The unhealthy INFP is no fun to be with. The INFP is one of the 16 personality types under the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. INFP stands for Introversion, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving. Each of these traits present in this type signifies a core attribute.
Because INFPs are introverts, they are energized by spending time alone. They are Intuitive because they focus on ideals and concepts rather than facts and details.
They have the Feeling function because they make decisions based on emotions and feelings and the perceiving function because they are spontaneous and flexible rather than planned and organized.
Therefore, INFPs are imaginative idealists guided by their core values and beliefs. They emphasize the realism of the possibilities while the realism of the moment takes a back seat.
They are caring, sensitive, individualistic, and non-judgmental, and they care about the personal growth of others and themselves. So under what circumstances can this group become unhealthy?
The INFP Weaknesses
Although INFPs have several strengths, they also have a lot of weaknesses, and if they don’t learn to manage these weaknesses, they won’t utilize their strengths properly.
Some of their weak traits are:
Difficulty in Accepting Failure and Disappointment
The unhealthy INFPs are sensitive people who have trouble letting go of hardships quickly. This makes them have difficulty dealing with failure and disappointments. They even become hung up on their mistakes. But they must understand that humans make mistakes every time, and it’s natural.
They Take Criticism Poorly.
The unhealthy INTPs take criticisms personally, even if that weren’t the critic’s intention. They are self-conscious of what others think of them and, as a result, get upset or offended when someone tells them something they have done or said is wrong. To get them to accept criticism better, they must change their understanding of the word “wrong.”
This is a product of their introversion. They are reserved and consequently find it difficult to share about themselves. This trait negatively affects how they seek help for problems, even when they go on an interview to discuss their accomplishments.
They never really allow people to get to know them. Their best bet to deal with this flaw is to talk to people close to them, like family members who see their strengths.
INFPs prefer to focus on the big picture, and when overdoing this, they ignore the delicate, vital details that could make it break their ambitions.
This problem rears its head when they are put in charge of organizing a big occasion or when it comes to solving an intricate problem that could prove catastrophic. They can improve their track of details by writing them down in a notebook or day planner.
They Neglect their Needs.
This occurs when they care for others too much and may not even realize that they must attend to themselves until they are exhausted. Their constant burnout is a significant drawback because it limits their personal growth and is typical for unhealthy INFP.
Traits of the Unhealthy INFP
There are many ways a person can be unhealthy. Stress is one factor that makes unhealthy INFP. When someone hasn’t had the chance to develop properly, they could also become unhealthy and unbalanced. Let’s see the way those things happen.
Unbalanced Feeling
INFPs have warped introverted feelings when they are unhealthy or immature. They become over-sensitive and easily offended, always adamant that their views and values are the only correct ways.
They are also resentful and isolative and only allow the people that adhere to the same ideals and values into their lives. Because they give off the idea that they are better than the rest of society, they may appear as self-righteous or egotistical.
It’s been observed that the INFPs who behave this way usually do not have healthy childhood experiences or backgrounds needed to develop an understanding of their Feelings appropriately.
You can see this in INFPs who have had to be defensive most of their lives. Rather than being open-minded and gentle like the healthy INFP, they lack supportive functions such as intuition, sensing, or perception.
When their Intuition is unbalanced, the unhealthy INFP will resort to using the cognitive function of extraverted Intuition to create an idealized image of the world and form ideas for a perfect future in that world.
Now developing an INFPs Extraverted intuition is essential because it helps them avoid getting into a warped perspective. It also aids them in balancing their feelings, comparing how they feel about an issue with other views.
This immaturity makes the INFP’s thoughts seem unrealistic, impractical, and ungrounded. This will make them feel useless, unable to realize their goals while wasting their efforts in an idealistic future.
They also repress other cognitive functions like Extraverted thinking, which is crucial because it helps individuals focus on organizing the outer world. This repression adds to their inabilities, making them stuck in creating visions and ideas without putting any plans to make them work.
Therefore, this frustrates them as they see a future with many possibilities but no solid plan for achieving them. They worsen this delay through fear and indecisiveness.
Unbalanced Introversion
INFPs strongly value their introversion. As a result, they indulge in it, relying on it at the expense of other cognitive functions. As a cognitive function, the Introverted sensing of an INFP must be developed, or they will only exhibit immature expression throughout life.
This gives them an excuse to hide their misery and disappointment because they dislike looking vulnerable. People see this when they fake a simile to portray strength but are instead just caging their emotions.
When they see people who don’t share the same ideals or live up to their hope and vision, they can become very critical of them. And they throw their support for those who do share their ideals. That is why they become so attached to a type of social justice that sees everyone with a different viewpoint as unethical or cruel.
Unbalanced Perception
One of the INFP’s most prominent flaws is forgetting an issue’s fine details. They will have an immature perception when they don’t deal with a flaw in early life. As a result, they grow up, become overly focused on reviewing the past, get stuck in embarrassing or bad memories, and feel shame, anger, or anxiety about those memories.
Furthermore, they rely excessively on their memories and experiences, using their wrapped Perception to feed their feelings of judgment. They may also push aside other people’s perspectives because they feel they aren’t the same. This usually happens when INFPs lack an adequately developed Extroverted intuition.
The Unhealthy INFP Stress
When they face a stressful and draining task, an unhealthy INFP may shut down other aspects of their lives. Yes, you may deal with stress at specific points in your life, but sometimes you can avoid it, and you don’t.
While they are usually optimistic, they could become stressed by surrounding themselves with negative people. When the people around them are always pessimistic or complain a lot, it could dampen their spirits, infecting them with that negative mindset.
Harsh, blunt criticism drains them, and since they’re introverts, this hurts their already fragile confidence. Many other activities that are part of their weaknesses also drain them, such as analyzing specific facts or data, following rigid or unnecessary routines, and being with groups of unfamiliar people.
When this adds up, it adds to their stress, and they could experience either pain, dissatisfaction, or exhaustion.
How Can the Unhealthy INFP Change?
Go For Therapy
Several problems the unhealthy INFP experiences stems from childhood trauma and other negative experiences. Over time, the person might incorporate those traits and deem them as part of their character structure.
A licensed therapist can help identify those innate problems, trace their source, and help address them once and for all. Self-awareness can help
Be Surrounded with Loved Ones
The Unhealthy INFP can turn his life around by being surrounded by loved ones, friends, and family. Sometimes, the evil traits such a person exhibits come from imposter syndrome and a lack of positive childhood experiences, which could result in low self-esteem and confidence.
Surrounding oneself with loved ones can remind the unhealthy INFP of their worth and value, and they will be motivated to change to retain those people in their lives.
Make Lifestyle Changes
Mental health is such a hot topic right now, but the truth is, several problems can be solved by making simple lifestyle changes. For instance, you could start exercising, changing your diet, and sleeping adequately. But most importantly, taking the right steps toward your goals. Quit procrastination and you’ll see how fast your life will turn around.
Final Words
While the unhealthy INFP may experience occasional self-doubt and neglect, none of these problems are unsolvable.
Seeking professional assistance and changing certain lifestyle changes can give you all the help you need to get rid of negative habits, while harnessing the strengths of the INF personality type.
