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[shadowkat]

Found this article entitled How Each Myers-Briggs Type Reacts to Stree and How to Help to be interesting.

I'm more or less an INFJ. I say that, because depending on my mood while answering the questions, I can be an INFP or an INTJ. The only two categories that stay the same are IN. (Introvert/Intuitive).
But mostly, I come out INFJ. The weird one.

That said, it doesn't entirely nail me.

What stresses out an INFJ:
– Having to focus too much on sensory/concrete details
– An overload of sensory stimulation or noise
– Interruptions
– Distress within a close relationship
– Having their values violated
– Not enough alone time. Too much extraverting.
– Working with closed-minded people
– Lack of appreciation or understanding
– Unfamiliar environments with overwhelming amounts of details
– Having plans disrupted
– Not having a clear direction
– Lack of harmony
– Criticism and conflict
– Not being able to use their intuition or envision the future
– Having to focus too much on the present


Eh, more or less true. Particularly not having a clear direction or plans disrupted. Also, not having enough alone time, violation of values, close-minded people irritate me (in case you haven't figured that out by now), lack of harmony... all fit.

There's a few things in there that are ironic. Considering, I live a huge urban environment, surrounded by sensory overload...I think I'm less stressed out by this than the list makes out.
OTOH - I tend to avoid the areas of the city that are overwhelming in this way. For example? I stay clear of Times Square. And most crowded areas. And hate rock concerts.

Amusing that "having to focus too much on the present" and "not being able to envision the future" stress INFJ's out - sort goes counter to the whole Power of Now/Mindfulness training that I'm doing. I'm rather amused by the irony of that. Oddly it's not stressing me out, focusing on the now or moment. If anything I find envisioning the future more stressful. So the last two -- don't quite fit. Also, I'm getting better at handling the lack of appreciation or understanding bit - right now, I don't care. Which is freeing in a way.

I wonder if I'm shifting myself more towards an INFP at the moment?

When under stress, the INFJ feels fragmented or lost. They feel like they can’t be themselves, and feel an urge to act a part to “survive” or fit in. This disassociation can cause physical symptoms for the INFJ, like headaches, IBS, or nausea. The repressed feelings they’re holding onto can cause them to become immobilized. If they are under chronic extreme stress, they may fall into the grip of their inferior function, extraverted sensing. When this happens, they may engage in indulgent, self-destructive habits like binge-eating, cutting, over-exercising, alcoholism, or excessive pornography use. This often feels like an out-of-body experience to them. What they do provides no pleasure, but feels somewhat robotic and out of control. After this occurs, they dwell in self-hatred, falling even more into guilt over what they’ve done. They may become uncharacteristically angry and quick-tempered, unreasonable, and irrational. They may become obsessed with details in their outer world; obsessively cleaning or doing housework. They stumble over their words, and their intense feelings eventually lead them to a state of complete exhaustion.

While the first three or four sentences got me nailed. Not sure about the indulgent behavior. Binge-eating, binge-watching, yes, definitely. And yes - if feels robotic and out of control. And yes, I do dwell in self-hatred and guilt over it. So sort of?

But..

I don't tend to obsessively clean or do housework, usually, I just can't get motivated to do it.
And definitely don't cut, over-exercise (I wish) or engage in excessive pornography...well, not unless you count fan-fiction or reading romance novels... does getting off on 50 Shades of Grey and Nautibitz's Spuffy fanfic count as excessive pornography??? Maybe?

How to help an INFJ experiencing stress:
– Give them space.
– Reduce sensory stimulation; music, interruptions, TV, etc,..
– Let them express their thoughts and feelings.
– Understand that they may be irrational. Don’t judge them.
– Don’t give advice. This will only stress them out further.
– Let them take a break from some of their responsibilities
– Encourage them to spend some time in nature, walking or reading a book.
– Take a walk with them if they want company.
– Encourage their less serious side, and let them relieve emotional tension by letting them cry through a sappy movie or novel of some sort.
– Be forgiving if they’ve been overly harsh or critical while under stress. Chances are, they will feel very guilty about it.

This actually nails me in various ways. In particular:

"Don't give advice, this will only stress them out further"

- So true. I tend to get furious and yell at the person. Because it completely stresses me out.
Mainly because usually the advice entails me doing something that makes no sense and I can't figure out how to accomplish and just doesn't work for me. And I feel guilty because I can't do it and am letting the other person down as a result.

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I actually looked up a few vids on You Tube, and there's one with Carl Jung, who basically created the whole thing, and he states that typing is a good way of explaining certain behavior patterns but not rely on it absolutely.

Personality Hacker is actually one of the better tests that I've done and it does a good job of explaining the typing and how INFJ and INFP differ, and how ENFJ and INFJ differ. What is interesting about it is the whole the idea of how the brain is divided - you have a pilot, a co-pilot, and two backseat drivers.

I'm wondering if Personality Hacker is a cousin of Personality Junkie? [ETA: No, apparently one is free and a lot more detailed and one is not. Look up Personality Hacker, it's interesting - and goes in a lot of depth more than the Please Understand Me - Myers Briggs Books do.]

98% of the tests I take end up with INFJ, and now that I've read the summaries of them, yeah, I fit that type.
I started thinking about the discrepancies and realized, no, wait that works. The problem though with it, and this is true of most psychology, is a tendency psychologists have of projecting either themselves or people they know personality onto others. Example: "Oh, my mom was an INFJ, and she could never say no to anyone, and never took time for herself - that's so INFJ." Well, no, that's just your mom. A lot of INFJ's actually can say no, and do take a lot of time for themselves - and have always done so.

Which is what I liked about Carl Jung and Jungian psychology, he was open to the fact that a lot of factors came into play. And how you can't rely on just one. Unlike Freud, who was insistent on it just being the ego, id, and superego.
Jung went deeper and said, wait, it's not that simple, and the human mind is rather complex.

I'm frustrated psychology major, can't you tell? And like many frustrated psyche majors, I make the mistake of trying to self-diagnose myself. One should never do that. My mother was a psychology minor - so we discuss psychology a lot.

[elisi]

Meant to get back to this, sorry, life just took over for a while.

Example: "Oh, my mom was an INFJ, and she could never say no to anyone, and never took time for herself - that's so INFJ." Well, no, that's just your mom. A lot of INFJ's actually can say no, and do take a lot of time for themselves - and have always done so.
See my immediate response is - nope, that stereotype is an ISFJ. *g* But - once you delve deeper into the functions and understand how they fit together, you understand *how* people function, and where the stereotypes come from. But going from stereotypes only, you'll go wrong. (Which is basically what you were saying.) However, it's fascinating to dig down... I never thought anything could explain my mother, but MBTI has. It feels a little like magic. :)