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What type do you think I am?

What type am I?


  • Total voters
    19

Silveresque

Active member
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
1,169
The nice thing is that as a type 9 you can be any other type you want to be.

No offense, but I think it's more likely that you don't know me than that I don't know myself. I'm kind of hard to get to know, especially when you only know me through a forum and not in real life.

I don't really have to convince you or anyone else, but whatever. I've got time, so I guess I might as well give a little more detail.

What fits for 5:
-Basic desire - I've always been very cerebral. There was a time when I wanted to be the smartest (especially in math), but that didn't work for long...so I created a niche for myself that hadn't been taken. I became the language girl, studying German, Spanish, French, and Japanese. I also find the idea of being an expert at something very appealing.
-Basic fear - I find that a lot of what I do is motivated by the fear of pain, which I mistook as 9's basic desire for peace of mind. But when I think about what it is that causes me pain, it's mostly related to competence. I put a lot of energy into trying to avoid making mistakes that make me feel like an idiot. I also can't stand feeling pathetic and helpless.
-Isolation
-Nihilism
-Minimizing - I could be perfectly content to live a small room with nothing but a bed and a computer (with internet). Also, I view others as intrusions on my time and space, and I avoid people as much as possible to avoid obligations and commitment.
-Distant
-Compartmentalized
-Analytical and overthink everything
-Disintegration to 7 - When I moved to a new home and then started college, I decided that I would try to engage in more activities, and do more (because I never do anything :p). I went a concert for the first time. I tried to make friends with my roommate and impulsively decided to go to the mall with her and a group of her friends who I didn't even know. I develop a struggle between needing to do something, anything, and being worried that it will cause me pain or that it won't satisfy me.

About the only thing I can find about type 5 that doesn't fit me is that 5's can sometimes be antagonistic, trying to debunk others' beliefs. While I may not agree with peoples' beliefs, I don't take pleasure in trying to prove them wrong. I don't enjoy most arguments (unless they're purely intellectual debates and the purpose is to learn and enhance understanding...I don't like it when it gets like a competition). I do enjoy holding philosophical "debates" in my head, though.

9:
-Basic desire - Well, I'm still trying to figure out what this is, to be honest. "Peace of mind" is pretty vague, since it means something different to different people. Being free of pain could work, I guess. But I think for 9's it usually includes having everyone be happy and get along, which I don't relate to. I generally wouldn't even notice.
-Basic fear - Uh, no. I have never been afraid of loss or separation, as far as I'm aware.
-Agreeable
-Positive outlook - Not exactly...I'm probably closer to being a pessimist than an optimist, though I'm really more of a realist. I've never really been as happy and cheerful as other people seem to be, but I try not to be negative and complain about things. And I agree with the motto: "hope for the best but expect the worst". I protect myself from disappointment by having no expectations in the first place.
-"Merging"
-Receptive
-Lacking sense of identity
-Inattentive
-Don't want to face unpleasant realities
-Accepting - I try to maintain positive opinions of everyone. There's not a single person I dislike. I may get angry at people at times, but I can never stay angry for long.
 

Mal12345

Permabanned
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Apr 19, 2011
Messages
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MBTI Type
IxTP
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No offense, but I think it's more likely that you don't know me than that I don't know myself. I'm kind of hard to get to know, especially when you only know me through a forum and not in real life.

You asked the forum "What type do you think I am?" So there you go.

Compartmentalization is a type 9 trait (level 5).

Here is a snippet from the type 5 (level 5) description: "Both for better or for worse, they [Fives] are extremely high-strung, as if their nervous systems were tuned to a higher pitch than those of the other personality types. (Nines also become more cerebral and imaginative in the average Levels, but their affect is very different. Nines become placid and passive, while Fives become agitated and intense.)

Helen Palmer devoted a section of one of her Enneagram books to similarities between e-types.

You're right, I don't know you IRL. And you don't have a clue as to how badly I've wanted to meet some of the regulars on this forum.
 

Silveresque

Active member
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
1,169
Compartmentalization is a type 9 trait (level 5).

What source did that come from? Based on what I've read, it's a type 5 trait at level 5.

Here is a snippet from the type 5 (level 5) description: "Both for better or for worse, they [Fives] are extremely high-strung, as if their nervous systems were tuned to a higher pitch than those of the other personality types. (Nines also become more cerebral and imaginative in the average Levels, but their affect is very different. Nines become placid and passive, while Fives become agitated and intense.)

I think at average levels I'm more placid and passive than agitated and intense. On the other hand...at unhealthy levels 9's become extremely neglectful (because they don't want to face unpleasant realities) and 5's become extremely isolated and nihilistic.
 

Mal12345

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What source did that come from? Based on what I've read, it's a type 5 trait at level 5.

It came straight out of Personality Types, page 358.

I think at average levels I'm more placid and passive than agitated and intense. On the other hand...at unhealthy levels 9's become extremely neglectful (because they don't want to face unpleasant realities) and 5's become extremely isolated and nihilistic.

You give off this definite "placid and passive" vibe which is where I see you as a 9. And I think, to an extent, you are confusing type 9 detachment with isolation and fatalism with nihilism.

As for 9s not wanting to face unpleasant realities, this begins to occur at level 4. At level 6 they begin to see their detachment as strength where it is actually weakness.
 

Silveresque

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It came straight out of Personality Types, page 358.

Ah, I see.

You give off this definite "placid and passive" vibe which is where I see you as a 9. And I think, to an extent, you are confusing type 9 detachment with isolation and fatalism with nihilism.

