Featured [INFJ] LIFE IN AN OVERACTIVE MIND : Intuition and Mindfulness

INFJ Mental Disorders, Health & Emotional Sensitivity

I want to talk a bit about INFJs and mental health, something that seem to be a quite popular and reacquiring subject out there. Unfortunately mental health is somewhat a struggle for many INFJs and there are many misconceptions concerning it. Misconceptions in the regard that INFJs would in some way be weaker on a mental and emotional level and that would be why many struggle with anxiety and depression. It is true that we are more sensitive then other personalities but that doesn’t necessary equal anything along the lines of weakness. It has been shown that INxx types in general are the ones that often struggle with emotional sensitivity. I would say that a heightened emotional sensitivity is as much a strength as it can make life harder at times. You are merely playing on a completely different playing field then less emotionally evolved people. Being more sensitive to emotions equals a greater understanding and perception of them. It is easy for other people to call you unstable or emotional when they themselves cannot perceive the situation at hand. We all view life through different lenses, but INFJs can often view life throughout multiple lenses, free from conditioning or influence. Being this type of empathic people with often divided personalities is what makes it hard in comparison with others. Yet there is nothing wrong with us or our mental health, simply the fault lies in the rest of the worlds comparison of us with themselves.

The nature of intuition is in not trusting how things appear even thought answers may be laid out in front of you. Always searching for alternative possibilities, clues or hints of the true nature of things. It is no wonder why INFJs can easily feel that they are losing their grip when as an introverted intuitive dominant, your are always changing and endlessly searching for meaning within yourself and the rest of the world. This is what intuition is meant to do, and in there lies much of the problem when it comes to mental health issues. You can ask yourself the question that if you no longer trust what you can see and feel with your own senses, does that mean you are mentally ill? An unhealthy version of this would be somebody who is schizophrenic. Yet there are similarities here like being able to view the world unattached from presumptions of how things are and should be. In other words, viewing it free from previous experiences, like you would view it for the very first time. In order for INFJs to draw those incredible conclusions about the nature of things this is what is needed on a mental level. So it is not hard to understand that always operating in this type of functionality comes with certain drawbacks. Like when we get stressed or pressured we can even stop trusting ourselves and our own existence.

How do you handle your thoughts and emotions when they seem even more real then the things happening in the world around you? Here is where our inferior function comes in, and the reason we have this fetish for extroverted sensing is because without it we would lose ourselves completely. It is the counter weight to our intuition which keeps it from tipping off the scale, which is what can happen when we get stressed. The scale can also be tipped in favor of the inferior function under stress, and we start to judge ourselves and who we are from our results in the outside world. This is very much the complete opposite of who we really are as INFJs. Negative life experiences often reinforces negative self value, and this is what happens with INFJs that operate to much in their inferior function. You start to forget who you are and your own value. You forget one of the most special things that you have as an INFJ which is emotional health, morals and values which are pure and unaffected by the external world. Because we all know that you cannot change the opinion of an INFJ, and you cannot force us to believe in anything we don’t.

To wrap this all up I want to share some tips concerning emotional health. If you often struggle with anxiety, negative self thoughts and fears, it is important to remember one thing. You are not your thoughts. The brain is an organ like any other in the body. The heart pumps blood, the stomach digest food and the brain creates thoughts. It is it’s sole function and you cannot stop it from happening. What you can do on the other hand is understand this process and that just because the thoughts are there and pass by in your mind, doesn’t mean they are true.

To master your emotions you need to master your mind. The key to this is mindfulness practise. Here is a book I highly recommend to get started with mindfulness:

INFJs and the Challenge of Staying Present

Sometimes when I’m driving my mind wanders. I’ll brake at a stop sign and not remember how I got there. I’ll reach the edge of a town and marvel that the drive seemed to take so little time. Someone will ask if I noticed that new building going up on a route I drive at least twice weekly and I’ll have no clue what they’re talking about.

I’ve never ended up in a dangerous situation because of this and my driving record is clean. I suppose I actually am paying attention and it just doesn’t register in my long-term memory. Actually, the scariest thing is when I am trying to focus and still can’t seem to notice what’s right in front of my face. I’ve learned to check blind spots twice before merging and triple-check at roundabouts because I’ve nearly been hit several times after looking for other cars and just not seeing them.
INFJ Mental Wiring


My Myers-Briggs personality type is INFJ. That means I lead with a mental process called Introverted Intuition. Personality Hackerdescribes it as “advanced pattern recognition” that’s inwardly focused. My brain wants to spend its time in my inner world sorting through ideas, abstract observations, and facts looking for how they fit together. That’s also the primary way I learn new information.

Every type has introverted and extroverted sides. For INFJs, the extroverted function we use most comfortably is called Extroverted Feeling. It’s primarily concerned with making decisions that maintain harmony in relationships. Though this function is focused outward, it’s not the best mental process for taking in information about the physical world.

INFJs have a Extroverted Sensing as their inferior function. Types that use Extroverted Sensing comfortably (most notably the SP types) thrive in the tangible, physical world. They’re comfortable in their own bodies and in-tune with the world around them. But for INFJs, that’s the side of our personality we’re lest comfortable with.

Blind To The World
No matter how out of touch we sometimes feel, we still have to live in a real world. I can wear a tee-shirt featuring a mermaid riding a unicorn and saying “I live in my own reality,” but it doesn’t change the fact that I have to live in a physical world. The inner world might feel more real, but I still need the outer world as well.

So what’s an INFJ to do when staying present in the real world is a daily challenge? Personally, I’ve found yoga is what helps me most. Starting out my day with a routine that makes me focus on my body and my environment helps ground me for the rest of the day. Other INFJs find different ways to make reality feel real. They eat meals so good that it helps them focus on the physical sensation of tasting. They keep pets that make them focus on something outside their heads. They join social groups of people with similar interests so they can indulge their intuitive and their extroverted sides at the same time.

