In Love with an INTP

Since she is INTP, you should introduce the concept as a hypothetical, and see how she extends the idea.

Just kidding, I donno. I just hope it really works out for you. INTPs are a lot of fun to work with, I know that much. We were talking about ENTPs in another thread, and I just think that if two people are right for one another, type is just a factor, not a determinant.
 
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Thanks so much for your posts guys :mhula: Really appreciate it.

What exactly is it that INFJs love so much about INTPs?:m075::m125:
I've been wondering this for some time...

LOL, I can answer this! xD

- Their intelligence and wit
- Their rational, sometimes egg-headed demeanour (I don't know why, but it's really cute xD)
- Their moral convictions
- Their unconventionality
 
Since she is INTP, you should introduce the concept as a hypothetical, and see how she extends the idea.

I agree with ecton and peppermint. This actually sounds like a pretty good idea.

Unless the INTP has already made up their mind that they really like you, it's probably best to approach with caution and take it slow, send out some feelers to test out their reaction before you really say in strong terms how you feel. A lot of INTPs have issues with commitment and will recoil if they feel that they're being pressured into making a decision.

Bring it up but don't expect an answer or a reaction right away. We often need some time alone to think about it before we can decide.

Best of luck!
:hug:
 
This thread is extremely interesting to me (of course, as I stated before my current bf is an INTP). I'm wondering something however---how do you know when an INTP truly likes you? I know they have commitment issues (oh heck I KNOW), but I'm wondering whether we're at the stage where commitment is felt mutually.

Are INTPs normally loyal as well? If they are convinced that they really do like someone, are they willing to keep a long term relationship? Thanks :) I guess it's especially hard for the INFJ girlfriend since she always needs "validity" in order to feel comfortable.
 
Since she is INTP, you should introduce the concept as a hypothetical, and see how she extends the idea.

This is the most concise and accurate INTP love advice I can recall seeing. Do you have some spooky INTP manual?


yepunsarang said:
Are INTPs normally loyal as well? If they are convinced that they really do like someone, are they willing to keep a long term relationship?

Might the answer to this not have more to do with personal experience of relationships? History? *ponders*

Considering the investment and risk it takes to bring a romantic relationship into reality, especially for an INTP, it wouldn't be wise or easy to discard such a thing. Surely it would have to prove seriously dysfunctional?
 
Yeah... I've come to realize over the past few months/years that we're probably some of the most frustrating bunch of people in existence to try to be close to. Most people can probably tell there's something cool beneath the surface, but unless it happens to come up in conversation--which we're usually either unable or unwilling to push for--it'll never come out. The most direct ways to find it also tend to be the least socially acceptable. Even as I was going to try to answer your question by saying "chances are, if they say they like you at some point, they really do," I realized that that's not even true. I'd almost certainly say I liked someone in order to avoid hurting their feelings unless I especially disliked them for some reason.

And while I would say that you ought to be able to rest in an INTP's consistency, that if you were sure they liked you in the past, and no fights have come up since then, they probably still do (I've actually drifted away from quite a few friends, all the while thinking we were just as close as the last time we talked--even if it was 8 or 9 months ago--under the impression that if nothing happens to change a relationship, it stays the same as it once was [do you guys really no embarrassed monkey trying to hide it's face somewhere? For shame!] )... I realized that that's not even quite true, because you have to be pretty deep inside our heads to find out what "something changed" means. I can tell from the "why does this intp suddenly avoid me all the time?" threads that come up on the INTP forum that some of those "somethings" that change our relationships to people aren't always obvious to them.

The best thing I can think to say is: if you're suspicious your INTP doesn't like you very much, find a very subtle something about their personality that gives you reason to believe that, and ask them about it very gently. Just a simple "hey... has anything ive been doing been bothering you lately? It's not like a huge deal, but I've just noticed you've been [whatever shows some form of distance], and I wasn't sure whether that was on purpose or just sorta something random you do that I shouldn't worry about." I think most INTPs are well aware of how badly they interpret other peoples' actions and things, so it won't really reflect on you if you're way off the mark. Yet if they do feel distance from you in some way, they'll probably take the opening as a chance to talk about it (as long as you made it sound like you weren't too worried, whatever their response might have been).

