[INFJ] You know you're an INFJ when...

[Tycho]

Do other INFJs feel like coffee/caffeine/sugar has the OPPOSITE affect on you? I mean, when I have some I usually feel more sluggish, at least mentally.

I would call its effect on me "stiffling". Its like all my neurones shift into warp speed.

They need to slow down a bit before I can form concrete thoughts again.

BTW, Sky, a glass of orange juice contains just about as much sugar as a glass of regular coke

 

[Phantonym]

BTW, Sky, a glass of orange juice contains just about as much sugar as a glass of regular coke

Yes, but somehow it makes me feel a whole lot better than sugar water with bubbles.

 

[Skyward]

I would call its effect on me "stiffling". Its like all my neurones shift into warp speed.

They need to slow down a bit before I can form concrete thoughts again.

BTW, Sky, a glass of orange juice contains just about as much sugar as a glass of regular coke

It might be all the extra things in soda/coffee that make my brain go 'blah.' I know an INFJ girl who gets all wired and buzzed if she drinks orange juice. Maybe the 'purer' source of natural sugar doesn't interfere with my/our brain so much?

 

[Tycho]

It might be all the extra things in soda/coffee that make my brain go 'blah.' I know an INFJ girl who gets all wired and buzzed if she drinks orange juice. Maybe the 'purer' source of natural sugar doesn't interfere with my/our brain so much?

They both contain the same form of sugar.

Don't underestimate the power of suggestion. Many people claim that they gain mental clearity after a change in their diet. That's probably true, because if you expect a certain type of food will make you feel a certain way, whether good or bad, then so it happens.

So my diet recommendation is: eat what you believe is healthy.
And don't get paranoid about additives and so on.

It's the thought that you eat unhealthy foods that messes with your brain chemistry, too.

 

[tibby]

You know you're an infj when you can answer the question: "How are you feeling?" with a detailed description of how you're feeling physically, but get puzzled with what it is that you're, um, feeling, internally ?

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

They both contain the same form of sugar.

Don't underestimate the power of suggestion. Many people claim that they gain mental clearity after a change in their diet. That's probably true, because if you expect a certain type of food will make you feel a certain way, whether good or bad, then so it happens.

So my diet recommendation is: eat what you believe is healthy.
And don't get paranoid about additives and so on.

It's the thought that you eat unhealthy foods that messes with your brain chemistry, too.

You know, I was just talking to my s.o. about this yesterday. I have a lot of Si doms (isxj) in my life; either as friends or family, and they all are prone to environmental and culinary and pharmaceutical intolerances/allergies, and at times hypochondriasis (when they are stressed), which I attribute to Si. However, the really weird part of it is this: They will actually get physical manifestations as well! Like hives, or rashes, or blisters, or irritable bowel syndrome, or headaches, or fatigue, or, etc. So, of course, they and their family and their care providers all really think that they suffer from X allergy. And if I did not see that they ALL happen to be Si dom, I would too. Yet I wonder if it's not just their mind telling the body to play tricks on them, so that they have validation for their sicknesses, which feel so real to them.

Any one else notice this with Si doms?

 

[Phantonym]

Any one else notice this with Si doms?

Oh gah, do I ever. My mom's an ISFJ and she constantly complains about this stuff.

 

[pyramid]

Any one else notice this with Si doms?

I am super ENFP (Si is my inferior function) and I feel very prone to this. I think it might relate to a need to be "centered." Many of these problems seem related to the immune system.

Let me tell you this scenario is a living nightmare: when you recieve advice from a different point of view (family & care provider specialists) every time and pressure from each of them to strictly adhere. Either you end up trying to follow everyone's advice at once or you just do what you know is best (and after so much input, how could it still be a mystery?) It's pretty scary, knowing intangible things are very likely the cause of your physical symptoms and grasping for the clarity to correct it. Getting past it is one of the most empowering things ever, though

Everyone has their own list of what is more or less toxic to them based on their chemistry and natural preferences!

