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Why Your Brain Feels Shut-off (According to MBTI)
Lifestyle & Commentary Posts
Personality Tests Aren’t Very Accurate––Use This Alternative
Guest Post by Kyle Farris, INTJ
I know––you’re shocked. But before I overcame my fear of scary-sounding terms like “cognitive functions” and “introverted intuition” my only resource for understanding MBTI types were generic descriptions on websites like 16personalities. Because of this, I, like many others, had a sort of MBTI identity crisis. How do you know your type when so many seem to describe aspects of your personality? At various points, I convinced myself I was an INTP (because of my philosophical interests), INFP (because of my career), or ENTP (because of how much I enjoyed expressing my insights).
Continue readingThe Relationship Between MBTI And Personality Disorders
Guest Post by E. J., INTJ
Identifying the MBTI type of someone with a mental illness, regardless of the kind, can be difficult. It is doubly so when the individual in question has a personality disorder.
A Basic Overview
Note: The personality disorder labels I will be using come from the DSM-5, the diagnostic manual currently used by American psychologists. I realize that other countries tend to use versions of the ICD-10, the World Health Organization’s diagnostic manual, more heavily than the United States does at present. I have tried to include alternate names where I think it is needed for clarity.
For those who are not familiar with personality disorders, there are 10 specific disorders (although the number has varied over time and will probably continue to be revised). They can be organized into three groups—personality disorders that result in odd behaviour, those that result in dramatic or erratic behaviour, and those that result in anxious behaviour. Occasionally someone may be diagnosed with an unclassified personality disorder or a mixture of personality disorders. Unlike most mental illnesses, personality disorders are consistent over time and in a variety of settings. People with the disorders do not experience them as illnesses—the disorders are simply part of the way they function. A person with this category of mental illness generally sees their behaviour as normal and does not want therapy unless they end up with a comorbid illness like depression (in some cases, brought on by others’ negative reactions to their behaviour).
As a result, most people with personality disorders do not usually get diagnosed, much less treated. Learning about the disorders can be a good idea—particularly if you know a “difficult” person and want to respond more effectively to their behaviour. You can’t diagnose them officially, but you can certainly use your research to decide what your strategy should be when you interact with them.
ISTJs Put Simply
Guest post by Sylver, ISTP
In my project to make known the good and bad sides of every MBTI type, it’s been suggested that I start with ISTJs. A lot of people, even if they don’t say negative things outright, will ignore or turn up their noses at ISTJs online. Also, as it’s been pointed out, many ISTJs will take and retake the test until they get something other than ISTJ, just because of the stigmas attached to ISTJ-ness.
Part of this has to do with the (mis)conceptions about their type that I will debunk here. Please note, of course, that some of the things I will say may not ring true for every single ISTJ out there. Most are based on knowledge of their functions and personal experience. So do feel free to correct me if I’m wrong; most of this is just stuff that I have observed/experienced when dealing with ISTJs.
ISTJs (USUALLY) are:
- rooted in the past
- down to earth
- planers
- possessed with incredible follow-through
- caring
- dutiful
ISTJs are NOT (usually):
- stubborn for no reason
- whiny
- OCD
- rule-obsessed
- socially awkward (any more than other types can be)
- Or, of course…evil
So without further ado, let me expand on how ISTJs work function-wise. My personal favourite thing about them, for a start, is their rich and vivid memories. I experience life through my Ti and Se (Dom and aux respectively), and though I can often remember things I’ve learned for a long time afterwards I have great difficulty remembering the actual experience because I’m instinctively keyed into the present moment. Always moving on, as it were. As Si-doms, ISTJs often have incredible recall of past events. My Mother, for example, is most likely an ISTJ, and whenever I have trouble recalling an old event I’ll call her up and she’ll readily remind me about what happened.
Si-doms are typically great sources of do’s and don’ts, especially the older ones. Any artist/writer/screenwriter/painter should be able to appreciate the opportunities that come with all those memories and stories. Provided, of course, you’re respectful and the ISTJ in question is willing to chat about things that may or may not bring back intense memories.
