The Struggles of an INFP

I've taken the Myers-Briggs Personality test many times. I'm fairly certain that every time I've taken it I have gotten INFP-T. I am 89% introverted, 85% Intuitive, 94% Feeling, 54% Prospecting and 94% Turbulent. I feel like this personality type fits me almost perfectly. It's kind of scary. INFP's only make up about four percent of the population and I can see that. I wanted to shed some light on the struggles of INFP's...

1. I'm an introvert

Introverts are 'accepted' now more than ever (on the internet). Every once in awhile there will be a Buzzfeed post that basically tells you why you're an introvert (as if I didn't know). That being said introversion is less accepted in a the 'real world'. I get energy from being alone, in a quiet place, charging. This is specifically more difficult for individuals in college. There is always something to do and your friends want to go to it. I would much rather go to my room, binge watch Netflix, read a book or listen to music. Because of this it seems like I don't care or that I 'hate people' but I don't. I've just had enough for that day.

2. I'm an idealist in most situations.

I wouldn't say that I am an idealist all the time. I do not believe that the world is perfect. I think if someone is an idealist they can often be naive which I try not to be. When it comes to my friends and family that is when I become an idealist. I have an idea in my head of what my friends are like or 'should be like'. No, it's not healthy, it's a character flaw. When someone goes out of the 'norm' that I have created in my head it throws me off. I can also be so in my head that I'll even deny that it happened. If someone hurts my feelings I will often argue with myself that I misinterpreted something or they didn't really 'mean' that. Or I question if I ever really 'knew them' at all. If a friend or family does something that doesn't fit my 'description' I can become very frustrated or 'shut down'. Then I'll ponder it for a few hours (or days) and wonder where I went wrong. Being a 'kind of' idealist is not always bad. It's sooo much fun when reading books and watching movies. I really get into books and movies, especially characters. I love imagining what a character will do in the next chapter, who they'll fall in love with and how it all ends. In my imagination though it is always happy and well in the end.

3. My passion is not very visible.

(I'm a nerd).

I think deeply feeling people are also passionate people. Being passionate and introverted don't go well together though. I am only passionate about a few things. Over the years I have attained a 'few' passions. I'm passionate about books, journaling, reading in general, tea, Harry Potter, fantasy books, Sociology, Human Rights and WWII in Europe...That's probably the most random lists of passions you'll ever read. The only problem is that I guess I'm not very expressive when it comes to my passions. It genuinely hurts my soul when people say that they don't view me as a passionate person because I know how passionate I am. It's something I pride myself on. The last thing I want to be viewed as is boring or 'basic'. I would talk to people forever about my passions but frankly not many people want to talk about the tea or Harry Potter in depth.

4. I overthink everything.

I don't know if this needs much of an explanation. I don't know if I've ever made a decision in my life that I didn't overthink. I'm literally overthinking this post right now.

5. I'm extremely sensitive.

This isn't surprising. I cry almost everyday and it's not necessarily because I am sad. I will cry if any emotion is too strong. I cry at movies, books, TV and I don't mean a 'light cry', I mean bawling. I used to see my sensitivity as a weakness but really it's not my fault. I know that it can make people uncomfortable at times.

6. Anything with data goes over my head.

I hated math and science growing up because it does not make sense. The fact that I passed college chemistry and statistics is a miracle. I think math ruined school for me. Thinking of all the time I wasted doing math that was absolutely pointless to my life makes me angry. Think about how many books I could have read during those years of tears.

7. I'm difficult to get to know.

I'd generally like to believe that I am nice to everyone. That does not mean that I trust everyone. I'm not going to immediately divulge my life story to a complete stranger. I have to get to know you and become comfortable to talk about myself in depth. I'm generally a self-conscious person and I think I hide that well with my calm personality. When I talk to people I think I'm taking up too much of their time and I'll often end conversations because of that. At the same time I do feel guilty for not being able to give people what they want.

DFTBA

-AB