 

[Z Buck McFate]

I am extra careful when driving because I tend to zone out and lose track of reality. Thankfully my car has a good sound system so I can play Eisbrecher, Kalevala, or some other heavy band really loud to keep me awake... to the chagrin of any passenger over the age of 30..

Me too. I systematically miss exits on expressways because of it. Even if it's a route I drive on a regular basis, I'll still zone out and find myself miles from where I was supposed to turn. Music helps me, too (if I'm not singing at the top of my lungs, then I'm probably zoning out).

It took three tries to pass the driver's test

Four here.

Do other INFJs feel like coffee/caffeine/sugar has the OPPOSITE affect on you? I mean, when I have some I usually feel more sluggish, at least mentally.

Caffeine almost always has this affect on me. Sometimes- if I drink a lot of it- I'll become maniacal talker for about 15 minutes, but then I'm out like a light. It seems to be more true when more sugar is involved.

You know you're an infj when you can answer the question: "How are you feeling?" with a detailed description of how you're feeling physically, but get puzzled with what it is that you're, um, feeling, internally ?

You mean, as in "How are you feeling" emotionally? Then TOTALLY. Other people seem to know when I'm happy/sad/angry before I do. I'll sense a kind of vague dissonance, then later realize I was angry (or sad or whatever). In the moment, though, I'm too busy isolating which variables are causing me to feel the dissonance in the first place; slapping a label on the dissonance is almost the furthest thing from my mind.

 

[Skyward]

Me too. I systematically miss exits on expressways because of it. Even if it's a route I drive on a regular basis, I'll still zone out and find myself miles from where I was supposed to turn. Music helps me, too (if I'm not singing at the top of my lungs, then I'm probably zoning out).

Four here.

I would have had to pay to take a test if I didn't pass it the third time. There was some pressure

Caffeine almost always has this affect on me. Sometimes- if I drink a lot of it- I'll become maniacal talker for about 15 minutes, but then I'm out like a light. It seems to be more true when more sugar is involved.

I think I physically feel more energy, but my thoughts don't feel as sharp. It usually happens with coffee rather than soda. It isn't completely reliable either. Odd.

You mean, as in "How are you feeling" emotionally? Then TOTALLY. Other people seem to know when I'm happy/sad/angry before I do. I'll sense a kind of vague dissonance, then later realize I was angry (or sad or whatever). In the moment, though, I'm too busy isolating which variables are causing me to feel the dissonance in the first place; slapping a label on the dissonance is almost the furthest thing from my mind.

Yeah, I get this. I usually feel frustration more than other emotions. Maybe we know the deeper where-from of the emotion so we know what the emotion actually is. My host family uses 'Hermostunut' 'nervous' for anything relating to actual nervousness or frustration. Maybe its a Finnish culture thing, but to me frustration and nervousness are different. I feel the first much more often when I can't think clearly or cant find an answer to some problem. OR knowing their's a problem when I don't know what it is. (Which seems to be an INFJ thing too?)

 

[Skyward]

You know youre an INFJ when you always have the 'I think I forgot something' feeling, even when, after thorough inspection, you didn't.

You know youre an INFJ when you end up sending more than one email, or doubleposting, because you suddenl thought of something AFTER you posted/emailed. Usually within a minute of sending. (I think my parents' email inbox is spammed with a lot of random small emails I have... now I know why twitter/texting is popular...)

 

[Lotr246]

You know you're an INFJ when, if someone asks you about yourself, unless they're a close friend, you'll give a short response and then talk about someone else you know who's not presently there. Like, if someone asks you about your future plans, you'll quickly say what you're doing, and then end up talking about another friend's plans in more detail.

 

[ilovelurking]

You know you're an INFJ when, if someone asks you about yourself, unless they're a close friend, you'll give a short response and then talk about someone else you know who's not presently there. Like, if someone asks you about your future plans, you'll quickly say what you're doing, and then end up talking about another friend's plans in more detail.

