intj, posts by tag: introversion - LiveJournal

I just posted a comment about liking analog watches more than digital watches, and said I didn't know where it fit in.  But now I do know. 

I prefer analog because it gives the big picture ~~ you can see how the current minute fits into the 12-hour period.  A digital readout gives only one data point and no context.

So I figure this is an interior intuitive function with an external thinking function.  I'm trying to sort out the interior/exterior and various functions, so I'd love to see a discussion about it.  :)

I have a strong dislike for being in social situations and always prefer to do my own thing rather than get involved with other people. Through schooling I kept my head down for a long time and in college am now finding that this periodically shifts into anxiety - whether in class, a one-on-one conversation, group work, etc. I know that my preference for I over E is strongly polarized, but some degree of interpersonal skill is required to function in the world. To top it all off, anxiety is one of the least rational things I can think of. I have absolutely no idea how to temper it, so I avoid all but the necessary interactions.

How do you make social situations work even with a strong Introversion preference, or (if this applies to you) the malaise that accompanies interaction? I do see a counselor, but I think that my prolonged practice of keeping to myself has allowed this anxiety to develop. Perhaps other INTJs have had the same experience.

Sorry that I'm having a hard time pinning down which specific question I want to ask. I didn't want to dredge up old posts on anxiety in this community, and figured starting a new thread would be a better way to find responses. Any comments would be appreciated.

 Many of the posts in this community focus on the socially rebellious nature of the INTJ- how we don't really care what others think and how we are frustrated by inane social ritual and that others just "don't get introverts" and other related gripes.

Of course, we INTJs also have another side, a very sensitive and powerfully emotional side. We're just not very good at managing it, so we tend to ignore it when we can. I'd like to talk about that. One of the descriptive statements I've seen applied to INTJs is that we are "hypersensitive to rejection", which I find very interesting. For a type whose bravado is so very devil-may-care what others think of me, we are a very soft-shelled people when it comes to rejection from others that we respect or care about. For the most "confident" type, we can also be, when out of our area of expertise, extremely insecure.

I'd like to hear about other's experiences with this "hypersensitivity" or really anything about the importance of having other people in your life.

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This cracked me up, so I thought I'd share. An INFP friend with a 3.5yo son reported:

... Every time we went somewhere today he'd say, "Oh no, people!" and hide his face in my leg.

I so know what he means. I'm going to start saying, "Oh no, people!"

For the most part, I'm heavily I-- any E tendencies I normally have are minimal. Socializing exhausts me, I don't party, I prefer much smaller groups and quieter settings when I do socialize, and I can be a bit on the shy side. Because of this, people who've known me for a while (and perhaps for not so long) tend to be absolutely shocked when they see me performing on stage.

I love performing for crowds. I've am currently/have been involved with variety shows, plays, musicals, cheerleading, and dance teams. I'm vastly different when I'm on stage-- particularly with the less regulated forms of performing (variety shows, singing, more freestyle dance). I'm a sucker for crowd involvement, and I'm always singing to someone/staring the audience in the face/trying to work the crowd.

Last year, after the finale of a show, a music teacher of mine (and a co-director of the show) came up to me and told me that she was so surprised when she saw me on stage-- that I was "almost a different person out there."

Outside of the stage, though, I'm introverted once again. Even in practices and rehearsals-- while I'm constantly called on to help out and teach others, I'm not nearly the extraverted maniac I am on stage. It's back to my normally reserved self.

If anything, I guess I'd attribute all to my T side-- the clear-cut, logical rationalization that this is how I act on stage, this is how I am when I'm off stage. My "performing" behavior seems almost like a secondary personality that I can summon up only in the appropriate context.

So I couldn't help but wonder-- are any other INTJs here like this, or experience something similar?

The description of the 'INTJ' character type resembles the description of so-called 'schizoid personality disorder' and 'schizotypal personality disorder' in mental health manuals, though the mbti parameters are arbitrary enough that a wide range of character can fall under 'INTJ'. As I will describe, the descriptions of 'schizoid personality disorder' and 'schizotypal personality disorder' are highly deceptive, because they falsely associate true disorders with particular character traits. Here I call such character traits 'pseudoschizoid':

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 I have "tested" as an INTJ several times.  Recently I started seeing a counselor because I have mild anxiety/depression.  I am wondering if when I get better and learn to think more positively, maybe I won't be the same personality type.  For example, is my introversion truly that or is it because I have anxiety and avoid people?  Is it because I am just negative and think most people are idiots?  

I'm open to discussion about this if anyone is interested.

I just joined the group, and while I have not taken the Myers-Briggs test, I've taken several others. I usually test as an INTJ, though occasionally as an ISTJ. My sister even took the test "as" me, and still came up with INTJ.

My main problem comes with the fact that I am on the extreme end of the introversion scale. I usually end up with a score of 100 or the very high 90s. (The score when my sister took it was 89.) I'm perfectly happy with the limited socialization I get from my family and the friends I keep in contact with via the Internet.

I graduated college in May (BS in Political Science) and need to find a job. I have never really had one, except dogsitting for a neighbor and a work-study job my last two years of college that a professor of mine asked if I wanted (I washed glassware in the back room of a bio lab). But a real job, no. The problem comes with the fact that I don't see myself as having marketable skills. I can write; I can think things through to varying solutions as long as I know enough detail; I'm very good at picking out problems in things. But how am I supposed to get a job with this stuff?

I'm not terribly good at social skills. At one point, I thought I had Asperger's Syndrome because of that alone. I don't know what to do when (except for the basic stuff). I've literally had to think to myself "tell x thank you" and the like. Business etiquette, I know nothing about. Therefore, I'm flat out terrified of job interviews and the like. I don't know how to promote myself, and I don't like public speaking of any kind. I'd love to work in a situations where I don't have to deal with people constantly. But I know that isn't practical (neither is my dream of being a full-time novelist). I'm just curious as to what advice other INTJs have.

Can some kind person please explain what this means?

Socionics

In socionics, extraversion (called "extroversion") and introversion are referred to as properties of information. These properties are grouped into two classes, elements and aspects. Aspects are the information perceived by the elements themselves, which are arranged in a person's order of information processing (called information metabolism) as functions of personality. The aspects and elements that reflect the apprehension of distinct entities (i.e. objects) are termed extroverted. Properties of object collections that are not considered distinct in themselves (fields) are termed introverted.

It's that last bit really.

RubyENFP (Admittedly v. ignorant of Socionics, but where on the website is the information explaining it all??)

I feel as though deep down I'm an introvert. There's no way as a kid I'd have said I was an extravert and nor would anyone around me. I think extraversion is something I've learned. Even now when I read MBTI books a lot of the Introversion traits fit me. I don't fully understand the difference between the two. I consider myself to be primarily interested in the inner world, but I'm pretty much characterised by the ENFP description as a whole.  Some books say that the Introvert is interested more in ideas and the Extravert is more interested in people, but I'm interested in both and so are ENFPs.

I'm feeling I'd like to reclaim my inner introvert (can you have an outer introvert?)  Maybe this is the ENFP thing of wanting to be everything, but I feel it's important in order for me to become more centred and in touch with my core values.

Ruby.