INFJ Under Stress
Many INFJs are intrinsically people-oriented and believe that others have good intentions. It’s important to them to be on friendly terms with the people they’re around. They try to understand the desires of others and will often help them, even if it might have negative consequences for them.
Strained personal relationships have an extremely negative effect on INFJs. When they’re feeling down, INFJs will often try to get out of this state by distancing themselves from what’s going on around them, though this is hard for them to do.
When an INFJ’s stress intensifies, they may get caught up in strong emotions. They may also experience general malaise.
What may cause stress for people with your personality type and preference strengths?
- Long-lasting conflicts.
- An absence or dramatic deficiency of activities involving personable, warm and caring interactions with others.
- A purely technical activity or one involving heavy paperwork and administration.
- Prolonged analysis of formal data.
Behaviors of INFJs under stress
- Distance themselves from what’s going on around them and get absorbed in their thoughts.
- Become critical and overemotional.
- Have a pessimistic outlook on what’s going on around them.
- Experience physical malaise.
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If you are an INFJ
Stress relief methods
Put aside your regular activities, at least for a short while, and take some time out to think about something else. Try to disassociate yourself from the concerns of others. Devote some time to a hobby, especially if a creative one. Go see a sports game with your friends. Take your loved ones on a picnic or an interesting outing. Take your leisure activities seriously and don’t regret the time spent on them. You will more than make up for it when you get back to your usual tasks, refreshed and re-energized. Meditation is also an excellent way to learn to relax and recharge your batteries. Mastering this skill is very rewarding and it can become an important part of your life.
Examples of stress-preventing behavior
You can use the knowledge of the typical behaviors and feelings of an INFJ under stress to cope with stress when it arises. For example, if you’re losing interest in, or are becoming very critical of, what’s going on around you, this may be a sign of increasing stress. You should, for instance, set aside some time for a hobby. It’s especially good if it requires a substantial amount of creativity.
If you often experience malaise without obvious cause, this may signal your stress levels have increased significantly. To prevent it from getting worse, it would be useful to get away from your usual surroundings. For example, you could take a trip that you’ve been dreaming of for a while. Try to notice the symptoms of increasing stress in yourself and take the necessary steps to curb it before it gets out of hand.