The ISTJ’s auxiliary function is, of course, Te. This gives them a natural edge when it comes to managing and coordinating, which I appreciate a lot. When it comes to larger projects ISTJs are pro at making sure they (fairly) divvy up the workload. They also––sorry, Arvid––tend to have an advantage, even over INTJs, when it comes to making sure that no details get overlooked. That’s not to say that INTJs don’t also do everything they can to make sure that their project turns out just the way they visualize it. ISTJs are just more naturally detail-oriented.
Fi is a function that…well, it doesn’t seem to get the right type of love in the MBTI community. By that, I mean that people––especially on tumblr––tend to value/admire Fi for the rebelliousness that ALL Fi users exhibit. /sarcasm/
I really like mature Fi users, don’t get me wrong. They know what they’re feeling and, especially in the case of Fi users who also use Te, will do their best to communicate what they need. That’s a genuinely valuable ability. I always appreciate my Mom’s way of telling me things, for example. I’m not hugely touchy-feely, and she isn’t either, so when she needed alone time she would just say something along the lines of, ‘I’m getting a beer, then I’m going upstairs to read. You need anything?’
That right there is the heart of how an ISTJ cares for their people. Making sure they’re okay by doing what they need to do to help. As an action-oriented person I sure as hell appreciate that.
Finally, there’s that inferior Ne. It bears talking about, as does any other type’s inferior function. We all need to know our weaknesses or we’d all crumble from clay feet, a friend of mine once put it.
An ISTJ’s Ne isn’t going to be all that plain. As with INTJs and Se or ISTPs and Fe, it’ll sorta be in the background, still utilized but typically unnoticed. When it does come to the forefront (so to speak) due to stress, it often trips up the ISTJ in question. They begin to catastrophize and freak out about all the things that could happen; during times like these, they focus almost exclusively on the negative outcomes and need a helping hand/mind to get back on track.
Like any instance where an inferior function crops up in this way, an ISTJ’s inferior Ne can be extremely annoying for both them and for others. Part of the package, though.
Besides, a healthy and mature ISTJ can make the most of their Ne’s idiosyncrasies. My dear friend, for example, will usually be the first person to get on my tuchus about things I’ve been unable to get to (read: procrastinated), yet she’ll also be perfectly willing to tag along with me to get lunch out or go to Half-Price Books together. Provided we’ve got ourselves in order, of course.
Overall, ISTJs can be a little stubborn, but they can also be the wisest, fairest, and most trustworthy people you’ve ever met. They may not be the most popular or ‘romantic’ or ‘trendsetting’ of the MBTI types, yet that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If the entire human race were daredevil ISTPs like me, we wouldn’t have survived till now, I guarantee it.
Joking, of course. I’d like to think that ISTPs do have some modicum of self-control! :P
INTJs and Objective Judging
Catgyrl asked: ENFP here! I feel guilty for judging other people and it seems like INTJs don’t feel that way. You probably have some long thought process about this and I’d love to hear it. Sorry if that’s not really a question :)
First of all, judgement is a necessary action for those of us who have any of intentions of helping or getting to know our friends. It also serves to protect us against people who would hurt or use us, but judgement is more than people make it out to be. The type of judgement that popular culture and religious organizations encourage us to refrain from is what I would like to call unrighteous judgement. And it’s true that type of judgement can be extremely hurtful, so it’s not only wise but important for our ethical well-being.
Judgement is not so narrow a field, however, that it does not also include a spectrum of righteous judgement, and as someone with an INTJ personality, this just so happens to be somewhat of a strong point for me. I shall endeavour my best to explain the concept in such a way as to make it understandable and doable. Continue reading
Recognizing Unhealthy/Healthy Types
Grahamcracker asked: How would you identify when someone is unhealthy for their personality type?
The tell-tale sign of an unhealthy type is that they will embody the stereotypes.
Well-developed thinking types will make decisions based on both logic and emotion and vice versa for feeling types. A healthy individual is well balanced between their four functions, relying on all of them interacting between one another to live their life.
Another classic tell is whether or not the person manipulates people. Unhealthy thinking types often disregard other people’s feelings and use “logic” or “just being honest” as an excuse for bad behaviour. Unfortunately, this means that thinking types can also be extremely good at gaslighting. Meanwhile, unhealthy feeling types often have a tendency to rely on emotional appeals such as guilting, projection, and triangulation, as a way to control other people’s behaviour. This is all stuff that any therapist will tell you is toxic (both for you and for other people).