As for 9s not wanting to face unpleasant realities, this begins to occur at level 4. At level 6 they begin to see their detachment as strength where it is actually weakness.

Fatalism with nihilism, maybe...Though I don't see that the two can easily be separated because there's a lot of overlap. But I highly doubt I'm confusing detachment with isolation. I really am a recluse, and I avoid people and social gatherings as much as possible. Of course, I am detached as well. I feel very distant whenever I'm around people. Though I don't see it as a strength...I see it as a part of the problem.
 

Mal12345

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Fatalism with nihilism, maybe...Though I don't see that the two can easily be separated because there's a lot of overlap.

Not really. Nihilism is the negation of existence, Fatalism is the belief that there's nothing we can do to change our fate.

But I highly doubt I'm confusing detachment with isolation. I really am a recluse, and I avoid people and social gatherings as much as possible. Of course, I am detached as well. I feel very distant whenever I'm around people. Though I don't see it as a strength...I see it as a part of the problem.

You seem both detached and isolated - schizoid. Schizoid behavior is both a 5 and 9 trait.
 

Silveresque

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Not really. Nihilism is the negation of existence, Fatalism is the belief that there's nothing we can do to change our fate.

Then perhaps the word I'm looking for is devaluing--asserting that things are pointless and have no real value or meaning. Everything starts to seem like just simple cause and effect. Like when I talk to someone, it doesn't have any real significance because anyone else in my place could have gotten the exact same response by saying the same thing I said. I don't feel hopeless, though. As long as I don't ignore the problem (depression), things are going to get better eventually. But then I remember that nothing can ever have any real significance....And I know I must be wrong, somehow, but I just can't see it right now....

You seem both detached and isolated - schizoid. Schizoid behavior is both a 5 and 9 trait.

Yeah, I know. I don't have SPD, but I can relate to a lot of aspects.
 

Mal12345

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Then perhaps the word I'm looking for is devaluing--asserting that things are pointless and have no real value or meaning. Everything starts to seem like just simple cause and effect. Like when I talk to someone, it doesn't have any real significance because anyone else in my place could have gotten the exact same response by saying the same thing I said. I don't feel hopeless, though. As long as I don't ignore the problem (depression), things are going to get better eventually. But then I remember that nothing can ever have any real significance....And I know I must be wrong, somehow, but I just can't see it right now....

That sounds more like nihilism than fatalistic resignation.

Yeah, I know. I don't have SPD, but I can relate to a lot of aspects.

It's not necessary to relate to all of them to be schizoidal.
 

Silveresque

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That sounds more like nihilism than fatalistic resignation.

That's what I thought...And I find it hard to believe that a 9 would ever become particularly nihilistic.

It's not necessary to relate to all of them to be schizoidal.

I know that. I've been through this before and even spent a few hours in the library researching schizoid PD. I definitely don't have it, I'm just a loner.
 

Silveresque

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There is one 9 trait I pointed out before which you didn't mention: repression resistance.

But if you're a "gut" type, not a head type, how does this manifest? Repression of your gut instincts? How do neglectfulness and comfortable habits play into being a "gut" type?

I don't want to hijack that other thread, so I'm posting my response here. The gut triad and how it manifests in my type is something I still don't fully understand. As for repression resistance, from what I've read, I believe it's mostly repression of anger in type 9's that comes from not being able to assert their own space and freedom.

Anyways, neglectfulness and comfortable habits certainly play into being a type 9. The attitude is "I am content—others pressure me to change"(the 9's hidden complaint from an enneagram chart). For example, I generally find one hobby at a time that I really enjoy and then just do that all the time, and after a while I get bored of that and find a new hobby to focus on. My parents tell me that's unhealthy and I need to start doing other things. From my perspective, I'm just doing what I enjoy most, and it makes me happy, so why should I have to change?

There's a desire for freedom, which I believe is where the gut triad comes in, and in my case it's the freedom to just do what I want to stay content and peaceful. I believe that's also a large part of why I'm such a loner/homebody--I'm only really free when I'm alone.

(from Personality Cafe)
The gut triad deals with issues of anger and autonomy. The emotion of rage is most pronounced in this triad, though it is only directly expressed in 8. For ones, the anger gets manifest as righteous indignation, and for the nine it gets denied and repressed, only coming out when they're pushed too far. There was a sense in childhood of not being able to assert one's space, and so there's a sense of needing to carve out a space for oneself in the world. There's an acute awareness of one's body, and a key theme of being in opposition to the environment. There is a strong impression of "this is me, this is where I am" and "this is the other, this does not belong to me." Imagine being an outer space explorer on some strange, new planet (yes, I do watch a lot of sci-fi ). For the eight, there's an awareness this is a strange, new land which one needs to conquer in order to be certain to have a place for oneself. The boundaries are asserted in the most aggressive manner possible. For the one, there are a lot of strange customs and equally strange natural impulses that come up. They don't want their internal boundary disrupted, so they scan the new place, hold back and compare it to where they were from, their own customs and sense of right and wrong, fearing if they ease up, they may lose control of themselves and have their inner boundaries permeated. Type nine will adapt to the new environment with seeming ease, while part of them remains disengaged from it.
 

Hazashin

Secret Sex Freak
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INFP
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For example, I generally find one hobby at a time that I really enjoy and then just do that all the time, and after a while I get bored of that and find a new hobby to focus on. My parents tell me that's unhealthy and I need to start doing other things. From my perspective, I'm just doing what I enjoy most, and it makes me happy, so why should I have to change?

Huh. That sounds an awful lot like me. I do that ALL the time. :p
 
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