INFJ Anxiety Under Stress and Depression

Thu, 01 Aug 2013 22:10:00 +0000

Sadly enough, it turns out the most popular posts on this blog is the ones that are about INFJ anxiety under stress and depression. INFJ under stress often leads to regular anxiety and if prolonged, also depression. INFJ depression can be more intense and this is the case for all feeler type personalities. I know anxiety is common and can be a big part of being this personality type so I thought I’ll do another post about it and try to summarize my experiences further.

At the bottom of this post I have also put together an INFJ survival kit of some of the best products to overcome anxiety, stress and depression for good.

I’m a INFJ and a HSP (Highly Sensitive Person), if you are not familiar with HSPs you should Google it. Basically it’s a well researched classification for people with unusually sensitive nervous systems, and because of this they struggle with feelings or sensory stimuli. We feel things on a higher scale then others.

Looking at statistics HSPs are common among INFJs and INFPs, but they do occur among most personality types to certain degrees. I experience this heightened sensitivity in both my feelings and senses. It is pretty understandable since as an INFJ I am both a feeler and also have dominant and inferior perceiving functions.

Se (extroverted sensing), is our inferior function and this is a highly unconscious function together with our dominant Ni (introverted intuition). They operate mostly together in our subconscious and Se fuels our primary Ni with external information.

INFJ Under Stress

Our Se basically acts as a balance to our highly intuitive state of functioning which makes us very perceptive of our external environments and other people. This can be both a gift and a curse for INFJ under stress since we take in so much information it can be hard to filter it at times and we can get overloaded.

Since our dominant perceiving function is introverted it also gets even more focused and turned inward compared to people with an extroverted equivalent. The problem with introverted intuition as dominant is that since it is introverted we might tend to internalize feelings even without being aware of it.

I’ve been battling anxiety and stress on a daily basis for most of my life and a lot of it tend to come from being highly sensitive and intuitive. I even had full blown panic attacks or mania in the past when it is at it’s worst.

Usually my state of being in general influence the magnitude of negative feelings, my INFJ anxiety grows worse if there is something bothering me in my life. What helps is dealing with things as soon as you can, because if you let them sit there and bother you in the back of your mind they will make everything worse.

INFJ Anxiety

To much sensory stimuli can also lead to anxiety for me. High uncontrollable sounds, flashing and intense lights and imagery, busy environments, big groups of people and having expectations put on you tend to trigger these feelings the most. Basically things that connects to our senses and feelings which are not possible to control.

I get agitated and nervous, can’t concentrate my thoughts on what is going on and can even feel physically ill. It becomes a downward spiral which side tracks my mood and can bring on other feelings of anxiety completely unrelated to the first cause.

For example, an noisy environment can trigger stress which sets off bodily sensations making me feel like something is wrong or I’m sick. Usually when I calm down or the trigger stops I can realize that it’s false feelings, but during it feels like being caught in a grip.

You can’t tell if it’s real or not because your usual state of functioning is suppressed. Many describe it as INFJs living in a constant state of disembodiment, we are more connected to our mind then the physical.

Perception Under Stress

Being very perceptive to things makes you want to be able to control these external perceptions. The problem is most other people do not operate in a Ni state of being which makes it all much more difficult for others to relate to.

People disturb you with noise or insist on talking to you when you are busy which makes you unable to focus on anything. To many people talking at the same time makes it hard to separate the words. Hard to sleep with background noise or insomnia from to much stimulation.

Being among a noisy crowd of commuters in a train without AC can be a real nightmare, draining your energy quickly when your Ni and Se is trying to make sense of all the sensory stimulation.

Since we are introverted by nature we tend to consciously focus in on one thing at a time, multitasking and following what’s going on everywhere around you can be exhausting. When you can’t keep up with everything it easily creates stress and anxiety.

Expectations Can Trigger Depression

Another source of anxiety for me is feelings of perfectionism and high expectations in the self and the external world. It can be that the creative vision you imagined in your mind for your painting, does not appear in the one you created in real life.

That you try to express your feelings or self to a person but words don’t suffice in real life, making it reflect what you meant poorly. Or when you have to impress someone, present yourself or your work and you idealize the perfect outcome for it but in real life you can’t seem to pull it off like you imagined.

