[INFJ] INFJ Moodiness

[Wandering]

I was into weight lifting in high school, but it wasn't until I started doing cardio and kept at it for more than two months regularly that I think it started affecting my mood.

YIKES! TWO MONTHS :horor: ?? Exercise makes me horribly tired, there is NO WAY I'm going to stick at it for two months to see if maybe something changes by then

Exercise works like a charm on my ENFJ husband, though. But me... Nope

 

[Numbers]

Well, don't let me discourage you I've heard stories from other people who saw improvement in way less time.

I just think I had a particularly hard case to get rid of.

If I feel tired after working out I find I usually pushed myself too hard. Maybe you should try to lower the amount of time you are exercising at first or reduce the intensity and build up from there.

 

[JAVO]

Interesting article... I can see how that ties into the Ni Perfectionism that seems to plague many INFJ's. I'm constantly setting goals and working towards them - which is usually a blessing, but I suppose is also a curse. In contrast, do you feel you experience a similar sort of depression inducing perfectionism as a Ti Dominant? I wonder if the chaotic, unstable nature of Ni contributes to the swings & we just express it more as moodiness because of our Fe auxillary.

Good insight about Ni! (Oh the irony!)

This was true for me at one time. The realization that I was setting nonconscious goals came about after reading this study, actually. I had to learn to objectify and analyze the goals I was setting for myself internally without conscious thought--quite a challenge!

I used to use my less-developed Ni way too much, due to being an unbalanced introvert. Ti did play a supporting role in evaluating that I was not meeting the ideals generated by Ni. I kept my much more developed Ne bottled up! When I balanced more toward extraversion, my Ne was expressed to the point that I started to wonder what the heck was wrong with me! I am much happier now, and rarely go into brief periods of "depression" in which I attempted to introspect myself into complete mental paralysis.

Ni: wonders
Ne: explores and finds out

 

[Wandering]

I just think I had a particularly hard case to get rid of.

Which must be what I've got too, since exercise has somehow *never* worked for me Well, not since I stopped it in my early teens. Since then, whenever I try to start it up again, it's Operation Disaster every time.

If I feel tired after working out I find I usually pushed myself too hard. Maybe you should try to lower the amount of time you are exercising at first or reduce the intensity and build up from there.

Doing less would be called doing nothing

But thanks for the encouragement anyway

 

[Eileen]

I am pretty moody--well... not that I'm prone to huge mood swings, but I'm just really an irritable person. It embarrasses me, really. OVERALL, I am a pretty reasonable person, but I can be really easy to annoy. I think it's the Ni and the Fe combined... One thing will irritate me, which will lead me to think of all these little connections that also irritate me, and then I'll just STEW in my irritation.

I'm not dramatic about it, though. I don't rant and rave, usually. My moods are pretty even keel until I get annoyed, and then I get a snappy, shut down, and am really better off if I am left totally alone. It's still an awful party-killer, though.

As I think about this and read people's suggestions, I think that I am going to start trying to be more conscious about my moods. The next time I'm irritable, if I can remember, I think that I'll just go for a walk or run it out instead of letting it poison my interactions with people.

 

[Domino]

I'm late to the discussion, QuietGirl, but I wanted you to know that as an eNFJ, I'm similarly afflicted. My moods can swing wildly in a very short span (sometimes so short that it startles even me). Not that I'm a crazed lunatic or taking people hostage with them, I just mean to say that I can pass through several corridors of sensation in such an abrupt space that it feels almost schizophrenic in it's ability to go from hot to cold and back again. Mostly it's because I feel so jacked into others and the overarching mood that *I'm* the one who can be taken hostage. My father, a true INFJ, seems to at least be able to shunt a feeling aside with his primary Ni, while I'm left exposed to what ever happens to come down the pike.

My ENFP twin says that I can be a moody little crabbypants. I try to extrovert my thoughts as much as possible so she won't feel like I've had a shift on her no apparent reason. She can follow WHY I've had a shift and can sympathize, but I really have to work on snaffling the Fe or avoiding things that I know will provoke shift after shift. Knowing my inability to disconnect, it's necessary. Jenny says I'm not an INFJ, but I'm "close enough". lol Heeeeey!!

 

[Wandering]

My husband took it to the next stage, Pink: he's gone rapid-cycling bipolar Absolutely exhausting to live with when he doesn't take his meds :horor:

 

[quietgirl]

I think it's the Ni and the Fe combined... One thing will irritate me, which will lead me to think of all these little connections that also irritate me, and then I'll just STEW in my irritation.
.

This is exactly what happens to me.

 

[Ghost of the dead horse]

I've read about this INFJ moodiness from a few people in here, but I've never come across with such behavior in real life. Then again, I haven't identified many INFJs in the first place.

One freakishly moody woman I know I've first suspected to be an ESFJ, then altered my perception of her to ISFJ. Granted, that's not that far from INFJ. Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference.