Gentle is the key word, though. If you sound like you're real worried they're upset at you, you have a lot less chance of getting an honest response. If you make it sound like any more than the most casual observation/thoughts, they might get all paranoid about how their (otherwise insignificant, to them) actions are perceived, get all uncomfortable around you and probably decide you take too much effort to keep feeling secure. You get the idea.


I also agree with the above people, who said hypotheticals are win. I've had casual conversations with one of my closer guy friends like "my brother said he thinks you pretty much need a girl like me... but as much as I like you, I think if I were a girl, I would probably be keeping my distance from you for XYZ reasons," and only in retrospect thought "that was probably a really awkward thing for most people to hear," just because it was all hypothetical in my head. Granted, there's a brief distance somewhere between "I don't know you at all" and "I know you quite well" where I'd be more cautious about what I say, but for the vast majority of people, it's tough to cause any problems in a hypothetical conversation.
 
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Thanks frozen_water, that was very insightful of you...
YES I must say that you bunch of people are very frustrating. But I think INFJs have great intuition, patience, and optimism that we might be quite the type to help you guys out in this department. That, has lead me to be "close" to my intp. I could def sense this closeness. But I guess I'm just being the one paranoid this time---and may be this dips into more girl/boy differences. I've just been worried whether the INTP in love usually likes someone a lot because of their inner person or because of physical attraction...or both? He always tells me that he wants everything in anything. So if this is a typical INTP trait, I'd assume that it also relates to relationships.

chocky, thanks for your input too. I did assume that once you do get past the barrier of uneasiness with an INTP (the issues of trust, intimacy, and respect that is) it's much easier to feel at home and confident that they will be loyal. As you say, especially for your type (considering how long it takes to reach this point) it is NOT easy to just let go of someone you've let in so deep.

Any sharing of INTP relationship experiences and how you guys have perceived them (what worked and what didn't) could also be appreciated :P . Thanks a lot guys. I really do think you all are a very interesting bunch of ppl that I would immediately be attracted to.
 
I can say that in relationships I have found myself incredibly ignorant of my own boundaries and needs until it has been too late to salvage any feelings of warmth.... This may or may not hold true for other INTPs, but maybe it is something to be aware of?

It could take a bit more work from you to be 'aware' for both of you - especially as when pressed for inaccessable/non-existant information, an INTP could become rather distressed.

At least I do. The most awful question in the world... "how do you feel?" I don't ******* know! It's possible to /really/ try and dig for a truthful answer... but it takes so much energy.

It's so hard to be socially, emotionally aware all the time, and this can make relationships exhausting.
 
I find myself less bothered by the "how do you feel?"s now than I was when younger. Up until 14ish, that was probably the second worst thing you could ask, next to "do something [vague/unspecified/creative]." I still don't like the second types of situations, but the first bother me a lot less now. I maaaay have had very detail oriented/nitpicky parents, though.

I can say with relatively strong confidence that INTPs are out for the inner person, not physical attraction. Besides knowing a fair few of them, there have been threads where this discussion has popped up on INTP boards, and people were typically "oh... wait... shoot... we do have bodies, don't we?" I know my sight is so glazed over that, when walking around, I don't think I ever once thought "huh... she's especially pretty" until I was about 19. Even now (I'm 21), I could probably count the number of times it's happened on my fingers.

I think you're mostly right that INFJs have the patience, skill, and character to put up with us... but to be honest, ENFPs win that battle. I have known way more ENFPs than I have INFJs, so maybe that's just it, but I've learned sooo much about dealing with people from the ones I've known throughout my life.

