[Type 4] Can a Person Be Both Wing Types?

[hieronymus_b0sch]

Hey - I'm new to the Enneagram and still trying to get my head round it. I'm not a very spiritual person/am pretty sceptical about personality tests but I did a test last week just for fun and was so unbelievably struck by my result (4) that it's inspired me to do more research so that I can hopefully learn from it and become healthier mentally.

However, I am struggling to understand wings; I've done quite a bit of reading about them and consulted lots of descriptions, but I just cannot pick one. I see myself in both w3 and w5 - I'm sociable with friends and people I trust and enjoy going out/nightlife etc., but only really when it's on my turf, i.e. gigs with likeminded people and at bars that are into similar music as me. I also use humour and 'charm' in such situations and tend to have several friends, or mainly acquaintances and a few close friends. Equally, however, I see myself as an intellectual thinker and very logistical in how I go about trying to tackle my emotional distress - debilitatingly so, as I'm always trying to find the right formula, or solve the puzzle, to escape out of my anxiety/stress (although I also have OCD which relates to this, something else I'm curious about in terms of type 4). I am also very much attracted to the macabre/dark, which I don't see much about 4w3s. Also, if I have to be sociable in a group of people I don't know, i.e. university class mates or new colleagues, I start freaking out in my head and when I finally leave the situation can literally feel myself exhale with the relief of being by myself again.

Having to choose between the two wings is making me doubt the Enneagram as a system as I don't think a person can necessarily just be one thing and not the other, but discovering the four type has been mind blowing for me and also very comforting to know that I'm not the only one feeling this way and so I want to be open minded and use it as a positive tool.

Cheers for any advice!

 

[halaface]

Actually your wings can be balanced
That's normal
You can also be a certain wing and have attributes of the other wing

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I believe I am a 5 with very balanced wings

 

[Chad of the OttomanEmpire]

Yes. You absolutely have both wings. Everyone does. Most people relate to one set of motivations/psychological underpinnings/character structure more than the other, and it tends to be more apparent in their outer personality. That's the dominant wing--and not everyone necessarily agrees that you even have that. If you didn't see both, I'd doubt it was your core type.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I take that back. I'm pretty solid in the 4 wing.

 

[hieronymus_b0sch]

Thank you for the advice! I didn't realise that a person could be a balance of the two or that each type is in touch with both wings - I also didn't realise the debate around the concept of dominant wings. I think I'm definitely pretty balanced in the two but perhaps slightly more dominant with w3.

 

[Pionart]

I doubt wing theory is valid anyway..