LiLyLemon
New member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2010
- Messages
- 15
- MBTI Type
- INFJ
- Enneagram
- 4w5
Would you say you have learned to laugh at yourself? I think the expression "Mieux vaut en rire qu'en pleurer" ('Tis better to laugh than to cry about it) has been very salutary at certain moments in my depression. Learning to take a step back and observe the intense, hard-to-read INFJ character with humour is a good thing.
Beautiful quote, and a running theme in my own life I find. I have often struggled with long periods of depression. I think a lot of unfortunate events have occurred in my life which I've felt are beyond my control. Other types may have used pure hard logic to overcome or block out feelings in this situation. But, I embrace how mood reactive I am. The highs are so high and the lows are indeed very low. I think it only becomes a problem because others misunderstand this intensity of feeling, and regard it as futile. Undermining the way you see the world, although you know you often see things more clearly some would ever imagine.
Thus bringing me back to the seemingly paradoxical ways of being INFJ. Being empathic denotes understanding. So I do understand at times that this over feeling of things might appear pointless or a waste of energy, which is when the laughing instead of crying comes in. I think this isn't a cover of true feelings though, but a mere form of release. To laugh or cry they are both ways of truly expressing emotion.
I do not think anyone should feel belittled or wrong for being sensitive, or even over sensitive. Repressing feelings in my opinion can be extremely detrimental to a person's wellbeing. I have seen the damage caused when a person shuts down, to the point of being unable to say or show what they are honestly feeling. I admit to finding it a burden at times, the extremes of my emotions. But I would rather stay true to them, along with the problems this sometimes brings, than attempt to keep them at bay and mentally implode.