Are INFJ's prone to depression?

[Artisan]

I often find myself depressed / sad for no apparent reason and I was wondering if this is a predisposition of my personality or something else. I don't make friends easily and have some difficulty connecting with others, I've always been this way but it can be a lonely way to live sometimes.

I used to be very depressed as a kid... but that was mostly due to my experiences in life, stuff like being bullied at school in addition to having an unpleasant home situation. I do not think that combo has much to do with being an INFJ though. What perhaps does have something to do with it is that compared to the more common types we generally seem to be a bit more sensitive to negativity.

What to you seems to be no apparent reason, might simply be you subconsciously responding to something/someone in your environment.

What I suggest is finding ways to make it easier to deal with things take a turn for the worse.
The biggest most major one, is changing your mindset towards life. This takes ages but it's well worth it in the end.
- Think of 10 positive things for each negative thing you think.
- Work towards something positive, turn your dreams into approximate long term goals.
- Have backup plans for everything you do. Don't put all your eggs in 1 basket.

Example:
You want to go on a really cool internship. You do not get hired for said internship. You still have plan B, which is an internship somewhere else and move on to plan B. If Plan B doesn't work out either, move on to C, same story, Plan D might be a personal project which replaces the internship. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I do that for all things in life. I got this major list of goals in life. It's a list of things that would make me happy. I'll probably never achieve all of them, but it's kinda magical whenever I can cross something else off of that list because I achieved it. Those goals, they're long term goals that I'll work towards for all of my life.

The method of achieving them such as a career or the timeframe in which you secretly hoped to achieve them, will always at some point experience some unpleasant setbacks. This is where backup plans / Safety nets / Safety lines and additional baskets come in. It SERIOUSLY takes A LOT of the sting, hurt and pain off of your setbacks and makes it a little bit easier to deal with it. Because whilst it is still disappointing, upsetting and possibly heartbreaking. You will not be at a loss for what to do, in fact, you will have things that you know you gotta do because it's time for your plan B.

Other things you could do might be a bit "girly" but that doesn't mean it won't help. You could make a jar in which you fill in Good / Happy Memories, things that make you feel happy, etc, etc, etc. So that when you're stuck in that depressive loop you can get that little boost you need to help you remember that not all things in life are bad.

Or you make a Jar featuring things you hope to do / experience in life, those are especially good when you run out of reason's to live, because really, if you're thinking of offing yourself, you might as well get those last few experiences right? Wanna see the north pole? grab your money and either get a flight there or walk if you don't have any. If you want to end it all anyway, it doesn't matter that you don't have money or got far to walk or hitch-hike right? Pure muscle power will get it done. And if at some point you wanna back out of it, or lack the energy to continue, there's plenty of police stations in every country to get help at to get back home.

Get a pet. Pet's make you feel a little less lonely. Especially dogs and cats. Dogs, because they force you to walk them, unless you want them to crap in your home and cat's because they force you to pay attention to them when they want to be petted.

Hell you could even try those power poses, whatever works for you right?

I don't really have any true friends to "dump on" so I just deal with things internally. Is this an INFJ thing? Probably not, just a product of my life experience , anyway no worries, life is good!

Actually, I do think it is a Male INFJ if it isn't an INFJ thing.
You see, a lot of INFJ's do struggle with making friends. Usually we're accepted in most clicks, at least later in life, but never really feel like we're part of them. (even though we probably could be) If you ask a lot of the male infj's on the forum, they tend to have very few friends. I'm not sure about the why though. It might have to do with our life experiences.

 

[Deleted member 10171]

I very rarely get depressed (if I do, I get over it relatively quickly) - probably more likely to get stressed. When I start cleaning or rearranging furniture then I know I need time out!

 

[cptawesome]

I often find myself depressed / sad for no apparent reason and I was wondering if this is a predisposition of my personality or something else. I don't make friends easily and have some difficulty connecting with others, I've always been this way but it can be a lonely way to live sometimes.

Anyway I was hoping some here could enlighten me.

What i have found about INFJ's is that we tend to see what people imply and absorb why they imply it. This leaves us drained because although it was just a casual conversation for other types the INFJ sees too much. Its not just that its sunny outside to Evelyn, its that she wishes that light penetrated her relationship with her husband or the kids type of thing. Idk Im INFJ. Don't ask.

 

[Catcool72]

What i have found about INFJ's is that we tend to see what people imply and absorb why they imply it. This leaves us drained because although it was just a casual conversation for other types the INFJ sees too much. Its not just that its sunny outside to Evelyn, its that she wishes that light penetrated her relationship with her husband or the kids type of thing. Idk Im INFJ. Don't ask.

This made me crack up! Right on the money! I get drained trying to be more positive even though I know what is implied. It's like constantly trying to love people but always seeing their pains or character flaws and instead of being vocal about things I go a examine all my reasoning until I get to some rational that I can live with

 

[Miswired7]

Based on my own experience along with cyber exploration, I believe the answer is yes. INFJs are prone to depression. For me, it has never been the kind of depression that would make me unable to function or to at least keep going through the motions. It is a deep, existential sadness with a touch of hopeless nihilism.
Frank James (YouTube) attributes INFJ depression to the Ni-Ti loop. I believe he is right. And I know that for myself, the antidote is Fe... I have to get out of my head and reach out to others. So easy to say, but so hard to do when you are in the middle of it.

 

[bonfire]

I think INFJs tend to have what's called a High-Functioning Anxiety--https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...igns-youre-introvert-high-functioning-anxiety It's usually not a full-fledged depression, although that may also manifest in some phases in INFJ's life. But in general, INFJs tend to suffer from minor to average anxiety because of how our mind works. A lot of INFJs report rarely feel like they have a solidly comfort or safe zone or 'bubbles'. In my opinion, it's okay to be like that as long as we're not falling into a full-fledged depression. To me it's a common, perpetual condition that it didn't quite bother me that much (lol). It's like feeling safe in the anxiety, or feeling calm in the turmoil, probably because chaos is predictable, but peace is unreliable and short-lived.

 

[bonfire]

I often find myself depressed / sad for no apparent reason and I was wondering if this is a predisposition of my personality or something else. I don't make friends easily and have some difficulty connecting with others, I've always been this way but it can be a lonely way to live sometimes.

Anyway I was hoping some here could enlighten me.

It's possible that it's related to your personality type, but not always. Depression can be caused by myriads of reasons, and other types (especially introverts) can suffer from depression just as much. You may want to look back into your life, upbringing, environment and don't forget to take your enneagram into the equation too. Sometimes toxic environment can affect a person's mentality and causes depression.