For relationship experiences.... unfortunately, I've only had one, and it was mostly online (though we did visit, of course)... so I'm not sure how much help I can be to you there. It lasted about a year, and the girl was a mostly-incredibly-sweet INFP. I loved the fact that she also thought about ideas, rather than events/people, and the different perspectives were also nice. She taught me that it was possible to stop, focus on it, and actually find the locations in your body where various feelings would settle... as well as making some very good moral arguments concerning watching out for animals and things like that. I still stop and dislike swatting flies just because they're annoying (though I sometimes do it by instinct still), and I'm generally a lot better at seeing peoples' feelings as substantive parts of a problem, when they complain about whatever situation (whereas before, I'd give them some short, easy way to fix it, and lose patience/stop talking to them if they didn't take it and couldn't explain why it was a bad one). She also made some of the most gorgeous music I've ever heard. Her other artistic skills were fantastic as well, but I didn't appreciate them as much... it was more just like "oh... cool. That picture would've been hard to make." These were all things that I loved, though.

The things that I hated were that she was absolutely unable to deal with conflict in a reasonable manner at all, and when we would fight she would accuse me of thinking things that I simply wasn't. But after she would try to tell me I was doing something wrong by thinking whatever I did, I would start to do what she accused me of--which would make her accuse me of something worse still.

A concrete example would be like when I plainly disagreed with her on how to deal with people who wanted her to shave her beard (yes, she had some weird hormone thing and grew a beard if she didn't shave it. I delighted in teasing her about it, hehe). A friend asked her to shave it for a party he was having, and she was very "it isn't fair that people should hate me for something I can't control. I did it anyway, but I should have just forced them to deal with it. It's their own fault for having the prejudices that make them uncomfortable in the first place." I told her that, while I agreed people were at moral fault for insisting on something like that, her response for dealing with it was extremely dangerous, based on shared religious beliefs which we had. She tells me she couldn't believe I thought what they were doing was ok, and then proceeds to tell me that while my religious arguments are usually quite strong, that one was incredibly stupid (with no explanation as to why). Then I would start saying childishly-mean things, and she'd tell me I don't respect her as a person. Then a lot of my respect for her would die, and she'd compare me to the other 'cruel' people who wanted to change something inherent about her body. I never did dislike her body, but there was definitely a marked turn in my mind where I wanted to be kind of nasty, after that.

Somewhere around that point I realized what was going on and decided in my mind "enough of you." Half of what makes people who they are is what you tell them they are--there have been many psychology tests done on it--and I wouldn't tolerate the unfair criticism. It happened to work out, because (as I learned during that argument), when she said at the beginning of the relationship "I need support when I'm upset/fighting," what she really meant was "I need absolute agreement from you when I'm upset/fighting." It's not in my nature to lie or hide part of myself from someone (ironic, given the fight XD), and even if I tried to, I wouldn't be able to agree with someone just for the sake of agreement. My true opinion and thoughts would seep through over the course of talking to them... especially with someone as perceptive as she was. And besides that, I don't even think I would be willing to tell someone I thought they were right when I thought they were wrong... so it just wasn't gonna happen. And luckly, she knew she was unwilling to be with someone who didn't support her when she fought with people, so she was equally content to put an end to it. So I put her out of my mind as much as possible and, minus a few isolated times, haven't really looked back.

So I guess that's all I'd say. The more you talk about ideas/timeless/important things, the better your chance of truly connecting with them (though of course beware... because that could either lead to great connection or huge fights). Talking about those ideas in hypotheticals greatly reduces the chance of starting fights, and increases the chance of their respecting how you process things. Don't make enemies out of people who aren't enemies. Really, the less people you hold as enemies, the better (that inferior Fe really does lurk in the background, avoiding conflict with people when we actually sense it). Be careful with your criticism, because you may turn them into the people you tell them they are. I'd also say it's a bad idea to try to hide yourself at all. If you're going to hide some part of yourself, then make sure you hide it honestly ("don't feel comfortable talking about that" or something). Dishonesty or "playing games" to try to find out what they "really" think of you will chase any INTP away faster than almost anything else.

