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#1
I've been thinking a lot about personality and how it influences our reactions to our difficult experiences (or 'symptoms', if you prefer), both internal and external, and how that can influence how we are diagnosed and treated etc.
To clarify, I am NOT referring to diagnosed personality disorders, although those sorts of traits will definitely influence these things. For example, my reserved nature and strong ability to regulate my emotions meant that I was labelled as an attention seeker. Pdocs found it hard to believe what I said that I experienced with how they perceived me. However, whilst that misunderstanding caused some quite distressing experiences, that also allows me to be more functional than I might otherwise be since medication doesn't help me. So pros and cons. Whilst I tend not to like being put in boxes, and MBTI is another form of box organisation, has anyone done this and relates to their description? Here is an example test that's pretty quick if anyone is interested, although the description of type afterwards isn't that good: https://personalityhacker.com/genius-personality-test/ Disclaimer: I have no idea why it's calling itself a Genius Test, because it's MBTI. Also, online tests aren't always that accurate, but this one did agree with many other tests, which have all given me the same type result, but YMMV and it would be best to do an official one/multiple online tests. Does anyone have any thoughts on how their personality has influenced their reactions to experiences/symptoms? Does anyone think that this has influenced how they have been diagnosed by pdocs, or treated by them? Do you think it has played a role in your acceptance, or not, of whatever diagnosis you've been given. For example, now they say I have sz, but I have never met anyone with that diagnosis who reacts the same way that I do. When I was in rehab, they said that they would find someone like me to 'prove' that I do have sz but, in 6 months there, they couldn't. I'm just interested in hearing people's thoughts related to their personality traits and their mental health, if anyone wants to have a discussion about it. *Willow* |
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Atypical_Disaster
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#2
This is a better description site for the MBTI types, if anyone is interested:
https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types *Willow* |
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#3
I took the test just before i had my psychosis and got a infj (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging). I googled who might else have been and one weird prediction was that my favorite author was probably an infj. Goethe, he's been dead since the 1830's though. So i'm not certain how they came up with that answer but I found that interesting. It makes sense that I'd connect with an author who had the same personality if you think about it. It's apparently the rarest personality type in the Meyers Briggs test. I reflected if it had anything to do with my break down...
I don't think I would have such a rare one these days. The infj is supposedly the rarest one but since my emotions have declined, "feeling" in the infj has all but vanished. I do find that intuition is an important factor and intuition is yoked to wisdom naturally, Plato wrote. Me being a philosopher, i have that "dawning" moment quite a bit when i connect ideas, and beg the question. It's that Eureka moment people get. The reason why i thought my infj type might have something to do with my psychosis is because the intuition was what is corrupted in a delusion. My introversion had me repress and hide my psychosis from everyone until it exploded on the scene because it was either sui or let it out and tell people to stop by going to the police. Cause a major ruckus, but it was probably the best way to go about it other than yelling at people and accusing them. However, the authorities took me seriously, because, as a philosopher, i can write a persuasive (and truthful) argument. I had a lot of dots to report, i just connected them very... abstractly because i was delusional asf. It's hypocritical if you ask me when you get a bunch of ethics professors together and decide to shun you for something you have no rational control over. Kant makes an argument that says that if you're not in the intelligible realm then morals can't apply to you. It's only an argument by Kant though, He's only the culmination of the Enlightenment. :P |
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Grand Magnate
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#4
I'm a INTJ female diagnosed with ASD. I know this has contributed to my awful experiences with psychiatry during my teen years and later on with psychotic illness.
I'm not the most expressive person. I think this trait has given doctors the impression that I have no feelings whatsoever or that I am arrogant and self-centered. I think this contributed to the misdiagnosis, along with the anger I had from being bullied for years and my difficulties navigating friendships. Also my obsession with diagnoses really irritated some doctors, which they misinterpreted as me being combative and resistant. I was once referred to as a pain in the ***. I'm certain they also used this to justify their clinical impressions and disrespect towards me. My anxious disposition and tendency to fret over a single topic for years can produce a lot of stress, sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion, which can cause psychotic symptoms to surface. Apparently ASD makes me susceptible to psychotic illness. I found the ASD diagnosis healed a lot of my emotional wounds, because it accurately described my experiences and psychiatric history. Meeting others like me has also helped tremendously. I like my INTJ traits. It is who I am. Embracing myself has helped my mental health a lot as well. __________________ Dx: Didgee Disorder |
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#5
I'm a negative person so when I'm faced with symptoms it's self destructive., I'm INFP btw
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Magnate
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#6
I’ve done two of these tests now including the one you’ve posted, and got INFJ both times which is interesting.
