Today, we will explore the reasons why people with an INFJ personality are particularly prone to depression.
Each personality type deals with stress differently and some may be more affected by negative events than the others. In fact, intuitive introverts are considered to be more susceptible to developing depression at some point specifically because of their idealistic nature and poor adaptation to a practical and chaotic world.
Thus, the INFJ personality type makes no exception to this rule. This is where the concept of INFJ depression comes into play.
INFJs have many good qualities such as intuition, kindness and creativity, but these can also become their enemies and lead to depression.
Here is why:
INFJs See beyond Faces and Words
INFJs see two people in each one of us. They notice the public person, the one that appears outwardly, that everyone sees. Their minds are able to assimilate all the subtle non-verbal cues that are then synthesized and interpreted.
This provides INFJs with a quantity of information about the inner world of people they meet or see. They can easily see beyond appearances and understand the deep motivations and intentions of people, including any other problems and disturbances.
They grow with more wisdom than the average of their peers. Some feel even wiser than their teachers or parents. They can take on the role of counsellors for their friends or siblings or even for their adult family members from an extraordinarily young age. INFJs have confidence in their judgments and their “visions”. They often have dreams or insights that may seem almost premonitory.
To others, after an initial scepticism, an INFJ may seem prophetic, gifted with psychic abilities or at least very perceptive.
Deep Thinkers in a Superficial World
INFJs are deep thinkers who are reluctant to believe the opinions shared by the majority. They are often the last ones to read a bestseller, feeling that if others think it is a good book, then it probably is not.
They are purists and classicists. Many INFJ love collecting antiques, historical artefacts, old books, rare art, anything that satisfies their taste. They often feel fascinated by a precise historical period or by a specific kind of music. Hence, they prefer a classic novel over a new bestseller.
INFJs are both creative and responsible, both artistic and logical, both spiritual and scientific, both intuitive and analytical. INFJs grow up feeling “different” from their peers. They feel misunderstood by the people around them, who can easily ignore their introspection and their observations. Under negative circumstances, the INFJ may feel very isolated and rejected.
Because of all these rare qualities, many INFJs feel alien to the world and feel like they don’t belong here. Some describe their lives as a continuous Deja vu. Others have the feeling of dissociation from their bodies as if their soul is moving independently of their body while they observe. Thus, it is not uncommon to question the mental health of INFJ people.
Things That Lead People with an INFJ Personality Type to Depression
Many INFJs have problems with depression that can be linked to various factors. For example, they get depressed when they feel that their creative inspiration has abandoned them. Or because they feel alone and misunderstood by others. Or because they are not satisfied with their career or relationships.
They worry about the needs of others and strive to maintain harmony in the external environment. They are very concerned about humanitarian, social or moral issues with particular regard to the family and closest friends. So they sacrifice their needs for the good of others.
Ironically, they have more difficulty understanding their own emotions, often feeling moody, pessimistic or restless.
A Harsh Reality Can Be Too Much to Handle For an INFJ
INFJs indulge in feeling victims because life is unjust, everything ends badly, etc. Even if they do not think of an immediate solution, they feel better after expressing their feelings through words or tears.
INFJs often do not expect others to solve their problems, but they do hope that people could simply offer support, empathy and reassurance. Without this, the INFJs feel isolated and depressed, fleeing into their inner and fantastic world.
Dealing with Conflict
Another typical problem that can cause depression is the conflict between what an INFJ thinks and the external harmony with others. For example, at school, they might consider false or stupid what the teacher or a friend says. But they still want to maintain a harmonic situation/connection.
Therefore, repressing their emotions can be harmful to their emotional equilibrium.
Perfectionism
Furthermore, INFJs are the most perfectionistic of all the psychological types. Unfortunately, the INFJs feel that their idealist visions can hardly work in the rocky, fixed reality.
It is difficult for the INFJs to accept that such strong and important ideas cannot be realized and are not satisfied with anything less than what they feel is right. What others can consider and accept as a partial success is a total failure for an INFJ.
If they do not maintain hope for their goals, the INFJs can feel as if they have no reason to live. This is why it is very important for them to act perfectly and reach their goals.
Dealing with Depression as an INFJ
One of the biggest problems an INFJ faces is that they must learn to appreciate the present moment by how it arrives. Instead of continuing to question life and plan for the future, they must understand how to wait for what will happen.
Through a change of perspective, they could learn to appreciate the simple pleasures of existence that they had previously ignored and despised.
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Dealing with it is not as easy as it’s been written in here. This is the conflict between using your skills to help people in the future or living a normal life and to not to use your skills to help help the world in an effective scale. Obviously we like to live normal, fit in to the society and think normally as the majority does, cuzz it causes less problems, but it’s the ones who try to fix stuff are the ones who actually saves the day instead of the normal dwellers.
Interesting discussion on this personality type. These folks make up less than 1% of the population. They do have an interesting mix of personality that consists of introversion, intuitive in nature, deep feelings and being judgmental. I think we all have some of these aspects in our personalities. The only quality that I find troublesome is the judgmental aspect of this type of person. In the final analysis we all have at least some of these qualities in our temperament. The key is how we choose to deal with life as it presents itself to us..
Gary….Just to be clear, J does not nor never has stood for “judgemental”. In Myers-Briggs personality types J stands for judging and is opposite of P (as Perceiving). But judging is not “judgemental”. It means how “J’s” look at the outer world.
Judging personalities like control over chaos and that is how they organize our world – through patterns. The J in a personality might mean that they are making plans for every day of their vacation because they like control. For the Perceiving type personality that would be horrible thing to do as they do not actively seek to change the outer world, they are “perceiving” it.