[INTP] The Unhealthy INTP

[Risen]

Do any of you other INTPs during a 'low' go out and search the net to see if you had some mental health condition? I spent the longest time trying to convince myself I was schizophrenic. In hindsight I feel pretty dumb about it.

NO.

 

[Llewellyn]

http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/nt-rationale/19639-unhealthy-intp-7.html#post761481

Insightful post, Solitary.
Would think I was somewhat in between #1 and #2, but overall I'm fairly healthy, just not that confident and not that able to express myself (to others, that is; though I can formulate wonderfully, for myself and a few others to understand - I guess just not much of an emotional expression).
I've more or less decided to not go (back) into science, at 29, so I'm thinking about these things.
One advantage of the state of underdeveloped Ti would be the ability to have a more original psyche and to be able to learn anything from the start. (Edit: maybe there is some conscious part and advantage to this underdevelopment too).

 

[Ulaes]

i also suck.

 

[Salt n' pepper]

We all suck, at some point in our life.

 

[Ulaes]

is there a difference between an unhealthy type and an immature type?

 

[Salt n' pepper]

I guess one can be unhealthy for many reasons, one of them being immaturity. I think unhealthy is the larger concept, and immaturity a sub-category. But at the same time, I think one can act immature because one is unhealthy for some reason. What a pretzel.

 

[Ulaes]

MMMmmm, pretzel.

i suppose you can think of it in terms of a flower.
immature = not yet grown. potential
unhealthy = on the path of death/destruction. requires an external agent, such as bad upbrining.

perhaps unhealthy intp's are those stuck in a rut
and immature intp's are those that are too strong in one area and too weak in another.

 

[Salt n' pepper]

Yeah. Imbalance is defiantly about immaturity, and development. I think a balanced type has wider understanding for life and oneself, which ultimately defines maturity.

I get the sense that INTPs especially, get stuck in a rut, a lot. Are INTPs more inclined to being unhealthy? Why? Because of their nature of introspection? I think the human being is imperfect, mostly irrational and has a lot of flaws that a lot of us are unaware of, and because of the INTPs tendency to indulge in introspection in a very logical way, they find out about these flaws and don't understand and can't accept them. Which makes them unhealthy, stuck in a rut and prevents them from development and keeps them immature for a longer periods of time. Maybe that's why the INTP normaly don't fully mature until later in life. Maybe hard core selfexamining slows down development at the time, because of the focus, but once they reach the finish line - they're more solid and aware human beings, than the average.

Or maybe, INTPs, because of their introspective nature, "figure it out" sooner than the average, and think they understand it all, and get bored and that's why they get stuck in a rut. They're under-stimulated. Which could lead them on a path of destruction, just for the sake of a new challenge. Since they synthesize information internally, they need outer stimulation to synthesize when the fuel is up on the inside.



Also, I have no clue what I'm talking about here. I'm just connecting the dots. For all I know, I could be giving you guys false hope.

 

[VagrantFarce]

[youtube="gjjoTP_djDA"]The Unhealthy INTP[/youtube]

 

[Matthew_Z]

While the other INTPs speculate about what it means to be healthy or unhealthy, I'm going to entertain myself without fretting about such issues.

 

[Salt n' pepper]

While the other INTPs speculate about what it means to be healthy or unhealthy, I'm going to entertain myself without fretting about such issues.

Good call, and good luck!

See you back here in 3 weeks. :hi:

 

[JocktheMotie]

[youtube="gjjoTP_djDA"]The Unhealthy INTP[/youtube]

LOL!

 

[Matthew_Z]

Good call, and good luck!

See you back here in 3 weeks. :hi:

I can last 4.

Wait, shit.

This doesn't count.

 

[ajblaise]

I'm an unhealthy INTP in some ways I guess. Very mentally stable, but I don't make the best decisions. I used to be a lot worse though, so I've gotten better.

But at least we're not as unhealthy as those INFPs!!

While the other INTPs speculate about what it means to be healthy or unhealthy, I'm going to entertain myself without fretting about such issues.

A real INTP can't resist speculation. Too much so.

 

[Ulaes]

I get the sense that INTPs especially, get stuck in a rut, a lot. Are INTPs more inclined to being unhealthy?

i think intps might be more suseptible to unhealthiness and immaturity partly due to their uniqueness. intp's grow up surounded by forces that don't understand them. these forces try to push intp's to behave in other ways, thus the intp is not given the same chance to grow into their own shoes as most other types are, they're mutiliated. society isnt built to stimulate them so some can become bitter (like me). i suspect alot of intps, especially teen/young adult intps and female intps, are not comfortable with who they are because they're so used to hiding it (like me). also, no one likes being perceived as insane (for lack of a better word) while they're not trying to be. sometimes my ideas are laughed at, funnily enough they're the one's that are usually right. experience that backs the idea that i can only reach my true potential by using my functions properly which requires resisting external currents.
due to these reasons and others, its hard for the intp to make intimate connections with other people. other people being gateways to new dimensions of experience.

or not. ..?

