[INTP] INTP emotions.

[rememberthisusername]

How do I open myself up more to the world of emotion?

I havent been particularly happy/content over the last 3 years which means that my general extreme of emotion has been sadness. So I've done a lot of crying (a lot in relation to me). Although a "negative" emotion, when crying it made/makes me feel so alive! It makes me feel in touch with people and want to hug everyone and it sort of gives me more direction. Direction for what I want/need in life I guess. Commonly I'm in various states of indifference but crying sort of makes a lightbulb go off in my head and i suddenly know what I want in life, namely more emotion and some love. It's as though the fog clears and I can suddenly see the compass.

Help?

 

[Craft]

I like your username. Efficient and Applicable.

Yeah, emotion seems to be the "fire of life". And if your not good at controlling it, it gets too weak and too strong.

Do what I do. I talk to people. That seems to help (me).

 

[Trentham]

The challenge I've had over my entire life is to avoid emotional extremes. If my emotional state over time were a spectrum, I'd spend 90% of my time at one end, the other, or smack dab in the middle (i.e. pure emotional apathy).

My most effective means to combat this is to force myself to occasionally slow down and take stock of small things in life that I usually don't take time to appreciate. I spend so much time lost inside my own head that sometimes I don't even notice things that would bring about a positive emotional response. Just little stuff like nice weather, good food, etc. At the same time, I try to lessen the impact of emotional lows by using Si to recall similar (seemingly cataclysmic) life events that ended up turning out fine. I'm getting better about this as the years pass.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Could you induce a crying state and then ask yourself how you could go about feeling emotions more? That would be a good time to contemplate that question and jot down some ideas. You could then mold those ideas into a personal practice, like a daily regimen.

 

[rememberthisusername]

Could you induce a crying state and then ask yourself how you could go about feeling emotions more? That would be a good time to contemplate that question and jot down some ideas. You could then mold those ideas into a personal practice, like a daily regimen.

That is a good idea. Off the top of my head I perhaps already know how to help myself.... for instance start to trust people and speak out without fear of humiliation in order to make myself vunerable and open to sincere connection with people.

But is it really possible for someone to sort of rationally create more emotion? if that makes sense. Perhaps INTPs have a strong grip on their minds and so they have to "let go" of their very capable grip on emotion.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

That is a good idea. Off the top of my head I perhaps already know how to help myself.... for instance start to trust people and speak out without fear of humiliation in order to make myself vunerable and open to sincere connection with people.

I like that.

But is it really possible for someone to sort of rationally create more emotion? if that makes sense. Perhaps INTPs have a strong grip on their minds and so they have to "let go" of their very capable grip on emotion.

I think you could do things to create emotions, sure. You watch sad movies and volunteer at a hospital. Do you want to feel the feelings you already have, or manufacture new feelings? Are you specifically looking for something strong like sadness to induce that feeling of intimacy and openness?

 

[Salomé]

That's weird.
Crying isn't an emotion, btw. It's a way of getting rid of emotional byproducts. That's why you feel better. I'm guessing you're lonely and depressed. Go out and meet people - they induce shiploads of emotion. Don't sit and cry and write about it. That's morose and self-indulgent.

 

[Unique]

Your "feely" function is Fe.... and its inferior... so whats inferior Fe look like and how do we as INTPs use it?

For me Fe is sort of like the last resort when everything I'm used to doing isn't working Fe comes out

This isn't always a bad thing... it could be as simple as you explaining something rationally to someone... giving some smart ass Si fueled remark and then when they don't understand you don't get the desired result... some INTPs give up at this point... healthy INTPs master Fe and give off that warm innocent raw emotion that INTPs DO have

As for your crying... sounds irrelevant to type

 

[Such Irony]

How do I open myself up more to the world of emotion?

Get an emotion chip.

 

[Lucas]

Get an emotion chip.

Better not. They tend to short out under stress, and need replacing every year or so. Not a good investment.

 

[suttree]

Meditation helped me get more in tune with my emotions. Simply learning to recognize and acknowledge my emotional state has helped me understand the cause/effect dynamics of my emotions.

One thing i realized was that most of my negative emotions were self induced, the result of stressful ruminations. There is no upside to such ruminations. Conveniently, meditating with the intent to acknowledge but not pursue or otherwise react to thoughts is a good way to learn to get out of circular, stressful ruminations.

When your own actions don't cause you stress, it becomes easier to explore and take risks and seek out what causes you positive emotions.

YMMV but meditation taught me to better manage my peace of mind.

Edit: And exercise more. Its a good way to make you feel alive.

 

[guesswho]

Talk.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Talk.

For me, that always helped just temporarily, but in long terms, I stayed in the mood I already had(though I'm a person who can talk talk talk and so on [I guess due to a strong Ne, but I'm not sure], so it's nothing special for me). Is it really helping all of you?

 

[Craft]

For me, that always helped just temporarily, but in long terms, I stayed in the mood I already had(though I'm a person who can talk talk talk and so on due to a strong Ne, so it's nothing special for me). Is it really helping all of you?

Yesh.. the greater the number of people, the greater the social stress, the greater the amount of psychological emotions evoked, the better the exercise, the better.

 

[Mr. Sherlock Holmes]

On the talking subject, I agree, to a degree. When I am having trouble with my emotions it is good to express them, but not all the time, and only to 1 or 2 close confidantes. I'd prefer the majority of the people I know to remain completely ignorant ofr my emotions.

 

[Coriolis]

Meditation helped me get more in tune with my emotions. Simply learning to recognize and acknowledge my emotional state has helped me understand the cause/effect dynamics of my emotions.

One thing i realized was that most of my negative emotions were self induced, the result of stressful ruminations. There is no upside to such ruminations. Conveniently, meditating with the intent to acknowledge but not pursue or otherwise react to thoughts is a good way to learn to get out of circular, stressful ruminations.

Can you say more about how you used meditation to get more in tune with your emotions? I am trying to address this problem in myself, but with little success. I feel as though I am just grasping at straws, with no real plan/method/idea of how to go about it. I agree with the highlighted. I have long had the sense that if only I could change my perspective, many things that bother me would cease to do so. I am already quite familiar with the power of shifting perspectives when it comes to thoughts, but much less so with emotions.

 

[Gerbah]

I agree with the highlighted. I have long had the sense that if only I could change my perspective, many things that bother me would cease to do so. I am already quite familiar with the power of shifting perspectives when it comes to thoughts, but much less so with emotions.

I can also fall into the tendency highlighted. Usually when I think too much about something that feels unpleasant and that is actually quite straightforward. Personally, I find that I can get over the ruminating problem with such emotions when I just experience the emotion without thinking about it or trying to change it, and when it is felt through to the bottom and the end, it's job is done and it passes. Emotions are not as controllable in the same way as thoughts.

 

[suttree]

I guess I would say learning to meditate taught me to use the volume knob on my thoughts, making them easier to ignore. Turning down the volume on thinking helped me to focus on just feeling, getting in tune with my other internal processes. I know it sounds like mumbo-jumbo but I try to observe my thoughts "like ripples on a lake;" observe them, recognize them, and let them naturally attenuate. Soon after, other gut-level stuff becomes more noticeable. Is that an adequate explanation?

There's nothing magical or spiritual about it for me. I spend maybe a half hour a week sitting upright and still, breathing deeply. I may look silly but I think its worth my time. When I was a high school teacher, I would use meditative breathing all the time to manage stress in the face of crazy teenagers. I do believe it has a real, immediate effect on stress hormones.

 

[Coriolis]

Thanks, Gerbah and Suttree. Both your comments are helpful. I just need to think more about this, and give some of these techniques a try.