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[Se] Which INTJ Cognitive Function can endure more torture and abuse: Fi or Se ?

INTJMom

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Which INTJ Cognitive Function can take more torture and abuse: Tertiary-Fi or Inferior-Se ?
I am a novice when it comes to cognitive functions.
I am asking for a practical reason.
At work, I just got moved to a section where women wear perfume and the smell is driving me insane.
The smells are too intense and they hurt my sinuses as I am breathing.
I have set up 2 fans to blow the air flow in the opposite direction, but even with that, one of the perfumes was starting to give me a headache today.
I am thinking of asking to be moved to a different area.
In that area, there is a woman who I am pretty sure will be an emotional bully.
I'm trying to decide which kind of torture should be easier for me to endure... the emotional torture or the physical torture.
Because Se is my inferior, I'm thinking it's harder for me to endure physical torture, but I wanted to check with others who know better than I do.
No. I am not going to quit my job, though I did consider doing so. There is no other game in town.

EDIT TO ADD

I found out today that the REASON nothing was ever done for the other 2 ladies who were sensitive to scents is because they were salaried employees.
Today a couple of my co-workers told me that because I am in a Union, my supervisors HAVE to do something.
I have HOPE again! :static:
Not only that, but both ladies wore very little fragrance today. It was nice!
 
Last edited:

Tiger Owl

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Tell them you have an allergy or sensitivity to strong fragrances and it is causing you physical pain/decreasing work productivity. Ask if there is another area you can do your work. If it continues to be an issue go to the other area and assert your dominance over the emotional bully, or at least set firm boundaries and expectations if she starts to act up. As much as I tend to dislike HR and their PC nonsense, if they are present at your work you can utilize them to respond to a hostile workplace if it goes that direction. As with most skills, ability to withstand torture/pain takes practice. I don't recommend it unless you have exhausted other avenues. No point suffering just to avoid the mild unpleasantness of brief conflict.
 

INTJMom

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You didn't really answer my question.
I'm trying to decide if I should stay where I'm at or if I should ask to be moved.

If I ask to be moved, will I be more miserable than I am right now?

The one woman with the stinky perfume told me I was going to have to wear a nose plug.

The other woman with the intense perfume is trying to wear less, so it won't bother me as much, but she's not very successful on some days.
 

Coriolis

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Which INTJ Cognitive Function can take more torture and abuse: Tertiary-Fi or Inferior-Se ?

I am a novice when it comes to cognitive functions.

I am asking for a practical reason.

At work, I just got moved to a section where women wear perfume and the smell is driving me insane.
The smells are too intense and they hurt my sinuses as I am breathing.
I have set up 2 fans to blow the air flow in the opposite direction, but even with that, one of the perfumes was starting to give me a headache today.

I am thinking of asking to be moved to a different area.
In that area, there is a woman who I am pretty sure will be an emotional bully.
The answer is highly dependent on exactly what the nature of the "torture" is. When presented with an unpalatable slate of choices, my first inclination is to say "none of the above" and find some other creative workaround. Assuming you have exhausted such possibilities, I would ask to be moved because in this case, the ornery coworker seems like a more tractable problem, and if nothing else, a more intermittent one. (You probably smell the odors constantly, but the coworker might become a bother only intermittently.)
 

INTJMom

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Let's assume I spend the exact same amount of time being tortured by either one,
which one will I be able to survive longer while keeping my cheerful demeanor?

I am sure being in the same room with the bully will be an equal amount of torture.
 

Sacrophagus

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If you're stoic, tactful, and immune to emotional frivolity, then choose to be moved. Draw the line from day one at the risk of appearing an insensitive bitch. Your sanity is more important.
 

Tiger Owl

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You didn't really answer my question.
I'm trying to decide if I should stay where I'm at or if I should ask to be moved.

If I ask to be moved, will I be more miserable than I am right now?

The one woman with the stinky perfume told me I was going to have to wear a nose plug.

The other woman with the intense perfume is trying to wear less, so it won't bother me as much, but she's not very successful on some days.

You are correct, I did not answer your question; I answered your problem. You stated you were asking for practical reasons so I gave a practical answer. I did so because the capacity to withstand discomfort is multifactorial and not function dependent. Resilience is a spectrum and it is nearly impossible to accurately predict where a person may fall on that spectrum at any given point in time as it is variable.
If you are really just looking for someone to affirm you in a decision then I say if your are not prone to injury by pettiness and projected insecurity, go work near the "bully".
 