I think because I tend to think quiet abstractly and am very absorbed in my inner world, it has made the psychosis more able to take hold. My cpn and psychologist have both commented on how I don’t fight the thoughts, I just accept them as reality. This makes it harder to determine what is real and what is not I think. I’m also very introverted and quiet. When unwell I tend to just turn in on myself internally and become even more quiet. In my last hospital admission things actually became a bit more outward and I expressed myself more and tried to show people what was happening. I think this might be why the psychiatrist called me ‘disturbed’. In previous admissions the other patients have told me they thought I had depression, cos I didn’t let anything out. But I’ve been told I need to let people know how I’m feeling, and last time i think it helped a bit to let it out. Not that it was a massively conscious decision, but I think part of me recognised that holding it in makes it worse. I have been told that by some people that it’s obvious when I’m unwell, but I think that’s people that know me or are trained to see it. I think this has made it easier for ‘professionals’ like psychiatrists to see that I’m struggling, cos I can’t completely hide it, though I try to. I’ve been told my face looks like a ‘mask’ and my behaviour completely changes. I think my personality has made it harder to accept the diagnoses I’ve been given, because like you willow, I’ve never met anyone with sz who’s like me. Certainly not in hospital anyway. I met someone as a member of staff who I thought wow, I’m a bit like that, which was weird. It doesn’t help that part of my personality, when I’m feeling vulnerable I compare myself to others to try and understand what I’m struggling with too. So when no one seems to behave like you, it’s difficult. Interesting question, thanks for posting |
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Legendary Wise Elder
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#7
I used to be intj before the psychosis....very clearly....however since the psychosis it seems to jump around a bit, I’m not sure if this is because of the validity of the online tests or if I’ve changed that much?
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#8
I got Isfj this time.....I’ll always be introverted for sure it the middle two and even the third jump around now. This is what I got...defender....Very dedicated and warm protectors, always ready to defend their loved ones. I honestly think that thinking was ruining me before so I needed a new approach to keep me outside of my head despite the introversion. Same thing with intuition...I was too much in my head, sensing keeps me grounded.
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#9
I know I didn’t exactly answer the question in terms of Myers Briggs but honestly I think having an optimistic approach and facing the illness directly helped me immensely more than any other personality trait. I could have never done it without the meds but optimism was the winner. I wonder if the big five personality traits might play more into this?
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#10
Wow! These responses are great! They've given me a lot to think about. I wasn't sure whether anyone would be interested in this topic...so thank you everyone!
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They say that reading the cognitive functions for the type you test as is the best way to be sure that it's accurate. This website might be helpful for that: https://thoughtcatalog.com/heidi-pri...ive-functions/ I found that the most helpful because sometimes the type descriptions are written in a way, kinda like astrology predictions, where you can twist it to fit lots of different people. I don't pretend to be an expert in MBTI at all, but I've found it interesting to read about, and I do relate to 'my' type, and its cognitive functions. Quote:
In terms of connections, IRL I've never met an INFJ, or even many iNtuitives. I had one friend who was ENTP, my only N friend IRL, and we got on soooo well. She was Ne to my Ni, and Si to my Se, and we were both had Fe and Ti. We got on so well, I think, because we had lots of similarities, but also complemented with some opposing functions, so we allowed each other to see things that we wouldn't see on our own. Unfortunately, she moved away but, even all of these years later, I still really miss our conversations and our connection. I've never had anything close to that before or since. Quote:
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My introversion really helps me hide things too. I've said, so many times, that pdocs could talk to me about a hundred different things and they wouldn't see me as different from any of their other medical students! I think it's a good thing for me really, both in terms of being able to behave appropriately with strangers, and I really enjoy having such a rich inner life. I like that I think deeply about things, even if sometimes I can overthink things and get sucked into 'thought spirals', as I call them. I like being reflective, and I really love that I am able to see multiple perspectives and am able to put myself in other people's shoes. It does get lonely, seeing the world so differently from everyone around me, but I'm not sure I'd change the way i see the world, even if I could. *Willow* |
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Under*Over
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#11