Grahamcracker asked: And how would you know if someone was well-developed in all four?
Want to know how to find yourself a keeper? While I can’t guarantee you’ll cross paths or have success connecting with said keeper, I’ll offer a modicum of advice on how to identify healthy MBTI types.
First and foremost––this person does not manipulate people, especially not intentionally. Second, you’ll see them making decisions based on more than just logic, or emotion alone. They’ll use a balance of both. You see their better self, a healthy person who knows what is important, plays well with others, and is neither overly insecure or overly self-important. To be balanced, to make good decisions, and to be a good partner in a relationship, you need to be as emotionally healthy as possible, and that means using all your functions.
I’m tired so I will not go into these in-depth, but you can get the general gist by combining the cognitive functions that make up your type.
Healthy Fe-Ti: caring about other people’s feelings and preservation, while also being able to step back and analyze something objectively, to learn how it works so that you can improve your relationships.
Healthy Te-Fi: being motivated to organize things and adhere to logical principles, while being aware that politeness is a useful tool in life and that not everything needs to be said, while holding to a strong set of moral principles.
Healthy Ti-Fe: staying focused on logical objectives, but also softening one’s words to avoid hurting other people’s feelings or alienating others in attempt to work toward a greater purpose that benefits everyone.
Healthy Fi-Te: championing causes and inspiring others to follow your lead, while remaining true to your beliefs but also enabling others to have different values systems from your own, and organizing your time and space effectively to accomplish your goals.
Healthy Si-Ne: bring valuable information to the table through things you have learned and your own experiences, but accept that your memories are subjective interpretations of events and that considering new avenues of possibilities is not a threat to your usual routines.
Healthy Se-Ni: staying open to both participating in new experiences and helping others to see opportunities around them, while realizing that there is more to life than just this moment, and all actions in the present have future consequences.
Healthy Ne-Si: entertaining many possibilities but also remembering past experience, learning from the mistakes of others, and seeking out extensive details, so as to make wise decisions.
Healthy Ni-Se: visualizing goals and discerning how to reach them, while also being unafraid to take opportunities as they appear, thus avoiding staying too much inside the mind and seeing their ideas implemented in the real world.
How to Differentiate Between Judging/Perceiving, Introverted/Extroverted
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Ace INTJs: Hamlet
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Are INTJs Really Master Planners?
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Si users – How to talk to INxJs
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INTJ: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
This post is dedicated to my readers that want to understand INTJs, but are less familiar with Jungian cognitive functions. I understand that the functions are difficult for newbies to navigate, so I’m making your life easier.
Fact #1 People empty us.
When I say this, I don’t mean that we don’t value human companionship. In fact, I would argue to the contrary. However, our introversion causes us to drain our energy as we attempt to socialize. Our energy stems from within ourselves rather than from being with other people. We value solitude, silence and thought.
To us, silence truly is golden.
As a result, parties are definitely not our favourite place to be and when forced to be in such an environment, we tend to stick to the sides of the room rather than gravitating toward the centre. We are extremely conscious of our personal space and absolutely hate being touched (in any way, shape or form) without our permission. Likewise, incessant noise drives us mad, prevents us from thinking and makes us want to scream at everybody to “shut up.”
We find it astounding that some people can manage to say the same thing three times in different words or that someone can fill an hour of time with words that mean nothing. We value conciseness when it comes to speaking, such that we say nothing more than what needs to be said (and sometimes we can’t even say that much).
My Favourite Characters from Each Type
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A Riddle for an INTJ
Once upon a time, I was a seventeen-year-old, bored out of my mind, even in my college-level classes. This boredom morphed into a sort of cosmic angst, anger at the fact that I was sitting in a classroom memorizing facts when I could be problem-solving somewhere else.
One of my siblings tells me I looked like Sherlock pounding around the living room asking for a case.
Boredom is a very dangerous thing in immature INTJs because we’ll do pretty much anything to stop being bored (so long as it doesn’t violate our principles).
In 2014, @Ockham’s Chainsaw linked me to a post they’d written on the topic of intelligence, mentioning that NT types are often reluctant to say, “I can’t do it,” or “I don’t know,” when taking a test because they have firm confidence in their ability to figure the problem out, even if they don’t know the answer.