Oh... and also make sure you snuggle often. Snuggles can help create the calm/close atmosphere that can lead to some awesome conversations. Plus, snuggles are win. ^-^
 
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I can say that in relationships I have found myself incredibly ignorant of my own boundaries and needs until it has been too late to salvage any feelings of warmth.... This may or may not hold true for other INTPs, but maybe it is something to be aware of?

It could take a bit more work from you to be 'aware' for both of you - especially as when pressed for inaccessable/non-existant information, an INTP could become rather distressed.

At least I do. The most awful question in the world... "how do you feel?" I don't ******* know! It's possible to /really/ try and dig for a truthful answer... but it takes so much energy.

It's so hard to be socially, emotionally aware all the time, and this can make relationships exhausting.

Yes, I've noticed how it seems for lots of "T" types it isn't a comfortable state to be consistently thinking about one's emotions (or normal for that matter). I think for my INTP though, it isn't so much an exhaustion (i'm thinking more extreme Ts to be this way), it's rather coming to a realization about them. I realize this part of him, so i'm not pushy and overly demanding about consistent verbal expressions of affection. But I need to keep tabs on them just for my sanity---to know my love is being returned :mhula:

I'm thinking it's healthy and smart to just talk about it a little bit after a while. Just to help him and I consciously realize where we are and how much we care about each other <3 For INTPs in relationships, I realize you guys just go with the flow---not really thinking about things like this until it hits you.
 
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I find myself less bothered by the "how do you feel?"s now than I was when younger. Up until 14ish, that was probably the second worst thing you could ask, next to "do something [vague/unspecified/creative]." I still don't like the second types of situations, but the first bother me a lot less now. I maaaay have had very detail oriented/nitpicky parents, though.

I can say with relatively strong confidence that INTPs are out for the inner person, not physical attraction. Besides knowing a fair few of them, there have been threads where this discussion has popped up on INTP boards, and people were typically "oh... wait... shoot... we do have bodies, don't we?" I know my sight is so glazed over that, when walking around, I don't think I ever once thought "huh... she's especially pretty" until I was about 19. Even now (I'm 21), I could probably count the number of times it's happened on my fingers.

I think you're mostly right that INFJs have the patience, skill, and character to put up with us... but to be honest, ENFPs win that battle. I have known way more ENFPs than I have INFJs, so maybe that's just it, but I've learned sooo much about dealing with people from the ones I've known throughout my life.

For relationship experiences.... unfortunately, I've only had one, and it was mostly online (though we did visit, of course)... so I'm not sure how much help I can be to you there. It lasted about a year, and the girl was a mostly-incredibly-sweet INFP. I loved the fact that she also thought about ideas, rather than events/people, and the different perspectives were also nice. She taught me that it was possible to stop, focus on it, and actually find the locations in your body where various feelings would settle... as well as making some very good moral arguments concerning watching out for animals and things like that. I still stop and dislike swatting flies just because they're annoying (though I sometimes do it by instinct still), and I'm generally a lot better at seeing peoples' feelings as substantive parts of a problem, when they complain about whatever situation (whereas before, I'd give them some short, easy way to fix it, and lose patience/stop talking to them if they didn't take it and couldn't explain why it was a bad one). She also made some of the most gorgeous music I've ever heard. Her other artistic skills were fantastic as well, but I didn't appreciate them as much... it was more just like "oh... cool. That picture would've been hard to make." These were all things that I loved, though.

The things that I hated were that she was absolutely unable to deal with conflict in a reasonable manner at all, and when we would fight she would accuse me of thinking things that I simply wasn't. But after she would try to tell me I was doing something wrong by thinking whatever I did, I would start to do what she accused me of--which would make her accuse me of something worse still.

