Enneagram type 5w4 | INFJ Forum

Enneagram type 5w4

Gaze

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Sep 5, 2009
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Do you find that you can relate to other MBTI types who share your Enneagram type?


Here's a description of Enneagram 5:

Enneagram Type 5 - The Investigator

Thinkers who tend to withdraw and observe
People of this personality type essentially fear that they don't have enough inner strength to face life, so they tend to withdraw, to retreat into the safety and security of the mind where they can mentally prepare for their emergence into the world. Fives feel comfortable and at home in the realm of thought. They are generally intelligent, well read and thoughtful and they frequently become experts in the areas that capture their interest. While they are sometimes scientifically oriented, especially with the Six wing, just as many Fives are drawn to the humanities and it is not at all uncommon for Fives to have artistic inclinations. Fives are often a bit eccentric; they feel little need to alter their beliefs to accommodate majority opinion, and they refuse to compromise their freedom to think just as they please. The problem for Fives is that while they are comfortable in the realm of thought, they are frequently a good deal less comfortable when it comes to dealing with their emotions, the demands of a relationship, or the need to find a place for themselves in the world. Fives tend to be shy, nonintrusive, independent and reluctant to ask for the help that others might well be happy to extend to them.

Fives are sensitive; they don't feel adequately defended against the world. To compensate for their sensitivity, Fives sometimes adopt an attitude of careless indifference or intellectual arrogance, which has the unfortunate consequence of creating distance between themselves and others. Trying to bridge the distance can be difficult for Fives, as they are seldom comfortable with their social skills, but when they do manage it, they are often devoted friends and life long companions.

Fives are usually somewhat restrained when it comes to emotional expression, but they often have stronger feelings than they let on. Few people know what is going on beneath the surface, as Fives have an often exaggerrated need for privacy and a deep seated fear of intrusion. Because of their sensitivity and their fears of inadequacy, Fives fear being overwhelmed, either by the demands of others or by the strength of their own emotions. They sometimes deal with this by developing a minimalistic lifestyle in which they make few demands on others in exchange for few demands being made on them. Other Fives make their peace with the messiness of life and engage it more fully, but they almost always retain their fears that life is somehow going to demand more of them than they can deliver.

Fives, especially with the Four wing, sometimes mistype themselves as Fours. Such Fives recognize that they have strong emotions and don't identify with the often extremely cerebral portrait of type Five. But, Fives, unlike Fours, always retain some degree of discomfort when it comes to the expression of their emotional states. However much facility they may gain with it, the language of emotion is not their native tongue.

http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/type5.php
 
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Sorry, wrong Enneagram type - i meant 5w4, not 4w5. Made the correction.
 
I share it; do you relate to me at all? (I honestly haven't absorbed the enneagram (much less the MTBI) well enough yet to diagnose anyone else.)
 
Jet, I found What's My Type by Kathleen Hurley to be a good read on the Enneagram if you are interested.
 
I share it; do you relate to me at all? (I honestly haven't absorbed the enneagram (much less the MTBI) well enough yet to diagnose anyone else.)

I think it's easier for me to notice qualities in people I feel are similar to myself such as if they're very independent although emotionally sensitive as i am.

Fives tend to be shy, nonintrusive, independent and reluctant to ask for the help that others might well be happy to extend to them.

I can definitely relate to this, can you? And is there anything in the description you can relate to?


It's funny because it feels like such a contradiction, to feel needed but yet be so fiercely independent of anyone. And also I was never really laid back when i was younger. I am more so now. When i'm looking outwardly, outside myself, not focusing on me, i feel much more comfortable and productive. I doubt that i would've gotten 5w4 a few years back, probably 4w5 since all the focus was on me, myself and I :D.
 
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I don't know any other INFJ 1w2 irl so I have nothing to compare to. I suspect one of my ISTJ friends is 1w2 and that would explain why me and her are so similar, yet so very different. Also, while I know there are several other 1w2 members here, I can not remember them off the top of my head
 
I am pretty sure I am a 5w6. I am sure I have probably me another one somewhere along the path in life. However, I can't remember any off the top of my head. However, I am sure that I'd be able to relate to them on certain levels while wondering where exactly they cam from on others.
 
