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Myers-Briggs Personality Type

Kiara

Kiara

Well known member
Hi everyone!

My real name is Lauren, and I'm from Australia. I'm interested in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and I would like to find out what are the personality types of other people on here. What is your Myers-Briggs type? You can do a shortened version of the test here: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

I'm an ENFP, and I have read that ENFPs are renowned for responding to stress with muscle tension and fatigue (I have both!). One website states:

"Because they are so alert and sensitive, constantly scanning their environments, ENFPs often suffer from muscle tension." Source: http://www.personalitypage.com/ENFP.html

This excerpt particularly stood out to me:

"When an Extraverted Intuitive type in the grip of inferior Introverted Sensing focuses on inner sensations and internal experiences, it often translates into exaggerated concern about physical “symptoms,” whose diagnostic meaning is always dire and extreme. In the grip of their inferior function, ENTPs and ENFPs frequently over-interpret real or imagined bodily sensations as indicative of illness.

… Others report having a low pain threshold, fearing the dentist, and reacting to stress with a number of somatic symptoms. In fact, though physical symptoms as an expression of stress are common across types, it may be possible that “somaticizing” is more prevalent among Extraverted Intuitive types. One ENTP had digestive problems for fifteen years. During a period of extreme stress, he developed a life-threatening bleeding ulcer. An ENFP and an ENTP discovered in a discussion that they both have medical conditions that force them to attend to their bodies—something they did not do prior to having the conditions. As a result, they more readily attend to their other physical needs as well."

Source: http://personalitycafe.com/enfp-articles/76803-recognizing-inferior-function-enfps.html

I'm sure that just about any personality type could have TMS, but I was just curious! :)

Kind regards,
Lauren
 
Hi, Lauren. I will take the Myers-Briggs test just out of curiousity about my perfectionist and goodist personality.

I'm glad you have learned more about your personality type. Now I hope you will believe 100 percent that your symptoms
are from TMS (that includes personality, besides repressed emotions).

I recommend you start the Structured Education Program, free in one of the forums here, which takes you through steps
to learn how to heal from TMS. It's great to know that our personality causes our pain, but now you need to know how to heal from it,
and I believe TMS will do that, as it has for thousands of others.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
 
INFP seemed to be mine (from tests I've done in the past). A lot of my INFP personality quirks were related to having complex PTSD -- being in my head, daydreaming, over-thinking, etc. I think Steve Ozanich might've mentioned the Myers-Briggs types as well in his book? I don't remember.
 
I am also INFP. :) Some of the parts of the description that stood out related to TMS....

"INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it."

"INFPs have very high standards and are perfectionists. Consequently, they are usually hard on themselves, and don't give themselves enough credit. "
 
Thanks for sharing guys! Yes, ENFPs and INFPs are very sensitive types, and seem to be prone to perfectionism. I've noticed that one of my INFP work colleagues has TMS too - she has tendonitis in her hands, nerve pain in her arm and struggles with insomnia. Apparently INFPs are the most emotionally sensitive of all the sixteen types... very interesting!

By the way, thanks for pointing me to the Structured Education Program. I have already started it and it's very useful! :) I really appreciate the support on here. I know that my symptoms are TMS and learning about Myers-Briggs only confirms it even more!!
 
Yes, Steve Ozanich does mention the INFP personality type in Chapter 18 of The Great Pain Deception. I was formally given the MB test as part of a college course. INFP is my personality type. Interestingly my other half took the test a while later and he's an ESTJ. Don't they say opposites attract? I'd love to tell you that he's not a TMSer but that would be untrue. He has suffered from several suspect symptoms and chronic complaints since I've known him. The big difference between him and me though is it's unlikely he'll ever accept a diagnosis of TMS.
 
I'm INFP too! It's supposed to be a super rare personality type, so I think you may be on to something here!!
 
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Wow, seems like nearly everyone here is an INFP! My mum is an INFP and has had some pain in her feet which is most likely TMS. I'm also pretty much in the middle of the introvert - extrovert spectrum, so sometimes people think I'm an INFP… I wonder if there is a bit of a selection bias here, as INFPs are more likely to accept the diagnosis and seek help on a forum like this? Maybe extroverts are more likely to seek help in a different way (e.g. seeing a TMS doctor or psychotherapist)?

And yes, NFs are very sensitive and seem to have a strong sense of empathy which is hard to turn off. So I find it's easy to take on other people's emotions/burdens without even realising. I don't seem to have the inbuilt emotional "shield" which other personality types appear to have. My empathy is automatic, so I have to be careful not to expose myself to too much negative or depressing stuff on TV or other media.

Another website states this about INFPs, which seems to be a perfect recipe for TMS:

"An INFP is a perfectionist who will rarely allow themselves to feel successful, although they will be keenly aware of failures." Source: http://www.personalitypage.com/html/INFP_per.html
 
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Are there any other personality types on here?? I'm curious to know, as it's amazing that out of all the sixteen types we have so many INFPs. They are actually a fairly small percentage of the total population. Most estimates on the web say INFPs are between 1-7% of the total population! It's also interesting that our Western culture/education system generally molds people to be more like an ESTJ, which is the complete opposite of INFP.
 