A concrete example would be like when I plainly disagreed with her on how to deal with people who wanted her to shave her beard (yes, she had some weird hormone thing and grew a beard if she didn't shave it. I delighted in teasing her about it, hehe). A friend asked her to shave it for a party he was having, and she was very "it isn't fair that people should hate me for something I can't control. I did it anyway, but I should have just forced them to deal with it. It's their own fault for having the prejudices that make them uncomfortable in the first place." I told her that, while I agreed people were at moral fault for insisting on something like that, her response for dealing with it was extremely dangerous, based on shared religious beliefs which we had. She tells me she couldn't believe I thought what they were doing was ok, and then proceeds to tell me that while my religious arguments are usually quite strong, that one was incredibly stupid (with no explanation as to why). Then I would start saying childishly-mean things, and she'd tell me I don't respect her as a person. Then a lot of my respect for her would die, and she'd compare me to the other 'cruel' people who wanted to change something inherent about her body. I never did dislike her body, but there was definitely a marked turn in my mind where I wanted to be kind of nasty, after that.

Somewhere around that point I realized what was going on and decided in my mind "enough of you." Half of what makes people who they are is what you tell them they are--there have been many psychology tests done on it--and I wouldn't tolerate the unfair criticism. It happened to work out, because (as I learned during that argument), when she said at the beginning of the relationship "I need support when I'm upset/fighting," what she really meant was "I need absolute agreement from you when I'm upset/fighting." It's not in my nature to lie or hide part of myself from someone (ironic, given the fight XD), and even if I tried to, I wouldn't be able to agree with someone just for the sake of agreement. My true opinion and thoughts would seep through over the course of talking to them... especially with someone as perceptive as she was. And besides that, I don't even think I would be willing to tell someone I thought they were right when I thought they were wrong... so it just wasn't gonna happen. And luckly, she knew she was unwilling to be with someone who didn't support her when she fought with people, so she was equally content to put an end to it. So I put her out of my mind as much as possible and, minus a few isolated times, haven't really looked back.

So I guess that's all I'd say. The more you talk about ideas/timeless/important things, the better your chance of truly connecting with them (though of course beware... because that could either lead to great connection or huge fights). Talking about those ideas in hypotheticals greatly reduces the chance of starting fights, and increases the chance of their respecting how you process things. Don't make enemies out of people who aren't enemies. Really, the less people you hold as enemies, the better (that inferior Fe really does lurk in the background, avoiding conflict with people when we actually sense it). Be careful with your criticism, because you may turn them into the people you tell them they are. I'd also say it's a bad idea to try to hide yourself at all. If you're going to hide some part of yourself, then make sure you hide it honestly ("don't feel comfortable talking about that" or something). Dishonesty or "playing games" to try to find out what they "really" think of you will chase any INTP away faster than almost anything else.

Oh... and also make sure you snuggle often. Snuggles can help create the calm/close atmosphere that can lead to some awesome conversations. Plus, snuggles are win. ^-^

Hhehehe thanks frozen_water for your looong responses. They're awfully helpful and I really enjoy reading them. My INTP loves snuggles too <3 I thought you little ones did have some fuzziness inside there and I'm right!

So funny that you talk about the "body" thing. It's totally the way I am~ I feel like the body is just a home to house my most beautiful self. :m027: Superficiality and shallowness are probably the things I detest the most. It literally makes me gag. So of course, it would be the worst insult in the world for someone to "love" me because of this material thing---my body. My attraction to my INTP began in the first place, because he was the only guy in my uni that seemed so awesome.

I guess i've just gotten a little worried because we're starting off a new relationship---and I guess that means hormones jumping off the walls, being touchy feely :P. It's just gotten to a point where I got paranoid that may be he was more into the physical part of me than actually me. We got this point resolved though---and I do find it hard to believe that he could be missing out on the true part of me and forsake it for something any girl can have.

