP. I was very reclusive in my mind. I wouldn't tell anyone a thing about me, but I'd still manipulate and use anyone I could though.

I think an INTP looking for solitary is a healthy INTP. Definatly compared to how I used to be those two years.

The manipulation thing.. I certainly know that one. I was quite bad about it, actually. I really did cause some havoc in my relationships and lost a few friends because of it.

 

[nocebo]

I went through several stages of unhealthy behavior, and looking back on them now, I realize they often progressed in a cycle.

Laziness... I don't know about.
Neglecting duties and relations, yeah ... but I always seemed really obsessed with my hobbies.
Attachment to people and materials was a weakness. Unforgivable.
Skills and knowledge became the only things that mattered, and I would snap at people who disturbed me. It's something I really feel badly about, now.

There's one memory that kind of stands out, so I might be biasing my conclusions on it.

But I remember playing go all night, every night, just... constantly. That stupid game meant everything to me. When my mom entered the room with coffee and food, it broke my concentration and I lashed all my frustration at her. I feel so awful about it now. I remind myself constantly about it, just to remind myself the importance of relations and how much they really mater to me, despite my inability to notice it many times.

Our greatest flaw might be in mistaking weakness for strengths.

 

[deepthought]

I'll list it off
-Didn't care one bit about anyone or anything.
-Lost all my self respect.
-Let myself be treated like shit by others and didn't do anything about it
-Had a severe emotional attachment to many things.
-Would have outbursts of rage at times when angered.
-I would also have outbursts of emotion as well and it was not a pretty sight.
-Thought about suicide too much, but never tried.
-Bottled up all emotions, I was cold as steel.
-I thought I was going insane, i would hear voices and experience hallucinations and constantly think i have some kind of disorder like schizophrenia or psychosis.
-I was severely too into my imaginary world, and it got bad, really bad, i almost thought i could do anything in this world and if anything happened i would begone in my own world.
-I was stealing, lying, doing drugs, drinking and smoking cigarettes and weed at age 12.
-Before all this occurred i had been diagnosed with PTSD and Moderate-Severe Depression.

Although all this had occurred i have now moved on from that stage of my life, all I can do now is feel so bad for everything i had done to hurt my family, and caused so many problems. But at least now I can never let that happen again because i have made a mistake and now I'm learning from it.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Is it common for INTP's to go through this phase or is the fact that most people here say they had an unhealthy period totally coincidental?

I suppose it makes sense, we're confronted with the world and the need to rationalize it is an unachievable feat at a young age.

 

[VagrantFarce]

I would imagine it's common for INTPs to feel incompatible with the rest of the world, and (at the very least consider) barricading themselves off in a space that they already have a mental bearing of, while treating everything else with suspicion. Of course if INTPs don't place their stake in the world, then they'll start to lose all sense of identity, and that's when things get really bad.

 

[Tallulah]

- being snobbish(actually this might be a trait even for the healthy ones)
- making other people feel worthless without even realizing it
- extreme laziness(they try to use that as an excuse for not realizing their potential)
- never accepting defeat in a debate
- not understanding people(bitterness towards everyone), misanthropy, thinking they are above everyone else
- everyone is stupid, normal people(sensors) have no value at all, they are robots, a lesser species because they actually do stuff in the real world instead of observing life as it passes them by
- thinking that people who follow schedules are robots, pitying J people because they are "bound" by schedules and plans
- cutting the external world off and living like a hermit so that the illusion of their ingeniousness isn't affected by reality, drinking also helps, drugs too
- extreme clutter in their homes which starts to cause health problems

and so on

I went through several stages of unhealthy behavior, and looking back on them now, I realize they often progressed in a cycle.

Laziness... I don't know about.
Neglecting duties and relations, yeah ... but I always seemed really obsessed with my hobbies.
Attachment to people and materials was a weakness. Unforgivable.
Skills and knowledge became the only things that mattered, and I would snap at people who disturbed me. It's something I really feel badly about, now.

There's one memory that kind of stands out, so I might be biasing my conclusions on it.

But I remember playing go all night, every night, just... constantly. That stupid game meant everything to me. When my mom entered the room with coffee and food, it broke my concentration and I lashed all my frustration at her. I feel so awful about it now. I remind myself constantly about it, just to remind myself the importance of relations and how much they really mater to me, despite my inability to notice it many times.

Our greatest flaw might be in mistaking weakness for strengths.

These are much more like my unhealthy and/or immature periods. Some of it was just lack of experience and selfishness because I didn't truly realize how others were affected by my behavior. Sometimes it was frustration because I didn't feel like I fit in anywhere. If I perceived that the world valued qualities that weren't my strengths, I'd just de-value and scorn those qualities. That's how I dealt with a lot of things as a teenager. INTP teens must be SO annoying.

I don't really relate to the reckless behavior thing as much. I was always aware that wasn't really in my best interest. The above, though, was sort of a blindspot for me.

To this day, though, if I get overwhelmed, I go inside my head and I don't make much of an effort to maintain relationships or an orderly living space or anything like that. I'm like a turtle pulling into its shell to escape the world.

 

[ring the bell]

Some of it was just lack of experience and selfishness because I didn't truly realize how others were affected by my behavior. Sometimes it was frustration because I didn't feel like I fit in anywhere. If I perceived that the world valued qualities that weren't my strengths, I'd just de-value and scorn those qualities. That's how I dealt with a lot of things as a teenager. INTP teens must be SO annoying.

This was definitly a distinct part of myself as a teenager. I went through the unhealthy period muchlater in life, but when younger, I really did feel as if I stuck out like a sore thumb. I just didn't get social interactions. I'm 27, though, and I honestly still don't, though, a good portion of the time..

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

ISTP, you mean? Sounds like an ESTP or ISTP description. I figured INTPs would get lost in their own world and obsessed with their interests to the complete exclusion of the outside world. They may drink and take drugs, but it tends to be a very solitary thing. Just speaking for myself and what I've heard/seen, etc. They don't tend to be hellraisers.

I don't know. I've done things that my friends still talk about. Very stupid stuff. Also, I've done some things that no one knows about....extremely reckless stuff. I'm more likely to do 'hell raising' kinds of things when I'm not surrounded by my close friends. I don't want to have to explain my behavior to them because I know they'd think I was acting out of turn. In reality, I'm not. I just know I'd freak them out or even scare them if they'd see that side of me. I know because sometimes it's come out a little and I've gotten some really scared reactions from them and that ends up ruining the moment for me.

 

[CzeCze]

I think Ace has a good list. There are (many) different ways to be unhealthy but from observation, unhealthy INTPs get really cut off from real reality and get stuck in their heads. That internal mental loop gets stuck and things get ugly. I've seen unhealthy/immature INTPs with utter clutter and mess in their living environments which most likley mirrors their thought processes or internal worlds and a sense of anxiety. In a way, they get isolated and immobilized to the point they are ineffective at life. They can get realy fixated on their own very biased POV like Ace mentioned and demonize other people.

Unhealthy INTPs and INFPs can look similar on the surface, both get extremely sensitive to perceived criticism and "failure" - except the nature of Fi gives off more of an injured soul/tortured artist vibe and Ti gives a more misanthropic/hermit vibe. At least, from my own experience.