The forum for specific questions and inquiries into the Catholic faith. Think of this as an online RCIA session. No debating allowed on this forum. Responses must reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Doom wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 7:31 pm
Well, the other thing is that there are degrees to these things let me state again everyone has all 8 qualities. Everyone is a little bit introverted and a little bit extroverted. But some traits are more dominant than other and there is a big difference between someone who is 70% introverted or higher, which I probably was as a teenager because I had rather severe social anxiety and tended to have panic attacks when uncomfortable in a social situation, and say 51% introverted, which is probably closer to where I am now, because I do now feel completely comfortable in social situations and I no longer have social anxiety, and I haven't had a panic attack since my senior year in high school. And while you cannot change your basic personality, you can shore up weak areas, I would say I am lot stronger in empathy now than I was as a teenager, and reduce the intensity of qualities that can be negative in too large amounts.
Empathy in particular does tend to improve with "NT" types as we age. Starting around 45 to 50 years old in particular it can really ramp up. A good friend of mine who's also an INTJ (almost all my friends are "NT" types), said that's because we've spent 50 years of suppressing our emotions, so at some point we just wear out.
I just did a quick online test and got INTP-T. The second T is for turbulent. I like that. I remember doing the same test a few years ago, but I don't recall what I got--apart from remembering that I got the Turbulent then, too. This time, I came out very strongly I, very strongly N, very weakly T and pretty strongly P. I think the questions that led to the T (thinking, not turbulent) were generally the ones that I found annoying and difficult to answer.
Peetem wrote: ↑Thu Oct 26, 2023 9:15 am We've spent 50 years suppressing our emotions, so at some point we just wear out.
I think he's not far from the truth.
It is true in my case, since 40 I've been a lot more emotional, at my 30th high school reunion in June, when I met up with some old friends I hadn't seen since graduation, more than once I had to wipe tears out of my eyes, because now often happiness makes me cry. That was not something I ever did before age 40.
If you ever feel like Captain Picard yelling about how many lights there are, it is probably time to leave the thread.
Doom wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 7:31 pm
Well, the other thing is that there are degrees to these things let me state again everyone has all 8 qualities. Everyone is a little bit introverted and a little bit extroverted. But some traits are more dominant than other and there is a big difference between someone who is 70% introverted or higher, which I probably was as a teenager because I had rather severe social anxiety and tended to have panic attacks when uncomfortable in a social situation, and say 51% introverted, which is probably closer to where I am now, because I do now feel completely comfortable in social situations and I no longer have social anxiety, and I haven't had a panic attack since my senior year in high school. And while you cannot change your basic personality, you can shore up weak areas, I would say I am lot stronger in empathy now than I was as a teenager, and reduce the intensity of qualities that can be negative in too large amounts.
As you said, its a spectrum. An also the interaction of each "piece" (i.e., E/I,S/N,T/F,J/P) contributes to how we come across. I'm an INTP, so I have "extroverted intuition" but "introverting thinking." Folks have often thought I'm an extrovert, but the E/I scale I'm like 70% an introvert. That alone would suggest I'm highly introverted (and am I in social situations). But the N/P interaction means I can hop on a stage and perform and come across super extroverted....and nothing could be further from the truth.
Have me walk in a room of total strangers and I'll do all I can to stand in the corner and mind my own business, hoping the event ends as soon as possible....and I'll early exit at the first opportunity. I always sit in the back at Mass and HATE, with a passion, the whole "turn and welcome your neighbor" nonsense they started at our parish a few months ago. My whole family groans when we're asked to do it.
70% introverted? You guys are basically social butterflies at that level. I think I got 96% on the test I just took. I have no fear of public speaking, but that's just in a whole different world from standard social interactions.
Doom wrote: ↑Tue Nov 07, 2023 12:30 pm
96% introverted is basically Howard Hughes urinating in mason jars level reclusion no way you could be that introverted
Ha! I use homemade clay pots so I don't have to shop for mason jars.
I'm not at all sure that tendencies to be secluded are necessarily connected to levels of introversion. The questions have to do with your preferences and how strongly you feel them. "When I attend a social function, I like to meet and chat with new people." That gets a "strongly disagree" from me. It doesn't mean I never chat with new people at social functions, just that it's uncomfortable and tiring for me when I do, and it's very helpful to me if I have a wingman with me to help take some of the pressure off. At my church, for example, I am quite social, but then over the years a largish number of people at my church have become very familiar to me, so it's not very trying to hang around with them. It's still tiring, though, and I am not likely to linger for a super long time. I just did about 6 hours at church for a Knights fundraiser, and it was enjoyable, but I was wiped out afterwards.
I pretty much peg the needle on the introversion scale too. It doesn't mean that I don't like people and can't stand to be around them. It means I don't derive energy from being around others and eventually need to recharge somewhere quiet.
It is true that extreme introversion and inclusiveness are not the same thing, it is not true that they are completely unrelated, there is a very strong correlation, strongly introverted people, when they experience just a couple really painful rejections by peers, become avoidant and reclusive, introverted people do not handle rejection well.
If you ever feel like Captain Picard yelling about how many lights there are, it is probably time to leave the thread.
After taking the test I also came out as INTP-T with 87% introverted.
Which makes perfect sense to me because I've despised public speaking since grade school and public interactions in general for me are emotionally draining. It's like having to put on a giant heavy mask in public.
"God loves us just as we are, but He loves us too much to allow us to stay that way." - Scott Hahn
"It is not the task of man to reform the Church, but rather it is the task of the Church to reform man." - Nicholas of Cusa