I'm a 1. However I was convinced for awhile I was an 8. I kept saying to myself, anger...I don't have issues with anger. However, if the shoe fits....

Didn't really get a strong wing though.
 
I'm a 5 with pretty balanced wings, maybe a slight lean to the 4.

I don't know anyone else that has verified an enneagram irl.

I am sure there are some other 5s that I have been drawn to, especially in school.
 
yeah i can identify with 5w4's though i don't really put as much emphasis on it as before. i'm trying to move towards my heart point at type 8 so although i can see these aspects of myself in others, the desire to isn't really there as much as it was before.

also another aspect of consideration is subtypes, i just recently typed out the type 5 subtype descriptions and they can really influence how any given type approaches a situation. so although i do believe i've talked to infj/5's before in my life, 5w4 sx/sp is another story.
 
S although i do believe i've talked to infj/5's before in my life, 5w4 sx/sp is another story.

That is another distinction that needs to be made. The stacking can make things very different inbetween the same enneagram. If I met another 1w2 who is not an so/sx like me, they likely would have a very different demenaor. More so if they are lead by sp.

So in reality. It will be really hard to find someone exactly like you. because that means there are 1728 different combinations between MBTI, Enneagram, and stacking.
 
So, the subtypes will have a stronger impact on connection between types, beyond the wings. hmm. . . . food for thought.
 
I wish I understood enneagram more. I'm always caught between type 4 and 5. I'm a lot like both, but more like one than the other depending on the day. Too bad there's not an in-between. As for the subtypes, I haven't spent much time understanding their meaning, but I really want to now. Maybe it will show me how my tendency for and attraction to melancholy feelings, and need to set myself apart from others, balances with my need for knowledge and understanding things independently....
 
INFP
4W5
SP/SX/SO

So many classifications, just shows how unique humans are and how hard it is to out them into certain personality types.
 
i'm supposedly a 5w4, it kinda fits. particularly the part that life is gonna ask too much of me.
 
I'm a 5w4. I guess by "life" they mean the part going on outside my head. In that case, I agree with the part about "feeling" like I can't face life. This feeling never manifests into a reality though. The part about not being able to ask for help rings true. I'm terrified of asking for help.
 
I'm not real familiar with enneagrams, let alone the mbti.

I did take the test, and it turns out I'm a disaster, a self absorbed one at that. 4 w 3.

I admit I identify with most of it, except for part of being artistic and expressive. I have no creative talent and always try to blend in and fly under the radar. *shrugs*

No wonder why I have a hard time connecting with others on here.
 
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Ehhh, I thought I was a 5w4, but I've somewhere down the road lost this kind of sensitivity to protecting myself from people. You could argue that I've become "counterphobic" or something. I don't care; I don't identify with it very deeply.

Also, I see quite a bit of non-continuity in my personality, so I'm not so keen on Enneagram anymore either.
 
Ehhh, I thought I was a 5w4, but I've somewhere down the road lost this kind of sensitivity to protecting myself from people. You could argue that I've become "counterphobic" or something. I don't care; I don't identify with it very deeply.

Also, I see quite a bit of non-continuity in my personality, so I'm not so keen on Enneagram anymore either.

doesn't the MBTI also presuppose a certain level of personality continuity?
 
Oh yes, I've voiced my distrust of MBTI before: http://forums.infjs.com/showthread.php?t=12962

I only think the part that says our brains are wired to be efficient for certain types of activities (depending on type) is true. I don't necessarily think that there are 16 discrete types, nor do I think a specific type will always enjoy a specific kind of activity.

Similarly for Enneagram, I don't think we have just one basic motivation, nor do I think we are necessarily stuck in one center. Someone who starts down a given area will tend to get stuck in that type of thinking, but that's about it.

Err, I still hold onto the INTP label though, because it's the most accurate description of my personality of the 16-types, with INFP a close second.
 
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