Being an INFJ comes with its advantages, but also its drawbacks. Lovable INFJs experience the same pain, struggles, and difficult emotions that others do—they often choose to do so in secret. This tendency may contribute to depression.
In addition to being highly sensitive (sometimes to an extreme degree), many INFJs also struggle with high amounts of anxiety and depression. A lot of INFJs report that they experience a low-key depression running in the background of their lives, even when it appears that everything is going well on the surface.
When they're depressed or uninspired, they feel fatigued and drained. INFJs without a vision for the future feel listless and apathetic, as if they're lost in a fog and unable to find a light to guide them home.
In addition, being introverted is linked to spontaneously remembering more negative life events. Together, both personality traits — neuroticism and introversion — are linked to depression and anxiety. On the other hand, people with stable emotions who are more extraverted are at lower risk of depression and anxiety.
The INFJ type result is one of the most common mistypes I come across; I've found that usually, about 80% of the people who type as INFJs online are actually ISFJs, INFPs, or ISFPs.
INFPs and INFJs are commonly confused for one another due to their apparent commitment to sensitivity, forming deep relationships and helping others navigate the world. Though, while INFPs and INFJs may seem similar at first glance, these two personality types possess distinctions which set them apart.
They are empaths who feel things strongly. They are idealists. They are also perfectionists who set high standards for themselves and others. All of these factors put together makes someone with an INFJ personality prone to bouts of anxiety and depression.
The Ni-Ti loop occurs when an INFJ focuses primarily on their dominant intuition and tertiary thinking functions. When the INFJ retreats from the outer world and stops interacting with people or objects around them, they can get stuck in a loop and become uncharacteristically cold and withdrawn.
We constantly do a lot of self-reflection, it's how we process a lot of things especially our emotions. When an INFJ feels sad, we generally will isolate ourselves (like staying in their rooms) or take a walk. Just doing something to stimulate our thinking.
INFJs are easily overwhelmed by bright lights, strong smells, scratchy fabric or loud noise. This is not simply overreacting. For them, it feels like the volume is always turned up too high, sometimes bringing them to tears or making them avoid people.
INFJs are, in many ways, an emotional sponge. Wired to think about feelings, relationships, and what's best for people, we tend to absorb the emotions of others even in the best of times. Unsurprisingly, that can leave us pretty exhausted — and that's true even if the feelings we're picking up are mostly positive ones.
Healing from trauma and dealing with past pain requires the INFJ to open up to true vulnerability. This means acknowledging the past — good and bad moments — and remaining open to healing and growing from these events.
INFJs usually feel happiest when they can be themselves and are accepted and appreciated for who they are. Finding deeply authentic people can sometimes be a challenge for them as they are not as comfortable putting themselves out there.
INFJs are so concerned with maintaining harmony and improving the moods and emotions of others, that they can leave their own emotions and feelings untended. As a result, they can wind up feeling overloaded with other people's feelings and lost and alone when managing their own.
Some unhealthy INFJs can become pretentious because they feel so different from other people. They can get stuck thinking that they are better or more valuable than other types. They might see sensing types as narrow-minded, thinking types as cold, or perceivers as lazy.
On the surface, the INFJ and INFP personalities appear very similar. These two introverted Myers-Briggs personality types are both creative, idealistic, and focused on helping others.
Basic Fear: Of being worthless, unloved, or unwanted. Basic Desire: To know they are loved. These INFJs tend to appear more jovial and extroverted than some other INFJs. They are very people-oriented and lean heavily on their secondary function: Extraverted Feeling (Fe).
Overthinking is a big problem for both INFJ personality types and INFP personality types. As a writing coach who specializes in working with both types, I've seen that overthinking is tied to INFJs and INFPs struggling overall with creativity, feeling connected to their intuition, and life in general.
INFJs tend to be especially drained by conflict with others. They're likely to avoid tension as much as they can, which may lead them to withhold information due to a fear of causing conflict.
At their best, INFJs make modest, reliable teammates, and allow others to take the lead. INFJs may undervalue their own needs, ideas, and contributions, acting overly shy and not taking credit when due. At their worst, INFJs can be excessively submissive, ineffectual, and too dependent on direction from others.
Since they're so tuned into their emotions (and the emotions of others), INFJs often seem too sensitive to other people. Since they're sensitive, they're more likely to share their emotions with people close to them. Unfortunately, some people read their sensitivity as weakness instead of caring.
As one of the rarest personality types, they have a difficult time meeting someone like them in their careers, families, or other social groups. INFJs carry a burden few others will ever share. They often feel like they don't fit in, can't be “seen,” or aren't accepted as they truly are.