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[ISFP] ISFP mood swings

Julie1962

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Joined
Jun 1, 2009
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138
MBTI Type
ISFP
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5
Wonder if other ISFP have terrible mood swings short of being Bi Polar.

Have you found non medication alternatives to getting to a balanced state of mind.
 

Quinlan

Intriguing....
Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
3,004
MBTI Type
ISFP
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9w1
No I have quite stable moods, that are hard to shift.
 

Wiley45

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Mar 3, 2009
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669
MBTI Type
INFP
My ISFP friend is prone to wildly unstable mood swings, although she improves more and more all the time, just practicing controlling herself, I think.

She was on meds for about a month but went off them, so I don't have much helpful information there.
 

wolfy

awsm
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
12,251
I have bad mood swings. I hide them well for the most part but I don't know any secrets to a balanced mind.
 
D

Dali

Guest
An ENFP and an INFJ friend tell me that I can become cold and distant sometimes and they don't understand why. The ENFP was deeply bothered by it as was, to some extent, the INFJ. This often happens when I've been spending too much time with other people and I snap back into my head and spend a few hours there. Most of the time, that's when my mood swings kick in; when I'm all people'd out. A few times, I also snap into sad, withdrawn mode which often happens when I feel inadequate for whatever reason. I can often conceal the latter from others.

I suppose the practical way of controlling it (the former) would be interspersing social time with some 'me time' but sometimes it just isnt possible hence the mood swings.

Have you identified what triggers your mood swings?
 

Julie1962

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Jun 1, 2009
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138
MBTI Type
ISFP
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5
An ENFP and an INFJ friend tell me that I can become cold and distant sometimes and they don't understand why. The ENFP was deeply bothered by it as was, to some extent, the INFJ. This often happens when I've been spending too much time with other people and I snap back into my head and spend a few hours there. Most of the time, that's when my mood swings kick in; when I'm all people'd out. A few times, I also snap into sad, withdrawn mode which often happens when I feel inadequate for whatever reason. I can often conceal the latter from others.

I suppose the practical way of controlling it (the former) would be interspersing social time with some 'me time' but sometimes it just isnt possible hence the mood swings.

Have you identified what triggers your mood swings?


I have a stressful life; 2 special needs kids. A mom is only as happy as her saddest child. : (

I also feel inadequate at times since my organization skills stink and that often leads to being late for appointments, forgetting to do things, etc. etc. My house is cluttered mess too! So .. yes, feeling inadequate as a mom and "homemaker" brings me down. Plus .. marriage on the rocks. : ( Feeling insignificant to spouse. Last but not least .. I returned to college last fall after 15 years absence and although I did well, I struggled with writing and test taking. I ended up on the Deans list .. so that was good! : )

Okay .. I said wayyyyyyy too much.:doh:
 

markscol

New member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
24
Yes, my closest ISFP person i know has CRAZY mood swings. She is well aware of it, and i would almost bet that is why she is so introverted and non-social at times. She needs a lot of "me" time. Not sure what she does in that space...but she is prone to being cold, distant and irritable. She can be quite negative as well at times. But when you get her in the good mood, she is so warm and lovely. I think that is why she hides away in her apartment so much...she is really into writing which i think is her healthy outlet..
 

warm8

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Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
98
MBTI Type
ESFP
yeah, I think the mood swings are a part of I'm reserved. things can really, deeply impact the way I'm feeling, so I tend to not open up as much so that I don't fly off the handle or whatevs.

An ENFP and an INFJ friend tell me that I can become cold and distant sometimes and they don't understand why. The ENFP was deeply bothered by it as was, to some extent, the INFJ. This often happens when I've been spending too much time with other people and I snap back into my head and spend a few hours there. Most of the time, that's when my mood swings kick in; when I'm all people'd out. A few times, I also snap into sad, withdrawn mode which often happens when I feel inadequate for whatever reason. I can often conceal the latter from others.

huh, I had an ENFP and INFJ concerned about me being distant too! haha
I also think I get like that because of that "people'd out" feeling. a little sullen, a little bitter, but mostly wanting to be alone. I get that way if I've just been criticized a lot.
 
D

Dali

Guest
I have a stressful life; 2 special needs kids. A mom is only as happy as her saddest child. : (

I also feel inadequate at times since my organization skills stink and that often leads to being late for appointments, forgetting to do things, etc. etc. My house is cluttered mess too! So .. yes, feeling inadequate as a mom and "homemaker" brings me down. Plus .. marriage on the rocks. : ( Feeling insignificant to spouse. Last but not least .. I returned to college last fall after 15 years absence and although I did well, I struggled with writing and test taking. I ended up on the Deans list .. so that was good! : )

Okay .. I said wayyyyyyy too much.:doh:

:hug:

I admire your tenacity, Julie.

Congratulations on ending up on the Dean's list.
 

Jeffster

veteran attention whore
Joined
Jun 7, 2008
Messages
6,743
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx
I don't have moods.
 

riel

New member
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
204
MBTI Type
ISFP
I also think I get like that because of that "people'd out" feeling. a little sullen, a little bitter, but mostly wanting to be alone. I get that way if I've just been criticized a lot.

Yeah, criticisms(the ones that are delivered sarcastically) really unleash the inner devil in me :devil: I regret it though afterwards :cry: But at least I get to vent out negative emotions like that rather than sulking and blaming and asking myself "what ifs" and then crying uncontrollably because I can't take it any longer.