*LOL* I can relate.

And then whoever wanted to know you better will think that you're hiding something from them etc.

 

[Lightyear]

You know you're an INFJ when, if someone asks you about yourself, unless they're a close friend, you'll give a short response and then talk about someone else you know who's not presently there. Like, if someone asks you about your future plans, you'll quickly say what you're doing, and then end up talking about another friend's plans in more detail.

I can relate to that but normally I will give a really short response about myself and then I will ask the other person: "So how are you? Tell me about yourself." It's funny, the person starts asking me about my problems and in no time they start revealing all their problems to me, it's like I have a natural ability to deflect unwanted intrusion into my private thoughts and feelings.

Not sure why INFJs are like this (How does it help us that we are so damn private? Does it keep our hearts and thoughts pure or something like this? I dunno.) but deflecting anyone who is not deemed worthy yet from our deeper layers definitely seems to be a common characteristic amongst INFJs.

 

[ilovelurking]

I can relate to that but normally I will give a really short response about myself and then I will ask the other person: "So how are you? Tell me about yourself." It's funny, the person starts asking me about my problems and in no time they start revealing all their problems to me, it's like I have a natural ability to deflect unwanted intrusion into my private thoughts and feelings.

Not sure why INFJs are like this (How does it help us that we are so damn private? Does it keep our hearts and thoughts pure or something like this? I dunno.) but deflecting anyone who is not deemed worthy yet from our deeper layers definitely seems to be a common characteristic amongst INFJs.

I have been told alot of times that they, the people asking, feel that they really, really, reaaaally have to put in alot of effort into 'digging out' information from me about me. Do you get that, too?

And it's funny that the "deflecting" thing happens spontaneously. It is unplanned and not on purpose, too. *shrug*

...and then we want to be understood...

 

[Phantonym]

And it's funny that the "deflecting" thing happens spontaneously. It is unplanned and not on purpose, too. *shrug*

...and then we want to be understood...

This deserves a double

 

[CuriousFeeling]

Whenever someone asks you to tell them something about yourself, and you say "what do you want to know in particular?" You honestly don't know where to start when someone asks you to tell them about yourself.

When you seldom use webcams in im conversations and when someone else does, despite they are your trusted friend, you feel a little uneasy and delicately mask your uneasiness with levity.

When you want to describe how you feel on a given day, and you provide symbolic representations of it, such as pictures, poetry, songs. You never state it out in the open.

You find yourself drawn to the character Aurora from Sleeping Beauty because she retreats from strangers, yearns to realize her dreams despite visions are seldom as they seem (yep, quintessential hopeless romantic), and you spend a lot of time with nature (and are intuitive to nature as well, animals are drawn to you), and yeah, you are shy with guys you like.

 

[Lightyear]

This deserves a double

Make that a triple my dear.

 

[Skyward]

I can relate to that but normally I will give a really short response about myself and then I will ask the other person: "So how are you? Tell me about yourself." It's funny, the person starts asking me about my problems and in no time they start revealing all their problems to me, it's like I have a natural ability to deflect unwanted intrusion into my private thoughts and feelings.

Not sure why INFJs are like this (How does it help us that we are so damn private? Does it keep our hearts and thoughts pure or something like this? I dunno.) but deflecting anyone who is not deemed worthy yet from our deeper layers definitely seems to be a common characteristic amongst INFJs.

Two words: We're tactical. Seriously, I find myself always trying to leverage into a different situation with people by saying/not saying certain things (usually to keep them from thinking something). It's part of who I am and I need to practice using it better and knowing when to use it. ENFJs have the skill more naturally, I think.

When you want to describe how you feel on a given day, and you provide symbolic representations of it, such as pictures, poetry, songs. You never state it out in the open.

Maybe we see it as a purer form of communication?

 

[CuriousFeeling]

Maybe we see it as a purer form of communication?

Indeed, cos it shows the actual imagery going through our heads, and it reflects emotions that are difficult to verbalize.