Even though INFJ is the rarest personality, and they might seem perfect, people tend to ignore that there are many struggles of an INFJ personality too.
The Myers-Briggs personality test has been widely accepted as one of the most accurate descriptions of people based on their personalities. Drawing from the works of the eminent psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, it is one of the go-to tests for personality determination in the Modern World. Out of the 16 personality types classified by the Myers-Briggs classification, INFJ is associated with people who are driven, idealists, and do well in fields that involve counseling others.
INFJ stands for Introversion, Intuition, Feeling and Judgment.
Because they rely on their intuition and are introverts, they are usually good at counseling others. They are more interested in peeling off the layers behind people, events, and themselves.
Hence they are said to have the wisdom and depth needed to be able to guide others.
Some of the famous examples of INFJ personality types are world leaders like Mandela, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa. Even though they are characteristically introverts, they are able to form deep bonds with others because they have a better understanding of human emotions and motivations.
Therefore, it is common to expect an INFJ to be calm and composed in the moments of crisis, being able to take charge and help others.
However, the presumption that INFJ would always be full of compassion and love for others is a little far stretched because that is just one aspect of their personality. There are other aspects too, which are comparatively darker and when played out and emphasized has led to far more sinister individuals than what we would expect from this personality type.
Related: Are you an INFJ? 14 Signs Of A Genuine INFJ Personality
Would you believe that Osama Bin Laden and Adolf Hitler too belonged to this personality type? This is because the same passion (which the INFJ is known for) when applied for a sinister cause can cause a lot of collateral damage. All the 5 names mentioned so far were highly driven and motivated individuals, who touched a lot of lives because of their determination. But the difference was the cause they chose to pursue and the beliefs they held.
The reason is that even though INFJs are considered to be masters over their emotions, they are just calm on the surface. Deep within the sways of their emotions influences them much more than you’d think. They have their own struggles with the particular characteristics of their personality type. And as mentioned above, depending on what they believe in, they can turn out to be the epitome of either good or evil.
7 Struggles of an INFJ Personality type
1. Emotions:
Again, just because INFJs are good at masking their emotions from the outside world, doesn’t mean that they don’t have any. They feel too intensely and sometimes just way too much. Their feelings and emotions keep changing and sometimes it can get too much for an individual to handle alone.
But being the introvert that they are, their first instinct is to be reserved because firstly, they genuinely don’t want to bother someone else with their problems. And secondly, they fear that they’d be judged by the other person. This inhibition causes them to bottle up these emotions and they keep struggling alone.
Related: 9 Humbling Life Lessons I’ve Learned as an INFJ
2. Stubbornness:
One thing that the INFJs do better than most is that they plan. One thing that they don’t do so well is to adapt. Coping with changes gets a tad bit difficult for the INFJ types because they have elaborate plans which take into consideration every minor detail. But these plans are about something in the future, and we know that a lot can happen between now and then.
And when something that can cause their planning to sink occurs, they find it hard to be accepting of such changes. Hence, they tend to get a bit stubborn which can lead to further problems.
3. Stress:
Also, INFJs don’t handle stress as well as others. Whereas there are some personality types who thrive on stress. For some people, stress can be a major driving force that not only allows them to reach their goals but to also thrive. In comparison, INFJs find themselves reeling from the stress.
They get overwhelmed and try to find unhealthy outlets to this stress, such as binge eating and indulging, etc. stress also makes them very short-tempered and easily irritated. Worst case scenario, stress either makes them offensive towards the rest of the world, or defensive to the extent that they withdraw within themselves.
4. Anger:
Another misconception is that because INFJs are so good at handling their emotions, they can never get angry. But in reality, they do get angry and it is worse than being angered easily. Because they have patience they usually react in a more composed manner than most, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t feel the frustration at all.
It just keeps piling up inside them, and one day it all comes crashing down, even though the occasion might not have warranted such an outburst.
Related: 10 Signs You’re An INFJ: The World’s Rarest Personality Type
5. High expectations:
The INFJs achieve whatever they have set their heart on. They always strive to be better than the best, in anything they attempt, be it in their professional life or personality. But the problems start when they begin holding others to these impossibly high standards. Not the entire world, but just people they consider very close.
This makes way for eventual disappointment and then they start questioning the foundations of their relationships. In almost all the cases the things are not as bad as they perceive.
6. Inability to be diplomatic:
An INFJ personality type would never look for a politer or neutral way to say things. They are blunt and straightforward. Though these are positive qualities, in the case of the INFJ personality type, the case is usually more along the lines of too-much-of-a-good-thing.
Related: 8 Paradoxes of Being An INFJ Personality Type
7. Defensiveness:
As mentioned before, there are a lot of reasons why the INFJs are wary of the world. And when someone gives them the legitimate reason to be defensive they do so without abandon.
They take things to the extreme and completely cut off contact with people who have hurt them. Although you’d think that it is the correct thing to do, the INFJ does it more often and more intensely than is normal for our functioning as social beings.
If you want to know more about the struggles of an INFJ, then check this video out below:
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