Coriolis

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Let's assume I spend the exact same amount of time being tortured by either one,
which one will I be able to survive longer while keeping my cheerful demeanor?

I am sure being in the same room with the bully will be an equal amount of torture.
You are starting to overdetermine the solution, and abstract away the situation to the point of being too divorced from reality to retain practical utility.

I don't put much of a premium on cheerful demeanor, so I suspect my take on all this may be significantly different from yours.
 

ceecee

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The answer is highly dependent on exactly what the nature of the "torture" is. When presented with an unpalatable slate of choices, my first inclination is to say "none of the above" and find some other creative workaround. Assuming you have exhausted such possibilities, I would ask to be moved because in this case, the ornery coworker seems like a more tractable problem, and if nothing else, a more intermittent one. (You probably smell the odors constantly, but the coworker might become a bother only intermittently.)

This.
 

INTJMom

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You are starting to overdetermine the solution, and abstract away the situation to the point of being too divorced from reality to retain practical utility.

I don't put much of a premium on cheerful demeanor, so I suspect my take on all this may be significantly different from yours.

I'm asking for a completely technical explanation of the success of the tertiary vs the inferior.
I didn't expect it to be so complicated.
 

Virtual ghost

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Honestly ? I am not sure that this question makes sense.

Because this question presumes that our MBTI type is deeply inrooted into our body and I don't think this is case. (due to genes, body defects, ex injuries etc.)
 

Abcdenfp

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You didn't really answer my question. I'm trying to decide if I should stay where I'm at or if I should ask to be moved. If I ask to be moved, will I be more miserable than I am right now? The one woman with the stinky perfume told me I was going to have to wear a nose plug. The other woman with the intense perfume is trying to wear less, so it won't bother me as much, but she's not very successful on some days.
So i looooooove scents, my partner she is SUPER sensitive which I did not realize, the scents in the kitchen do not bother her at all,I bought a Damn expensive scent for the service area , she walked in and instantly said I can't cope it's too much, I thought really? But after a couple of days and conversations I realized she is strongly effected. I haven't used the scent since. And what helped me to understand the severity is That she correlated it with sound when I am cooking, if I'm in the kitchen and the music isn't right I can't function.
Can you express in a way that this person can understand it's not an allergy it effects your work function?
 

Starry

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[MENTION=1125]INTJMom[/MENTION]


Please do not put up with either torture.


Please approach your supervisor or HR.


While I don't think companies are required to enforce a no-fragrance policy...I'm pretty sure fragrance-sensitivity falls somewhere under the ADA. In other words, lets say you produced a note from your doctor indicating you are unable to tolerate strong scents...your employer needs to accommodate that...anonymously. At the very least they would need to approach your co-worker and tell her to tone it way down.

There's a chance you wouldn't even need to go through the process of meeting with your doctor for documentation. Just ask.
 

INTJMom

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So i looooooove scents, my partner she is SUPER sensitive which I did not realize, the scents in the kitchen do not bother her at all,I bought a Damn expensive scent for the service area , she walked in and instantly said I can't cope it's too much, I thought really? But after a couple of days and conversations I realized she is strongly effected. I haven't used the scent since. And what helped me to understand the severity is That she correlated it with sound when I am cooking, if I'm in the kitchen and the music isn't right I can't function.
Can you express in a way that this person can understand it's not an allergy it effects your work function?
She yelled at me for complaining too much and told me I was going to need to wear a nose plug.

I love scents also. There are many I absolutely adore. If they smelled like musk, cotton candy or lemons I would probably be fine. I usually cannot tolerate any floral scents; they're usually to sweet and or too intense. If the scent is too strong, it will trigger a migraine.
 

Abcdenfp

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She yelled at me for complaining too much and told me I was going to need to wear a nose plug. I love scents also. There are many I absolutely adore. If they smelled like musk, cotton candy or lemons I would probably be fine. I usually cannot tolerate any floral scents; they're usually to sweet and or too intense. If the scent is too strong, it will trigger a migraine.
This is truly awful! It really is a form of torture, I mean scent is one of our five senses. It needs to be balanced to function properly.
I agree with starry it's definetly something I would take up with Hr if not addressed by the offender, how are you expected to function properly?!
 

