[INTJ] INTJs and fear

[Elaine]

So... I noticed that the word " fear" in my understanding is not what it is in others' understanding. I noticed that when I was browsing movies I watched on Jinni( it' s a movie search engine, if you don' t know, and a rather good one) . I mostly prefer mindbending thrillers, some of them rather dark, which my mom( ISTJ, she also watches movies with me when we visit cinema in summer) calls " watch in order not to sleep" . However, there is little fear I can get out of it watching this. My general reaction to bloody and gory scenes is slightly disturbed, but not scared. My INFP friend even says she often closes her eyes when watching horror movies, while I just watch them with a deadpan expression. And I don' t remember a single case when I got nightmares. Recently I watched Hunger Games, which some people viewed as too violent. At the end I was like: " Oh, really? And where is the gore? " ( though I admit it, the atmosphere itself was very dramatic and moving) . To me really, most deaths were either offscreen or done in a rather clean way. Occasionaly I can get scared by the movie, though( but still no nightmares) , but that kind of fear comes unexpectedly, from the scenes theat others consider not so scary, and is either a flavour 2 Fridge Horror or an Adult Fear( and this is while I' m only 16) . You can' t scare me with monsters, blood or violence. However, you can scare me with my loved ones being murdered by a serial killer, or humans in the future will mutate into monsters, or my plans being foiled, or failing anything in general.
So, I wonder if anything like that happens to fellow INTJs? And what does generally trigger INTJ' s fear?

 

[chubber]

My fear? mostly the sound, and I fall for it, every time. Switch off the sound and it isn't so bad.

 

[Elaine]

Sound? The only kind of sound that disturbs me is shouting and blabbing of other kids at school during the break( and Justin Bieber songs of course XD) . Otherwise I have nothing against them. I even like music, though it depends on the kind of music( I won' t listen to bad songs) .

 

[chubber]

You know Justin Bieber is ESFP, he is like your soul mate screaming at you from all directions during break.

 

[rav3n]

And what does generally trigger INTJ' s fear?

From observations, real life since INTJs are shocked and then disturbed that they can't control their environments. This is when they retreat from life by calculating probabilities of risk. The less emotionally healthy the INTJ, the more minute their risk tolerance.

 

[freeeekyyy]

I'll admit I don't like gore, but it doesn't scare me, and my main problem with it is that in many movies it seems unnecessary and base. I can't really think of what characteristics in movies I actually fear right now.

 

[Elaine]

You know Justin Bieber is ESFP, he is like your soul mate screaming at you from all directions during break.

What do you mean? I HATE JB!!!

From observations, real life since INTJs are shocked and then disturbed that they can't control their environments. This is when they retreat from life by calculating probabilities of risk. The less emotionally healthy the INTJ, the more minute their risk tolerance.

Something familiar to me.

I'll admit I don't like gore, but it doesn't scare me, and my main problem with it is that in many movies it seems unnecessary and base. I can't really think of what characteristics in movies I actually fear right now.

I don' t think gore is necessary for me either. It just doesn' t scare me. What I like about thrillers is that they really challenge your mind, make you think, unlike some snotty teen soap operas.

 

[freeeekyyy]

I don' t think gore is necessary for me either. It just doesn' t scare me. What I like about thrillers is that they really challenge your mind, make you think, unlike some snotty teen soap operas.

Yes. A great example of a recent movie along these lines was Shutter Island.

 

[Edgar]

So... I noticed that the word " fear" in my understanding is not what it is in others' understanding. I noticed that when I was browsing movies I watched on Jinni( it' s a movie search engine, if you don' t know, and a rather good one) . I mostly prefer mindbending thrillers, some of them rather dark, which my mom( ISTJ, she also watches movies with me when we visit cinema in summer) calls " watch in order not to sleep" . However, there is little fear I can get out of it watching this. My general reaction to bloody and gory scenes is slightly disturbed, but not scared. My INFP friend even says she often closes her eyes when watching horror movies, while I just watch them with a deadpan expression. And I don' t remember a single case when I got nightmares. Recently I watched Hunger Games, which some people viewed as too violent. At the end I was like: " Oh, really? And where is the gore? " ( though I admit it, the atmosphere itself was very dramatic and moving) . To me really, most deaths were either offscreen or done in a rather clean way. Occasionaly I can get scared by the movie, though( but still no nightmares) , but that kind of fear comes unexpectedly, from the scenes theat others consider not so scary, and is either a flavour 2 Fridge Horror or an Adult Fear( and this is while I' m only 16) . You can' t scare me with monsters, blood or violence. However, you can scare me with my loved ones being murdered by a serial killer, or humans in the future will mutate into monsters, or my plans being foiled, or failing anything in general.
So, I wonder if anything like that happens to fellow INTJs? And what does generally trigger INTJ' s fear?

The reason you were less scared than your INFP friend, from an MBTI point of view, were probably a lesser sense of empathy toward the characters getting gored and your unwillingness or inability to immerse yourself in that particular film.