Oh those darn lovely INFPs. lol. You have no idea how many of those are in my life. I love them to death, really. But they are so ingrained on their "F" that when they go cahoots, GET AWAY! Unless you want to wrestle on to the ground and get a hoarse voice yelling, "Just LISTEN TO ME. I did NOT mean that. Stop accusing me of saying/ being something I'm not/ do not mean!" Drives me crazy, but I try to be ultra patient and understand inherently that this is just the way their brains are wired. But yes, in a relationship, I could see how exhausting that could be. May be i'll just stick with INFJs and INTxs as mates :P

Just another quick question for you guys---I get the sense that lots of INTPs like comfort, routine, peace, stability in relationships. But i'm worried (after hearing what other ppl have to say about relationships) that sometimes after the passion dies down, or the "excitement" state, things get boring and your mate might get bored of you. I'm thinking that that'd be unlikely for INTPs though, because once they find someone comfortable---someone they could open up to and be understood, they'd feel warm and content. Am I right?
 
oh and how emotionally needy would you say INTPs are? If you don't think a lot, do you feel that that doesn't necessarily mean they don't need you/ want you/ love you, but just that they feel comfortable and confident that they are there for you, and vice versa?
 
I discovered today that I too... am in love with a INTP. And if I had read this post first.. I wouldn't have been in half the situation I am.. then again.. I might have.

If you read my earlier posts, I am deeply and utterly in love.. She amazes me. She is my Everything. Her name is Amber, and she is an INTP. Or.. I honestly believe she is..

It is because of her that I'm here actually.. looking to find and correct issues with me, and fight for us. She is logic over heart. (Thinking over Feeling). Emotions aren't shared. Seven months and she told me just the other day I should *know* she loves me by her actions.. she is yet to say the words.

Funny is how an INTP can tell an INFJ we don't know what love is.. :| We're so attached to our emotions, logic almost baffles us. lol

We broke up on May 5th and spent a month working on the details and getting closer.. June 5th, she did a complete 180, reverted 30 days back to square one.. because of logic. Emotionally - she said we could have something wonderful.. logically she just saw a man who didn't open up, who kept secrets and sealed lips. Had a major perfection issue, which lead to lies.. (this I agree with and am working diligently on the changes that need to take place) I can't give up or walk away. I'm fighting.. and she is walking. :| She replies to logical requests of advice, but emotions she cares nothing for. I could bleed them before her, and she'd simply shrug it off and claim I'm trying to "manipulate" her. :| *sigh* She wears her pain to her heart. And lashes out at me with it. She decided to walk away but still hasn't. Not completely, not yet. We never could stay away from each other for to long.

There you have it.. I'm in love with a INTP. God help me. lol
 
No problem, haha. Writing things out does help me process them too.


Just another quick question for you guys---I get the sense that lots of INTPs like comfort, routine, peace, stability in relationships. But i'm worried (after hearing what other ppl have to say about relationships) that sometimes after the passion dies down, or the "excitement" state, things get boring and your mate might get bored of you. I'm thinking that that'd be unlikely for INTPs though, because once they find someone comfortable---someone they could open up to and be understood, they'd feel warm and content. Am I right?

I'm not sure which way you're asking about here. Are you worried that after the excitement dies down, he'll get bored of you, or you'll get bored of him? I dunno about other INTPs, but for my part, I tend to hate being around people who are all about excitement. At least, it's that way with friends... I'd imagine relationships would be the same way. If someone's life seems built around quick, short-term excitement, I usually just get stressed out by assuming they expect that from me. If they don't, then I feel a lot more relaxed (like you said), and tend to think of it as their responsibility to tell me if they're getting bored of me. If someone doesn't seem to me to require me to entertain them, and doesn't complain about my boring them, then I can't imagine my boredom ever interfering.

And yes, you're exactly right. I'm veery content with someone after I've crossed the point where I enjoy opening up to them, and after we get to that point, it takes a pretty major problem to make me want away from them.



oh and how emotionally needy would you say INTPs are? If you don't think a lot, do you feel that that doesn't necessarily mean they don't need you/ want you/ love you, but just that they feel comfortable and confident that they are there for you, and vice versa?