The following piece of writing consists of the notes I recorded while solving the Einstein Riddle to stop being bored when I was in high school, and it’s a perfect example of Ockham’s idea.
Actually, it is easy. You just have to believe it. The problem with the 98% of people who can’t solve this riddle is that they lack the patience and the solid logic necessary to tell themselves that they can do it. As it turns out, I fall into the 2% that can effectively solve this riddle without googling instructions (since that’s no fun for an INTJ).
Come on, people. If you think you can’t do it, you’ve been watching too much telly.
I started with what I knew for sure.
- House 1 = Norwegian
- House 2 = blue (because the house next to the Norwegian is blue)
- house 3 = Brit/red (because the middle house drinks milk –> green and white have to be next to each other and green drinks coffee, so it couldn’t be them)
- House 4 = green (because green is on the left of white)
- House 5 = white
Next, using a graph, I decided to slowly decipher various details about each:
- House 1 = yellow (since I knew all the other colours) –> The yellow house owner smokes Dunhill
- House 2 owns a horse (because the horse lives next to Dunhill)
Next, I made a graph of what I knew (in order of houses):
| COLOUR | Yellow | Blue | Red | Green | White |
| Pet | Horse | ||||
| Cigar | Dunhill | ||||
| Drink | Milk | Coffee | |||
| Nationality | Norwegen | Brit |
I knew then that the water drinker could only belong at the yellow house because:
- Yellow doesn’t drink beer (beer is paired with Bluemaster and we know that yellow smokes Dunhill)
- He doesn’t drink tea (because the Dane drinks tea, not the Norwegian)
- The only option left was water
From this, I determined that the Blue house-owner smokes Blend (because Blend is neighbors with water).
Next, I looked specifically at one clue: the owner who drinks beer smokes Bluemaster
- Blue doesn’t drink beer because he smokes Blend
- Green drinks coffee and red drinks milk, so neither smoke Bluemaster
- Therefore, White drinks beer and smokes blue master
| COLOUR | Yellow | Blue | Red | Green | White |
| Pet | Horse | ||||
| Cigar | Dunhill | Blend | Bluemaster | ||
| Drink | Water | Milk | Coffee | Beer | |
| Nationality | Norwegen | Brit |
Well, there was one obvious hole there…looks like blue drinks tea and is a Dane….
I deduce that the German lives in the green house because:
- he can’t live in the blue house because he smokes Prince, not Blend
- he doesn’t smoke Bluemaster, so he doesn’t live in the white house
Red must be the bird owner, because the bird owner smokes Paul Mall and all the other cigars are taken
Yellow owns the cat because blend has a neighbor who owns a cat (and we’ve now determined that it’s not red because red owns the bird)
| COLOUR | Yellow | Blue | Red | Green | White |
| Pet | Cat | horse | Bird | ||
| Cigar | Dunhill | Blend | Paul Mall | Prince | Bluemaster |
| Drink | Water | Milk | Coffee | Beer | |
| Nationality | Norwegen | Brit | German |
We can easily see from looking at the graph that the only place left for our tea-drinking Dane is Blue.
That leaves white to be the dog-owning Swede and the green to own the fish.
| COLOUR | Yellow | Blue | Red | Green | White |
| Pet | Cat | Horse | Bird | Fish | Dog |
| Cigar | Dunhill | Blend | Paul mall | Prince | Bluemaster |
| Drink | Water | Tea | Milk | Coffee | Beer |
| Nationality | Norwegien | Dane | Brit | German | Swede |
The German owns the fish!
Character Driven vs Plot Driven Stories – My Take
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The INTJ’s Depression Battle Plan
H Janeway asked: “How does an INTJ know what she needs? I am a bit disconnected from my emotions because of depression, depression medication and being an INTJ. How do I know what I need so that I can make a plan/schedule and hopefully get better?”
I hope the best for you in your journey.
I have depression that’s heavily influenced by PTSD, I can speak to your experience of struggling to figure out what you need to do to heal.
Before I was fully aware that I had PTSD, I was very confused and very, very concerned with how I was supposed to figure out this “trap” that had caught me. At the time, many factors combined to make it so that I was not in a position to seek help. As a result, I had to figure things out on my own.
Here is what I have learned the hard way: Continue reading
The Book Addict's Guide to MBTI: 