When driving, I always listen to music. Some people think music is a distraction when driving but for me it’s a grounding mechanism, especially when I sing. Podcasts and the like don’t work because they make me think, which turns me inward. Music is outside my head and to sing along I have to focus outward to keep on time and (hopefully) stay on key. And that helps keep my focus on the road as well.

What about my fellow INFJs (or any other types with strong intuition)? What Sensing activities do you struggle with and have you found any strategies that help you stay present in the real world?

(Marissa Baker is the author of The INFJ Handbook (available in the Amazon Kindle Store). Her writings have appeared in web and print publications including eHow and Living Education and she blogs at marissabaker.wordpress.com about everything from psychology to Star Wars to religion.)

Other Posts You’ll Love!

Understanding INFJ Intuition


The Struggles of Being an INFJ Child

5 Ways to Annoy an INFJ





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I was going to list all the readers comments also as they have valuable information on real life applications of mindfulness. Here's the link so you may check those out if you like:
http://www.psychologyjunkie.com/2017/03/29/infjs-challenge-staying-present/

INFJ RAMBLINGS

HSP (HIGHLY SENSITIVE PEOPLE)

• INFJ & MBTI

• INTROVERTS

• LIFESTYLE

• NEUROSCIENCE

• RAMBLINGS

 

You are most welcome @Isabella. Finding gems that others find usful brings me great joy. Having an overactive mind can be both blessing and curse at times.
Sandie33 said: ↑
Someone will ask if I noticed that new building going up on a route I drive at least twice weekly and I’ll have no clue what they’re talking about.
I typically do this with friends and family when they make a change in their appearance, hair, clothes, weightloss etc., they get quite irritated when I don't "notice" the change straight off

We share this...I have often wondered if other INFJ's find walking calming.

Fun story: I tend to need a second opinion while I'm mulling over something important. I'll talk to myself outloud with one side, while mentally arguing the other side. To an outside observer they only see/hear the one side. Folks that care about me tell me its quite comical, yet it causes me to seem quite crazy to others who don't know me. Much of the time I explain to observers that I know that I appear looney, but that I distinctly know what I'm doing. This "habit" came from needing to weigh the pros & cons of a situation or idea, and because I spend so much of my time alone, I picked up this strategy of using my logical mind as a sounding board for my whimsical mind and that there is only just so much room in my head, lol. Sounds goofy, huh.

It is comforting to hear when others share similar behaviors, makes my world not seem quite so large, thank you for replying.

 

It will come @Ginny. I can relate to feeling 'stuck'. This is a primary reason that for me being present, practicing mindfulness and remaining grounded physically is so important to me.

There was a time, about 15-20 years ago that I spent the majority of my waking hours "in my head", daydreaming time away. I was fearful that I would perhaps just drift away in my mind one day never to return to life, that scared the hell out of me and I began practicing mindfulness and meditation more seriously.

 

Happy you found value in the post.

I'm learning that perhaps INTJ's are just as unique as are INFJ's (all the 16P's are)...I agree with the uncanny similarities of the two. It is to my detriment that I came to believe for many years INTJ and I were like trying to mix oil and water, there just didn't seem to be a bridge between us. After analyzing my part in that, I realized that with my feelings based cold logic and the INTJ's fact-based analytical logic is where the clash begins.

My conclusion with most INTJ's and myself is:

INTJ says: you are not seeing the facts of the issue

to which I say: you are not seeing the possibilities of the issue.

Makes perfect sense to me, now, I'm hopeful all the INTJ's of past encounters forgive me as I try and right future encounters

 

I do get what you are saying, however I'm the wrong person to ask, lol. My Fe and Fi are almost equal with Fi being slightly less than Fe. At least thats what the testing says I am like a big feelings barameter/antena. A sensative, often scoring 100% empath. I know what Im feeling, he's feeling, she's feeling and can pick up on the feeling (vibe) in a crowded room. I can hone in on the most angry, anxious, sad, etc person. I usually talk to them first as a means to clear the negative energy in the room. This happens so automatically that I tend not to consciously know thats what im doing until hindsight kicks in. Used to scare the crap out of me, and cause me loads of anxiety, and frustration. That is until I learned most of all these 'feels' aren't even mine and I can shut them down...drawback being, I'm not perfect at it and can inadvertantly shut myself down too. You know that "resting bitchy face" everyone yammers about? My peeps tell me I invented that look, . I call it 'poker face'. I can stand and listen to the sloppiest sob story and not show a single tell that I feel anything...even my eyes shut off.

Fe is complicated I believe because it presents differently in each person suffering from it. Yes, **hangs head while laughing meniacally** We do suffer it. Try reading this and see if it makes more sense to you:

Fe (Extraverted Feeling) users are very aware of the overall mood of the environment and they work to maintain a sense of harmony in their outer world. They can easily and proficiently change the mood to make it more happy, upbeat, or sad depending on what seems appropriate at the time. Extraverted feelers are usually polite, empathetic, and helpful.
http://www.psychologyjunkie.com/2015/12/17/how-do-you-use-extraverted-feeling/

 

LOL, no I don't mind the extra words. I'm so used to people just knowing that INFJ's typically stick to the facts (truth) of a matter, I should have stuck it in for clarity instead of leaning on common knowledge.

Brings up a point addressed in my therapy appointment...Chris, she's the therapist, often has me explain further on some topic being discussed because I tend to take common knowledge as being experienced by everyone, it is not She often chastises me for assuming that others just get it. I explained to her that THAT is one reason we INFJ's feel so alone, even in a crowd.