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Sometimes I have been accused of being "cold" and "aloof", and even "stuck up" because my reserve was misinterpreted. Rehab called me "stuck up" and they also called my a "show off". I tried so hard to get them to see me, but they just couldn't. I'm glad that you like who you are. I think your ASD diagnosis and then finding your clockmaking and machining passion probably helped with that. I like who I am too. But sometimes it is frustrating when other people don't seem to be able to 'get' me, no matter how hard I try. I know that's their issue and I wouldn't change me to make myself easier to understand, but it's frustrating nonetheless. *Willow* |
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#12
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What do you mean by "a negative person"? Pessimism?? Reading about the cognitive functions was interesting to me because they talked about our inferior functions being used self-destructively when we're under stress. Apparently, personality growth comes from strengthening our lesser-used functions so that we're more 'well-rounded'. For me, Se is my inferior function, and can lead to self destructive sensation seeking, things like over-eating and drugs/alcohol use etc, in times of stress. I do definitely comfort eat under stress, and I also sometimes buy things to cheer myself up too (I get in these 'F it!' moods, whereas usually I'm very careful with money), but nothing too bad. However, thinking about it now, I have found mindfulness and crafting soooo helpful for my mental health over the past few years and I'm wondering if that's because I've unwittingly strengthened Se in a healthy way?? *Willow* |
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#13
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I'm not talking about different personalities, but different sides to me. All of the faces that I show to the world are me, but it's like most people don't understand this - I have to pick one side that's me and then the rest are pretending, which isn't how I feel about it at all. But then, I wonder if I really was putting on the 'depressed' side because it did feel like a face that I'd put on for my appts, or was it that I took off the got-it-all-together face that I usually wear??! I don't know, but nobody I speak to IRL really gets that side of me. It's like they have this black and white idea of who they and others are, whereas I have so many facets that I can show or not show, sort of at will. Quote:
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Thank you, Justme. I'm glad that you, and others, find it interesting. I have so many things whirring around my head that I think are interesting, but no one IRL who wants to talk about those things. Usually I get a weird look along the lines of 'what on earth are you thinking about that for?!' *Willow* |
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#14
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#15
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But I'm definitely interested in hearing more about other personality traits outside of MBTI if you, or anyone else, wants to discuss it. *Willow* |
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#16
Do you have a theory as to why you think your pessimism causes you to be self-destructive? Do you think your self-destructive behaviour are related to your inferior functions, since we are talking about MBTI? I'm just curious, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to.
I am frequently called pessimistic by others, but I actually disagree with that. Personally, I see myself as a realist. I go by 'prepare for the worst, but hope for the best'. I definitely do try to look for the positives in life e.g. I found keeping a gratitude list really helpful, both in terms of seeing the positives, but also in figuring out what makes me feel better so I could try it the next time I was feeling bad. So I don't see myself as a pessimist *Willow* |
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#17
Every time I take the test I get INTJ. I have never been questioned about the validity of my symptoms and it's never been insinuated that I am malingering. I do feel some people make up symptoms and /or exaggerate them and it baffles me. I am naturally a shy person and not expressive and struggle with empathy
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#18
I often get something a little different each time i take it, but logic definitely rules my personality.
I will not follow a rule, just because it's a rule, if it does not make logical sense. People have often viewed this as my being defiant, insubordinant, argumentative, or grandiose. I am not comfortable experimenting. And that's pretty much all psychiatry/mental health is. After a particularly enlightening argument about a medical rx i take, and my pdoc's entire opinion changed based on a change in fda approval (the medicine was the same, i was the same, this is entirely illogical) i realized the whole situation was not for me. I've been better ever since! |
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#19
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I honestly can't even understand myself. |
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#20
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Obviously people can and do exaggerate/fake symptoms. I don't understand the appeal myself because I try to hide everything as I'm such a private person, but I can cognitively understand why they might do that, even if I can't relate to that desire. *Willow* |
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