I'm also not 100% sure I know what you're asking here, but I'll give it a stab. I'm particularly sensitive to certain kinds of criticism... which might fall under emotionally needy? ...but really it's not too extreme at all. Odds are just by being INFJ you're a lot more sensitive to criticism than I am, haha. I think I would get kind of annoyed if like, a girlfriend seemed to keep blowng me off for other things... but I'm sure I could also feel suffocated if I were with her every minute of every day (tho I'd want to be, at the start of the relationship, im sure :)). Words and little romantic gestures are absolutely not necessary, though. In fact they might stress me out a little, because I wouldn't be sure if I was expected to reciprocate. I just ended up talking to the gf I had about that kind of stuff, though, and it didn't turn out to be a problem at all (at least for the year we were together).

Was the second part of your question asking me whether I thought other people were emotionally needy? If it was, then I'd say no, I don't think they are at all. Well I mean, I kind of know better now... but I didn't realize it til I was like... 19 or 20? and to be honest I usually fall ahead of the typical learning curve with INTPs and understanding people. INTPs don't so much have a "void" of emotional-thingies as they do have a blind spot. We never really consider our own, and when we start to interact with people, it's kind of like "well..... they look like me, they seem to need food & sleep like i do, we all do pretty much the same things (school & work)... *shrugs*, they probably think somewhat like me too." Honestly it wasn't until MBTI (brought to me by my ENFP brother when I was 19) that I stopped thinking that was true.

So yeah... if I had dated anyone before I realized that, I would have been atrocious at, like.... dealing with anyone on a personal level, except maybe another INTx. Anyone else would have almost definitely had to tell me they were worried I didn't like them, and probably explain why they thought that, for me to realize they might actually be insecure.


seekling-self..... seriously, and INTP told you you didn't open up? o.O
 
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Just another quick question for you guys---I get the sense that lots of INTPs like comfort, routine, peace, stability in relationships. But i'm worried (after hearing what other ppl have to say about relationships) that sometimes after the passion dies down, or the "excitement" state, things get boring and your mate might get bored of you. I'm thinking that that'd be unlikely for INTPs though, because once they find someone comfortable---someone they could open up to and be understood, they'd feel warm and content. Am I right?

I like warm, stable, low-maintenance relationships. I don't enter into relationships very easily or without a lot of thought so once I'm committed then I'm committed until I see a reason to end it. I don't really feel a need for lots of affirmation or romantic gestures, which means that often it doesn't occur to me that this is something that my partner might need or want.

As for getting boring... I was in a relationship that fizzled that way. After four years it got boring. We liked each other but ran out of things to say. He's a really nice person but he lacks a lot of imagination and isn't really interested in a lot of the things I'm interested in. Gradually I stopped sharing other things that I would usually share with him because we weren't talking much anymore. That was pretty much the end.

I'm kind of infatuated with an INFJ right now and I find him exciting. He's intelligent and we have a lot of similar interests. We spend a lot of time thinking up silly schemes and scenarios or puns and I love it. Will that last? I don't know. But what I do know right now is that we have a lot of common interests and we have great conversations that I find really stimulating and enjoyable. As long as that lasts I'll be happy.

yepunsarang said:
oh and how emotionally needy would you say INTPs are? If you don't think a lot, do you feel that that doesn't necessarily mean they don't need you/ want you/ love you, but just that they feel comfortable and confident that they are there for you, and vice versa?

I don't consider myself very emotionally needy, but in relationships I really value having someone close that I can share my feelings with. I don't feel like I need to do this often. It's more a matter of knowing that if I need to there's a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to that they're there.

I suspect that INTPs aren't nearly as emotional as INFJs. I do have feelings but most of the time I exist in a state of calm neutral and that's what I like to project out onto the world. Even when I do have strong feelings I don't like to show them to anyone. They come up like a storm and my response is to withdraw until it blows over. I have a hard time trusting people with that sort of information.

If I actually let you in and talk about it then I probably really like you.
 
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