It all has a lot to do with self esteem and expectations our Ni put on our self which we in turn fail to accomplish. Then by being introverted feelers we intensify these feelings inward making us unable to escape and cope with them easily.

We can always imagine the true ideal and who we want to be, but we can never achieve it because when we do there will always be something else we want, the next step. We are future oriented and this is what drives our ideals also.

Needless to say life as an INFJ is not easy and it’s understandable why others might consider us moody, melancholic and intense at times.

It is important to understand as an INFJ that your feelings sometimes tend to go over the top and to realize when this happens. That it is something temporary and it happens for a reason, it’s your fight or flight response.

Your body and mind is telling you that you need to slow down a bit in order to enjoy yourself. Don’t let it consume you because nothing bad will happen feeling anxiety, it is just a feeling and will pass eventually. You will never defeat it since it is in part who you are but you can learn to live with it.

INFJ Depression

As INFJs living in a western and modern society I think we are unlucky, today’s society is not very adapted for us. It favors everything that we are not and will try to mold us into just that. It is important to remember that we should not try to change our own behaviors because of this. This would only give you INFJ depression.

I spent a decade of my life trying to change myself into someone I’m not, to be more extroverted, sensing and thinking as a male since this is how society tells us to be to fit it. Those years of trying didn’t bring me any closer to happiness. I just felt depressed and even more alienated from the world.

I came to the conclusion in the end that you have to be yourself and find ways to cope in life instead, treating yourself and your body better. This in turn will improve your life greatly as an INFJ.

Since we have no Si (introverted sensing) function in our stack I think we are one of the personalities to benefit the most from a healthy lifestyle. It grounds us and connects us to our bodies better. Feeling detached from my body and the world have been very common for me and also made me question my sanity at points in my life. Exercise have greatly improved these feelings and the overall anxiety I experience.

Conclusion

If you still have not come to terms with the aspect of being an INFJ, I suggest you take a step back and see what you can do to improve your everyday life to better suit you. Even if it means changing your job, relationships or where you live I promise you it’s worth it.

Being an INFJ is not easy but there is no point in making it any harder then it already is.

Read more about how to beat depression easy in our other article.

To give you a head start on ways to improve your INFJ depression, anxiety and when under stress, I’ve put together the following INFJ survival kit.

These are products that I use almost daily and that helped change and shape my life as an INFJ for the better:

Rhodiola Rosea, supplement – This is an adaptogenic herb that helps manage healthy mood and stress response. The most natural and safe anti depressant that can be used daily, long term. Even people who are not depressed can use this to boost their mood levels.

L-Theanine, supplement – Theanine is the amino acid in tea that is responsible for the relaxing effect that tea has on the mind and body. In isolated form Theanine is one of the safest and natural anti anxiety treatments there is.

It is so safe that no toxic dosage has been able to be established, meaning you can probably take as much as you can fit in your stomach and it still would not hurt you. Yet, at only 100mg dosage it relaxes you without making you tired and improves cognition and mood.

This is my favourite supplement and I highly recommend it to everyone no matter how healthy you are. Modern life is full of stress and this is the best antidote I have found.

Pelter Optime Noise Reduction Earmuff – If you have issues with high noise levels at work or home these are ideal to wear while also look like normal music headphones. Great for relaxing in noisy environments and also great for meditation wherever you might be.

Zafu Yoga Meditation Cushion – Meditation can be a difficult habit to build but is one of the greatest things there is to build mental power and emotional stability. I found that investing in a proper cushion and making it a ritual using it greatly improvement my motivation to stick with meditation as a daily habit. Meditation is free but humans don’t tend to value things that are free as highly. Spending some money on this cushion might just be the push you need to stick to a daily meditation habit.

Calm – Meditate, Sleep, Relax – This is a great and FREE app to use when starting out in meditation. Meditation can be a confusing thing for people who never tried it and never experienced relaxing in that way before. This app helps!

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – This is THE book on the subject of introverts. Filled with useful information, research and tips to help introverts and non introverts understand what this trait is all about. If you are an INFJ this is key for you to reach new heights in your life.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich – This book is one of my all time favourite books about life style design. When it comes to INFJs and many INxx types we are often not happy and fulfilled in traditional office or alike job positions. We strive for something more. This book will empower you to find your own path in life and create the life you want to life. Can’t recommend this one enough!

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