They're under-stimulated. Which could lead them on a path of destruction, just for the sake of a new challenge. Since they synthesize information internally, they need outer stimulation to synthesize when the fuel is up on the inside.

yes. it was some time earlier this year that i had a self revelation; i was exceptionally bored and unchallenged, always had been, and im living a life shaded in grey. although i think it might be impossible to excite the existentialist.

i also shocked myself when i realised that i was truyl self-loathing. im not sure if this is type related though.


eh.
i don't know, my brain's going to sleep without me.

 

[kathara]

Unhealthy INTPs? 90% of those on INTPc.

 

[Salt n' pepper]

i suspect alot of intps, especially teen/young adult intps and female intps, are not comfortable with who they are because they're so used to hiding it (like me).

An INTP I know once told me he wished he felt more/was more comfortable with himself in different situations. I guess he was talking about social situations.

I told him he was taking himself way too seriously.
Then I told him to get over himself.

I don't know how constructive that was. But I really didn't know what to say. Seems like you guys create your own hell so...

I've heard INTPs whine about their lives, even the ones that have pretty good lives; job, partner, stable life (financially, apartment), hobbies, friends ect. And they still got into these emo-states where nothing's good enough, like they're still missing something. Those times, I've just asked them: What the hell are you whining about? And they laugh.

At the end of the day, it seems like they take themselves way too seriously, cause I've noticed that at times when they don't, they can't actually resist to be happy.

Whatcha think?

 

[Llewellyn]

Do any of you other INTPs during a 'low' go out and search the net to see if you had some mental health condition? I spent the longest time trying to convince myself I was schizophrenic. In hindsight I feel pretty dumb about it.

Yeah, I did have a period where I had tendencies like that. I used to think extensively about several kinds of so called mental disorders. It seems pretty much over now.

 

[Fluffywolf]

I've heard INTPs whine about their lives, even the ones that have pretty good lives; job, partner, stable life (financially, apartment), hobbies, friends ect. And they still got into these emo-states where nothing's good enough, like they're still missing something. Those times, I've just asked them: What the hell are you whining about? And they laugh.

I used to have that all the time. I got a really good job. I'm financially living royally.

My job isn't really all that bad. It is very flexible, it has many different aspects and it always changes. I may be available 24/7 and work on average 80-90 hours a week, but during those 80-90 hours I can mostly just relax and take it easy as well. Work doesn't pile up, but it never ends either. Night shifts are relatively calm and easy going. Even though I'm supposedly in an extremely stressy job, I seem to take it well and never feel stressed out either.

Even so, I still often feel like it's not enough. It's never enough. I'm always driven to something better, something more. Meaning, understanding. A stable life is a sucky life. I crave change, evolution.

Luckily, I've managed to put that craving into my businesses. And shifted it from my life, to the companies life. It's still not enough though.

I still regularly feel I've hit a wall. That my life is too stale.

But instead of whining about it, I've learned to accept that no matter what I'll have, that drive will never cease until I die. So I don't bother others with it anymore.

PS: My love life does -really- suck, but I'm not bothered by that one bit in the first place, so don't have any intention of whining about it.

 

[Totenkindly]

An INTP I know once told me he wished he felt more/was more comfortable with himself in different situations. I guess he was talking about social situations.
I told him he was taking himself way too seriously.
Then I told him to get over himself.

Probably the right answer, but probably not really effective.

Seems like you guys create your own hell so...

That's the truth. I've had people tell me that on numerous occasions -- "You're just never happy no matter what you have or what you're doing."

I still haven't quite figured out what it is. It's like the whole picture is off somehow, and even if you have a 33% full life compared to a 62% full life, it's still missing a large chunk of picture and things aren't right... and it's hard to even discern even what exactly is missing.

Some of it probably comes from holding feelings away, and a lot of contentment I am learning comes from allowing myself to be immersed in feeling states and experiencing life and being in sync with it, rather than apart, and otherwise engaged. The "stand back, aloof" instinctive response of INTPs help contribute to the perpetual ennui.

I've heard INTPs whine about their lives, even the ones that have pretty good lives; job, partner, stable life (financially, apartment), hobbies, friends ect. And they still got into these emo-states where nothing's good enough, like they're still missing something. Those times, I've just asked them: What the hell are you whining about? And they laugh.

Things just aren't right.

At least I can admit it now -- accept the good stuff and try to take pleasure in it, but there's just that stupid deep-seated discomfort that won't go away. Routine feels comfortable and safe but also seems boring and dead. It's like all the natural INTP strategies for dealing with the world physically contribute to a mental and emotional dissatisfaction. The mind is only happy when it's constantly being challenged and taught, but the drive to stabilize life and make physical needs secure and stable automatically reduces opportunities for the curiosity factor for explore... and lots of the realities of life again inhibit the mental absorption demanded by insatiable curiosity.

At the end of the day, it seems like they take themselves way too seriously, cause I've noticed that at times when they don't, they can't actually resist to be happy.

Getting lost in the moment and not thinking but simply responding to and being immersed in life brings the most happiness.

It's why I drink sometimes too. It shuts off my brain. I stop holding myself away from life, I stop thinking, I just start living.

... let's not talk about love lifes.