INTJMom

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@INTJMom


Please do not put up with either torture.


Please approach your supervisor or HR.


While I don't think companies are required to enforce a no-fragrance policy...I'm pretty sure fragrance-sensitivity falls somewhere under the ADA. In other words, lets say you produced a note from your doctor indicating you are unable to tolerate strong scents...your employer needs to accommodate that...anonymously. At the very least they would need to approach your co-worker and tell her to tone it way down.

There's a chance you wouldn't even need to go through the process of meeting with your doctor for documentation. Just ask.
I did speak to my supervisor and let him know that I had spoken to the one lady and she had said she would try to wear less.
I told him I have been avoiding her for 5 years because of her perfume.
He asked me about the other gal's perfume and I let him know hers bothers me also.
One lady, I can smell from 20 feet away and the other one about 6 feet away.

I used to have a co-worker who was extremely scent sensitive and the people around her would not stop wearing scents.
I had another coworker whose eyes and nose would water when exposed to the scent of the 6-ft lady. She STILL wouldn't stop wearing it.
I don't have a lot of hope that they will stop now.
 

Starry

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I did speak to my supervisor and let him know that I had spoken to the one lady and she had said she would try to wear less.
He asked me about the other gal's perfume and I let him know hers bothers me also.
One lady, I can smell from 20 feet away and the other one about 6 feet away.

I used to have a co-worker who was extremely scent sensitive and the people around her would not stop wearing scents.
I had another coworker whose eyes and nose would water when exposed to the scent of the 6-ft lady. She STILL wouldn't stop wearing it.
I don't have a lot of hope that they will stop now.



Oh no. (Also, I hope I didn't make you repeat yourself. I immediately responded without reading any of the contributions because I am so fragrance sensitive...I just jumped.)

Apparently, migraines is the #1 problem during and after exposure for most people with fragrance sensitivities. For me my tongue always feels itchy and swollen...my skin feels itchy...and I just cannot concentrate...it's truly awful. The worst of it for me was once after receiving a promotion a heavily fragranced co-worker hugged me and the side of my face that regretfully came into contact with her fumes felt like it was on fire...I kept going into the bathroom in order to splash water on it which didn't work and eventually left my own "so cool that you got promoted" gathering and hug fest.

Soon thereafter my work issued a no-fragrance policy...but I work with a bunch of wolves (people don't have problems complaining about anything including the way people smell where I work) in a liberal state State institution.

I'm thinking of you so much.
 

Red Memories

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I don't think this is type related necessarily. You have an actual sensitivity.
My grandfather shares this same problem. He cannot handle ANY perfumes, especially strong ones. He'll have something close to an allergic response.
So the best option is to try and seek help. If nothing else I would find a way to get out of that area.
 

Coriolis

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I did speak to my supervisor and let him know that I had spoken to the one lady and she had said she would try to wear less.
I told him I have been avoiding her for 5 years because of her perfume.
He asked me about the other gal's perfume and I let him know hers bothers me also.
One lady, I can smell from 20 feet away and the other one about 6 feet away.

I used to have a co-worker who was extremely scent sensitive and the people around her would not stop wearing scents.
I had another coworker whose eyes and nose would water when exposed to the scent of the 6-ft lady. She STILL wouldn't stop wearing it.
I don't have a lot of hope that they will stop now.

I'm asking for a completely technical explanation of the success of the tertiary vs the inferior. I didn't expect it to be so complicated.

Now I am confused. Are you looking for a practical solution to your dilemma at work, or a theoretical analysis of the relative strenth/importance of tertiary vs. inferior functions when confronted with unpleasant stimulus? You have been given several constructive answers to the first. The second may not yield to such analysis, as it seems like comparing apples and oranges. The nature of the functions is very different. Moreover, they do not work in a vacuum, so the real responses of real people will integrate the contributions of all functions in ways that are not so readily deconvolved.
 

Lead Guitar Wankery

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The question doesn't seem to make sense. You are the one who endures stuff; cognitive functions don't endure anything.

The situation with the perfume seems like it's about raw physical sensation, which is not the same thing as Se.
 
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