[MBTI General] Changing Types

[Annuit Coeptis]

This post might get pretty long, but many of you may find it interesting. I would love feedback.

When I was very young, say until the age of ten, I was interested in complex systems and ideas that required memorization, such as learning how to notate chemicals, memorizing the longest words in every language (that were listed in the Guinness book, at least), memorizing all of the pokemon and their order, and facts about them, my favorite game was a game similar to sudoku (kind of) called logix..these are just a few examples off the top of my head to give you an idea. I also understood grammar better than anyone seemed to, and I remember vividly when my teacher first told me "You cannot begin a sentence with "And." I was confused that the sentence "And" is spelled "a-n-d," was grammatically incorrect, since it didn't break any rules I considered logical. (I must have thought teachers were always right when I was little..) I took an IQ test when I was young that had different intellegences tested separately, and my visual-spatial IQ was off the charts. I found that interesting when I heard the INTP type described as the "architect," but it makes sense- in order to connect ideas in the way I was used to, it would seem to require visual spatial intelligence. I can remember my first thought of heaven was marked by fear. While everyone else considered a peaceful eternity some kind reward, I could only focus on the eternal aspect. I could not be happy with ANYTHING forever, and in neither of my only two choices, heaven or hell, would I be allowed to "end it."



I'm only explaining this junk to paint a portrait of who I was: an INTP through and through. Also, I have a history of mental health problems: I've been diagnosed basically as ADD w/ comorbidity- Asperger's, Bipolar, mild Psychosis, depression, partial complex seizures in the left frontal lobe.

Somewhere along the way, maybe at about the onset of puberty, I became an ENFP. I guess I didn't really notice the change. It probably didn't happen over night . In middle school and high school though, I became incredibly adept at being able to connect with (and also manipulate) the people around me. My feeling smarter than everyone else, while being unable to have any intelligence expressed, (ADD meant I couldn't focus on ANYTHING for more than a few moments, unless I found it exciting enough to pump adrenaline through me, which can act as dopamine) led to me putting on a facade of superiority. My dominant function WAS Ne, and it WAS supported by Fi. I was an ENFP by definition-I am very sure of it because I remained that way for the first two years of college- until very recently. I find it interesting that I went from an INTP to ENFP, rather than ENTP, which is much much closer. The reason I changed though is because Fi doesn't require focus, it's just there. So, as I lost my ability to use Ti (and Te for that matter), it was replaced by Fi, and my original auxiliary function, Ne, became the dominant one.

The partial complex seizures had not been found until about three weeks ago. Now that I'm on an anticonvulsant, the psychological symptoms that the seizures have been creating, or at the very least exacerbating (I'm on other meds as well) are being fixed. I woke up about ten days ago and was an INTP. I recognized it IMMEDIATELY when I woke up because I am interested in MBTI. "Hey, I'm cured, and I'm thinking like an INTP..." Let me tell you, it is very bizarre going from an extreme extrovert to a pretty strongly expressed introvert over night.

Now, I have the ability to 5w1tch into Ne, since I have been developing that function as my dominant one for the past ten years! I've gotten a couple cool ideas for inventions over the past few DAYS- which is something I've NEVER been able to do- at least not without expending considerable effort. My mind is normally in analysis mode, but I can switch into "communication/ external manipulation" mode. I've spent many years as a broken, neurotic representation of an ENFP, and I came out the other side as some sort of ENTP/INTP hybrid. Or maybe I'm just an ENTP who is using Ti for the first time in a long time, so it feels like its my dominant function. That theory, however, would necessarily mean that I started as an INTP and ended up an ENTP. I don't think that's true. And I feel like I am "fixed," I do not feel like these medications are making me into some type that I was not 'supposed' to be.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? What do you think?

Edit: Looking back on this text, I see that a couple isolated incidents don't support the case for a type at all, but those are just meant to be representations of the way I thought ALL THE TIME. So I'm just going to ask you to take my word for it.

 

[Totenkindly]

It's kind of hard to evaluate it.

- It's not the norm (seems rare).

- We only have a few paragraphs of the person themselves saying, "This is true, believe me," and no chance to witness the evidence firsthand. So we can't note any weak spots in your story and account for them. We just have a story that is not the norm.

- You had/have a host of actual mental issues, some biologically rooted it seems, and in those sort of contexts, all bets are off. It's well documented that changes to the brain can result in some temperament shifts. (I still remember as a kid reading about the guy who got the metal pole shot into his head in a mining accident, and changed overnight from a nice, friendly person into temperamentally sort of mean, irritable, and no fun to be around. Aside from the obvious annoyance of having to walk around for the rest of your life with a metal pole sticking out of your head. ) As we are not doctors with access to your records, well, I'd bet good money these issues are wrapped up in it some how but I will never know how.

The Ne thing is the only thing I can address. Introverts of one type are sometimes forced to develop their extroverted secondary for whatever reason (coping/survival) even while primarily still remaining their base type. What you describe there doesn't sound bizarre at all to me. It is perfectly within reason for you to have Ne development, regardless of whether you are INTP or ENTP.

I'm glad you are currently very happy with who you are and that the medication seems to have made some very positive changes for you.

 

[falling2fast]

I believe that everyone has the potential to control each aspect of his personality. The way that a person reacts and copes with situations does depend heavily on which functions are being used most at the time.

Supposedly, a healthy person has a balanced personality. I do not think that is necessarily true.

I am quite capable of acting outside of my type so much that I begin to convince myself that my type is changing. However, I do revert. My wife is convinced that I am a feeler. Although I do feel quite a bit, left to be as I wish, I am a thinker. My point is that, because I think that I must be a feeler in certain situations, I become one. I always do revert back to a thinker though.