Whenever I watch a film, I consciously try to immerse myself in it (by minimizing sensory distractions etc) so I can enjoy it better. Of course if the movie is of shit quality then all hope is lost. The relative lack of empathy can still be an issue, eg "Fuck that guy. What a loser. Glad he got owned", but then again, that's probably related to the quality of the film, such as poor character development.

The film that has persistently creeped me out was John Carpenters The Thing. Its a great horror film, and I also suspect that the director is also an INTJ, which probably helps on some level since there's a good chance people of the same type share sentiments on what is "unsettling"

 

[highlander]

I can't stand horror movies. Don't like roller-coasters either.

 

[Elaine]

The reason you were less scared than your INFP friend, from an MBTI point of view, were probably a lesser sense of empathy toward the characters getting gored and your unwillingness or inability to immerse yourself in that particular film.

Whenever I watch a film, I consciously try to immerse myself in it (by minimizing sensory distractions etc) so I can enjoy it better. Of course if the movie is of shit quality then all hope is lost. The relative lack of empathy can still be an issue, eg "Fuck that guy. What a loser. Glad he got owned", but then again, that's probably related to the quality of the film, such as poor character development.

The film that has persistently creeped me out was John Carpenters The Thing. Its a great horror film, and I also suspect that the director is also an INTJ, which probably helps on some level since there's a good chance people of the same type share sentiments on what is "unsettling"

Well, I can' t say I' m unemotional or unwilling to immerse myself, I just prefer to keep my emotions under control. And when immersing myself, I prefer putting myself only into the place where it happens, not directly into the character' s shoes( though I can do that aw well). I' m there, but I' m still a different person than the main character. That' s what probably helps. I can still preserve the self - control I have in the real life.

 

[chubber]

I can't stand horror movies. Don't like roller-coasters either.

The trick is to sit in the front.

 

[Sinshred]

i have spatial base phobia. Cant stand in high and wide open ground include watching photos of earth or other planet. I dont know this is normal or not.

 

[WhoCares]

I watch documentaries and don't like entertainment designed to thrill or over stimulate with violence or gore. It disgusts me that humanity has nothing better to do with it's creative abilities than depict human's being dismembered. It disturbs me a little that this is what most people consider entertainment.

 

[Triforce]

I am disgusted by gore. And spiders.. die you fuckers.

What do i fear? What am i afraid of? Outside of me i am scared of some random drunk dudes that want to fight/kick my ass and i fear being robbet and such. As well as loneliness.

 

[chubber]

I am disgusted by gore. And spiders.. die you fuckers.

What do i fear? What am i afraid of? Outside of me i am scared of some random drunk dudes that want to fight/kick my ass and i fear being robbet and such. As well as loneliness.

I hear you.

 

[Elaine]

Perhaps you people got it wrong. I don' t like gore, and I don' t consider it necessary for a good movie. I just don' t get scared of it as much as others. The reason I watch thrillers is because there is some mental challenge in them, not like romance flicks, which are all about kissing, dating and other feely - fluffy stuff, and no logic. In fact, I can be rather compassionate sometimes. For example, I recently watched Carrie, a movie based on Stephen King novel. I didn' t get scared of Carrie, even though killing people is a crime. In fact, I pitied her more. All her life she was harrassed by the bratty classmates in her school. Her mother was a crazy religious fanatic who abused her, and what made it even worse is that Carrie couldn' t just plain hate her mother. She was scared of her, but at the same time she loved her, no matter how much pain her mother caused to her. What happened at the prom was the last straw for her, which made her hate her world. After that, the only person left with her was her mother, but her mother hated her as well. So I don' t think of Carrie as a villain, more like a victim of this world. And I really pity her.

 

[WhoCares]

I imagine your like of psychological intrigue has somewhat to do with your 1w9. As a non socially orientated person I myself don't find studies in humanity fascinating. Studies in engineering yes, humanity no. What do I fear? Other people mostly. That would be my w6 talking.

 

[Alea_iacta_est]

I'm sort of an INTx even though my mbti says INTP, so I think this may allow me to put forward my analysis.

I think most of our fears come from sources that would seem plausible, unlike in scary movies like Paranormal Activity and whatnot. A ghost jump-scaring the audience would be scary, but nowhere near the psychological fright of say an actual serial killer slowly cutting his victims in front of the camera whispering weird shit. For NTs especially, I think we completely dismiss irrational fears such as ghosts and demons, yet we consequently experience the terror of something that is actually possible, such as your friendly neighborhood serial killer.

Me personally, I'm pretty much immune to all jump-scares (not a trait, but actually a developed skill, probably from playing Dead Space on the highest difficulty all the way through) and most frightening material now.

The only true phobia I have is the intense fear of falling (not the fear of heights, but the act of falling itself) which is actually considered to be a rational fear by psychologists. Because of the intensity of the phobia, I strongly detest roller-coasters because of the falling effect it simulates.

 

[Triforce]

Allow me to add Islam.. I fear it not so much for myself. But for society. I fear it as an idea and as a concept.