 

[matmos]

From my experience INFJs can have big problems reconciling their inner world view with that of the outer reality. If they are peaceful and humane they can view the world as a cold & cruel place. They are hopeless idealists who'd die for a good cause but cannot understand/internalise that some things cannot or will not be changed and get *moody* (at best). They hate injustice and feel other's pain accutely. The resultant moods can feed on themselves and a "pull yourself together" argument will earn you a slap!

My wife is an INFJ and recently had to sack someone at work who happened to be incompetant (to say the least). She *felt sorry* for the man and sacking him caused her great upset. Whereas I wouln't have lost a wink of sleep over it!

 

[Hexis]

I have met three INFJ females in my life, one of them I dated and all of them I would lable as mentally insane. Mood swings?! More like self-destructive rampages that immediatley switch to ear bleeding crys of apology. I do not get it at all. This could just be a coincidence but I dont know, I highly doubt it beings they all 3 (none if which knew each other) had very similiar "tantrums".

And the one INFJ male ive met (BMS) is truly a character but I wouldnt lable him insane like I do them. So I wonder if its just a gender thing or if they really where crazy.

 

[matmos]

I have met three INFJ females in my life, one of them I dated and all of them I would lable as mentally insane. Mood swings?! More like self-destructive rampages that immediatley switch to ear bleeding crys of apology. I do not get it at all. This could just be a coincidence but I dont know, I highly doubt it beings they all 3 (none if which knew each other) had very similiar "tantrums".

And the one INFJ male ive met (BMS) is truly a character but I wouldnt lable him insane like I do them. So I wonder if its just a gender thing or if they really where crazy.

A controversial Texan POV! I consulted an expert on this (the wife) and she reckons all the Texans she met are gun-toting paranoiacs.

I have pointed out that such wild generalisations don't make any valid point and refuse to repeat it in this forum!

 

[Blackwater]

Question for INFJs:

How does eating affect your mood swings? I'm not talking about binge-eating or comfort-eating but a physiological reaction that entails regular eating; one that leaves you kind of down afterwards.

 

[nightning]

Mood swings affects eating... eating does not affect mood swings.

I don't see how regular eating makes you feel "down".

 

[cafe]

If I am

• tired
• hungry
• hot
• need to pee
• overstimulated
• in physical discomfort/sick
• in the middle of something
• feeling unappreciated
• around someone who is being emotional

I'm going to get cranky.

I vent, gripe, and rant a lot, but it's just my way of working through things and not a big deal. It shouldn't be taken too seriously (though don't dismiss what I'm saying if you want to be allowed to live).

I have met three INFJ females in my life, one of them I dated and all of them I would lable as mentally insane. Mood swings?! More like self-destructive rampages that immediatley switch to ear bleeding crys of apology. I do not get it at all. This could just be a coincidence but I dont know, I highly doubt it beings they all 3 (none if which knew each other) had very similiar "tantrums".

If I EVER behaved like that I would be so mortified with myself that I don't think I'd ever leave my house again. It would be too humiliating.

I'll apologize for snapping at my husband or kids if they bother me while I'm cooking or something, but if someone has pushed me to the point where I really lose my composure with them, they are not going to hear an apology from me because they had it coming and probably it was long overdue. Even when I'm angry I do not say things I do not mean.

Nor do I tantrum. That's a waste of time and energy. If a person cannot be persuaded to act like a human being to me through decent means, I will just cut them out of my life. I will not try to control them through humiliating and debasing myself.

 

[Wandering]

Question for INFJs:

How does eating affect your mood swings? I'm not talking about binge-eating or comfort-eating but a physiological reaction that entails regular eating; one that leaves you kind of down afterwards.

Pasta and mashed potatoes make me sleepy, but that's not exactly a mood thing. Other than that, this kitty agrees with the mouse: "Mood swings affect eating... eating does not affect mood swings."

***

I'll apologize for snapping at my husband or kids if they bother me while I'm cooking or something, but if someone has pushed me to the point where I really lose my composure with them, they are not going to hear an apology from me because they had it coming and probably it was long overdue. Even when I'm angry I do not say things I do not mean.

Nor do I tantrum. That's a waste of time and energy. If a person cannot be persuaded to act like a human being to me through decent means, I will just cut them out of my life. I will not try to control them through humiliating and debasing myself.

 

[ByMySword]

Pasta and mashed potatoes make me sleepy, but that's not exactly a mood thing. Other than that, this kitty agrees with the mouse: "Mood swings affect eating... eating does not affect mood swings."

True story.

 

[JuilinThiefTaker]

Eating making me feel down? Sleepy, possibly, but not to down. If anything a good meal will pick me back up.

 

[cafe]

Yeah, I have to eat. If I do not and my blood sugar gets low, I get shaky and irritable. Protein is my friend.

 

[FemMecha]

I have met three INFJ females in my life, one of them I dated and all of them I would lable as mentally insane.

Did they take the MBTI test and have INFJ as their result or do you equate mentally insane females with being INFJ? Just curious.