An INTP, here. I looked up the section from The Great Pain Deception on INFP and sure enough, Steve said that the closest Myers-Briggs type to the TMS personality would be the INFP, but that any type could have TMS. He describes us as often hard driven, but conflict avoiding and putting the needs of others above our own. (p. 231)

In terms of me being a I and T rather than an E and F, I can see that in the enjoyment I find in keeping the computer systems running here. I feel like I can contribute to the community more in the General Discussion Subforum than the Support Subforum because of that T-nature.

My current GF is another INTP. I have an ex who is an INFJ. The J vs. P distinction led to a conflicts, most notably an argument in which, just as we were getting out of the car, I yelled to her, "You have to work on your P-ness." Oops. That probably caught the neighbors attention (say it out loud).

Another trait linked to TMS is alexithymia, which describes situations where people can't put word to their feelings. From the word roots: a=no, lex=words, thymia=for feelings. There is a long tradition of psychological research that connects alexithymia to psychosomatic symptoms, and I've heard several of Dr. Sarno's core psychologists talking about it.
 
Hey!
I saw your post about Meyers briggs! I am really interested in it. I am an INFJ. There is a more in depth form of personality typing called Socionics. It is a more advanced theory based on Jung's. In this theory they put the personalities that have the same functions into sub types. So the ENFP, INFP, ESTJ and ISTJ would all be in one subtype called Deltas. From all my research I feel they are the most apt to get physical pain from stress. I think it comes from their internal feeling function and their internal sensing function.
 
All the personality types will have negative feedback loops. I believe this is a personalized amydala reaction. The amydala is a part of our brains that controls our fears. So if we see a bear in the wild it is our amydala that tells us to fear it, creating our stress response. But our amydala will also light up when we feel stressed out in a non physically threatening environment like say a boss is yelling at you. So for example , since I am an INFJ I will get into an Ni Ti loop. So the Ni part of me would be all the possibilities of the future and the Ti is theory/thinking. So I would think "Oh no I did such and such wrong... now I will get fired.." and continue to think about this until it is hard for me to get out of it. Where I think the INFP since they have internal feeling would be in a Fi Ne loop which would be "I did this.. so I am a bad person..." mixed with their internal sensing which allows the delta group to relieve memories in a way those with external sensing cannot. So I think it is harder for them to get out of the negative loops, so they are more apt for physical pain.
 
yb44 said:
Yes, Steve Ozanich does mention the INFP personality type in Chapter 18 of The Great Pain Deception. I was formally given the MB test as part of a college course. INFP is my personality type. Interestingly my other half took the test a while later and he's an ESTJ. Don't they say opposites attract? I'd love to tell you that he's not a TMSer but that would be untrue. He has suffered from several suspect symptoms and chronic complaints since I've known him. The big difference between him and me though is it's unlikely he'll ever accept a diagnosis of TMS.
Click to expand...
IF you are an INFP and your other half is an ESTJ it means you are duals. You have the same functions but they are reversed. Your dual is the person who recharges you and you would recharge them so it is the ideal friendship.
 
I'm an INFJ too Caroline. For me it's the perfectionism part of the personality that really gets me into TMS trouble. Too stressful trying to get it all right!
 
I am an INFP also. there seem to be a lot of us here - Steve must be right. It would be fun to do our own survey from our TMS community!
 
Has anybody ever read the Self consistency: A theory of personality. I think it is a good book so far. Favorite quote so far?
Behavior is not a matter of passive response but of active rejection or acceptance of new patterns or ideas.
Prescott Lecky
 
Hahaha Forest, that's quite hilarious!! :p

I find this all so fascinating... Actually, my older INFJ housemate probably has TMS, as she suffers from episodes of lower back pain, migraines, and has various allergies and food sensitivities. Another ENFP friend of mine had issues with her stomach and bowel, but realised it was due to stress and it has improved. Amazingly she figured it out on her own, without learning about TMS - she currently works as a nurse and believes a lot patients she sees are in pain due to stress/emotional trauma.

Thanks for sharing Caroline - I've looked into Socionics and it's quite an interesting system, but personally I prefer MBTI. However, there is a lot of overlap in the personality typing theories. I do agree that the Introverted Sensing (Si) function seems to correlate with a greater awareness of/fixation on my internal sensations (including pain or sickness). It probably also means I have strong emotional associations with memories.
 
I came out as an INTJ, even though I have most of the classic TMS personality traits.
 
INTP here, I remember doing this ages ago..it is a useful enough device.

it might be a thought to try and get all forum members to take the test and do a percentage breakdown ?
see which personality is most prevalent and how many variables there are?
 
Hello all, another INFP here (and another Australian!). A light went on in my head when I read Steve's comments about INFPs in his book! In the beginning I had trouble seeing myself as having a TMS personality because I'm really very driven or ambitious outwardly. However, INFPs have strong internal expectations and can feel extremely guilty if they feel they haven't lived up to their own values or moral compass. Our perfectionism also tends to be inner rather than outwardly directed or expressed so we don't necessarily come over as what we normally think of as perfectionists. That's how I understand it for myself, anyway.

Is anyone familiar with the Enneagram personality styles? They're about the emotional/cognitive/psychological fixations we get stuck in - the unconscious and semi-conscious assumptions we make that colour our emotions and experience. I've been engaged in Schema Therapy, which examines the basis beliefs you develop from childhood onwards about yourself and the world and the kinds of thinking and emotions that cluster around these beliefs. The Enneagram seems to about much the same thing.
 
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