P.S. My friends would never agree with what I wrote here. They say I'm too
kind to have/vent out negative emotions. Guess they don't know me
much.
 

rooo

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Apr 12, 2009
Messages
30
MBTI Type
isfp
my moods don't swing, but they tend to shift quite slowly. i have to be careful as I tend to lean on the side of depressive if I spend too much time in my head or if I read up on current news affairs every day (except for animal rescue stories, they always give me that warm happy feeling inside!). dancing to music with a good beat and immersing myself in some activity or laughing helps to dispel it.
 

Sidewinder

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Jun 23, 2009
Messages
85
MBTI Type
ISFP
Sometimes I'll have a day that just goes totally wrong and it's tough to shake :sad: I have to get really active to break out. Just driving around or reading isn't enough. Coffee makes it much worse for some reason. If I have more than 3 cups a day, I feel like the world is ending. Seriously ... caffeine apocalypse. But deep breathing and light meditation can do wonders in keeping these moods away.

I'm more likely to feel blue if I don't take care of myself -- not getting enough sleep or eating properly or not exercising. I guess I need to keep my Se fighting fit to be happy. Does anyone else feel that way?

Oh, and congratulations for making the Dean's List, Julie. That's a helluva accomplishment. :)
 

rooo

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Apr 12, 2009
Messages
30
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isfp
Sometimes I'll have a day that just goes totally wrong and it's tough to shake :sad: I have to get really active to break out. Just driving around or reading isn't enough. Coffee makes it much worse for some reason. If I have more than 3 cups a day, I feel like the world is ending. Seriously ... caffeine apocalypse. But deep breathing and light meditation can do wonders in keeping these moods away.

I'm more likely to feel blue if I don't take care of myself -- not getting enough sleep or eating properly or not exercising. I guess I need to keep my Se fighting fit to be happy. Does anyone else feel that way?

I know exactly what you mean about caffeine apocalypse. I try and avoid caffeine since I've started on stimulant medication for ADD but even before that I'd use it like medication but by the 3rd or 4th cup I felt like my nerves were starting to crash in on themselves.

Lack of sleep really does me in, I tend to get a really pessimistic outlook on everything, it's amazing how just one night of little sleep will do that and the change after a decent night's sleep. So on days like that, I keep my head low and practically hide in seclusion.
 

INTPatricia

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Jun 7, 2009
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65
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intj
I think you guys just get "people'd out" and don't demand alone time to recharge.

I also don't think you know how to recharge yourselves when you are alone as well as the intp's do...being nt's the intps just have to grab a book or internet with a pet theory to recharge or let their mind wander and embrace their latest delicious cognitive sculpture...you guys may not have such an easy "just add water" solo escape, and since you may feel "bad" just leaving others when it "is time" to do so, you may let yourself get worn out.

My isfp friend emails me when visiting home saying, "everybody is all over me for all kinds of reasons" (meaning they want advice, a listening ear, company, etc.). I told him that when he got home I was going to be all over him for just one reason...that is really all he needed to hear. Being an introvert, he really didn't want to rehash all of it and being an intp I sure didn't want to hear it. Had he been an nf he would have wanted to share how he had psychotherapized them, but as a sensor, he doesn't do that. I recognized that his isfp presence and energy probably did more than any nf's psychobabble could ever do for them (sorry, nf's...but unless you are prof. therapists, all of that is usually unsolicited and more about you).

Anyway...I think isfp's are healthy, not mood swingers...just that they stop short of taking care of themselves so we see what we would all be like if we let ourselves give to that point.

Be sweeter to yourselves and more confident.
 

wolfy

awsm
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
12,251
^ I think you're right. I feel myself I need to take time to just do nothing for 30 minutes. Laying in a large tatami room with nothing in it really recharges me. Reading, using the PC all those things are fun but they still drain me. I need no stimulation for a short period every day. I sometimes (often) forget that.

Tatami room.

IMG_7788-Tenryuuji-garden-doorSmall.jpg
 

Fading Dead Star

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Jun 29, 2009
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ISFP
I believe ISFPs are very passionate, but do not have the means to control their emotions into something legible by other people, or otherwise do not feel that words are sufficient to justify what they are feeling.

The ISFP sometimes takes the smallest things in life far too seriously and so is very easily hurt and finds it difficult to explain why. Some ISFPs here say they register few emotions, however, and this could be for a few reasons:

1. They have controlled their emotions, safe in the knowledge they can release it elsewhere, through rest and amusement.
2. Their weak attribute is aiding them. ISFPs with strong underlying T or J attributes may not feel as much emotion as others.

Just to name a couple. I was about to name three but I forgot the third one.

This is what I think from as far as I've studied anyway (look at me being an ISFP and covering myself in a discussion and all, ooh!)
 

Thalassa

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May 3, 2009
Messages
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Instinctual Variant
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the ISFP I have been closest to has wild mood swings sometimes - very intense person, but then again I am too
 

Julie1962

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Jun 1, 2009
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Thanks to all who congratulated me on the Deans List. Seems like I am alot like other ISFPs with the moods and not being able to control them. I think that I control them if nobody knows what I'm feeling and I'm not expressing them. I just feel it internally.
 
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