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I read this in a book recently and found it to be extremely accurate for me. The quotation deals with dominant Si use, but especially, Ne use as an inferior function, so it refers to both ISFJ's and ISTJ's.
The first quotation isn't really as important to me because I've heard similar things in other places:
But here's the part that really hit me: it talks about how Ne is our inferior function, so when we get stressed or distraught, it kind of "takes over" us in a negative way, and we naturally fall into the "dark side" of Ne.
This exactly describes my biggest problem, and I think explains a lot about my problems with self-confidence and self-esteem. When I get bothered by something, this "evil Ne" starts making me imagine horrible things that there are no facts to back up. Like, if a friend hasn't called me in a while, I fear that I've done something to make them hate me. Or if someone is late for something, I'll fear that maybe they died in a car crash or something. This explains why I personally a lot of times worry about worst case scenarios and start tricking myself into believing they're happening, even when there is absolutely no proof. And like the second paragraph says, I let this make me feel even worse, maybe leading to some other little minor problem, which I then blow out of proportion in my mind.
So for me, realizing that it's my own mind doing this with no facts, it helps me to keep it in control and block out these dark thoughts. That makes me a much happier person.
So I was curious if other ISFJ's and ISTJ's can relate to this at all. I don't know if there's a difference between ISFJ's and ISTJ's in how this manifests itself. Maybe ISFJ's tend to find worst case scenarios in people relations whereas ISTJ's do it more for things like work? There may not be a difference, I'm just thinking out loud here. But can any of you guys relate to this at all?
By the way, the book also gives some possible solutions on how to deal with this dark side of Ne.
The book posts these sections for all of the types (or at least 8 pairs of two types together). I was curious in asking some of the other types about theirs, but first I wanted to test it out on the ISxJ's to see if anyone else found any truth in this!
The first quotation isn't really as important to me because I've heard similar things in other places:
This does give some insight into the desire for routine among SJ's (since ESJ's has Si as their auxiliary function), but even though it was accurate for me, it wasn't new."The Introverted Sensing pattern of attention produces an accurate and thorough picture of reality, but it may remain unshared. These preferences incline an individual to seek practical rather than new solutions or procedures to problems. Painstaking with details, individuals with the Introverted Sensing pattern care about getting things done on time and according to precise specifications. When carrying out tasks, they will not stop until satisfied that all that could be done has been done. They are consistent and persistent doers."
But here's the part that really hit me: it talks about how Ne is our inferior function, so when we get stressed or distraught, it kind of "takes over" us in a negative way, and we naturally fall into the "dark side" of Ne.
"When the mature functions of Introverted Sensing, which have the natural strengths of clarity and specificity, give way to the inferior, a sinister and pessimistic mood settles on the individual. Events in the impersonal world seem directed as if part of a general plot of destroy one's happiness. A simple phone call from a friend relating some benign recent event may be interpreted as if it were a warning of and precursor to the end of a relationship or some other ghastly state of affairs that is coming soon. People in this state of mind make deductions unsupported by the facts.
The nagging awareness that this is so creates a self-defeating cycle of saying "Well, look at my bad judgment. I don't have all of the facts, but looking at the facts I do have and the kinds of judgments I am making, something bad is bound to happen." Under the circumstances, some minor difficulty proves that the inferior was right and that your are right to feel terrible about your life. It is as if the self is demanding that you look to connections between today and yesterday, and that you plan for possibilities tomorrow."
This exactly describes my biggest problem, and I think explains a lot about my problems with self-confidence and self-esteem. When I get bothered by something, this "evil Ne" starts making me imagine horrible things that there are no facts to back up. Like, if a friend hasn't called me in a while, I fear that I've done something to make them hate me. Or if someone is late for something, I'll fear that maybe they died in a car crash or something. This explains why I personally a lot of times worry about worst case scenarios and start tricking myself into believing they're happening, even when there is absolutely no proof. And like the second paragraph says, I let this make me feel even worse, maybe leading to some other little minor problem, which I then blow out of proportion in my mind.
So for me, realizing that it's my own mind doing this with no facts, it helps me to keep it in control and block out these dark thoughts. That makes me a much happier person.
So I was curious if other ISFJ's and ISTJ's can relate to this at all. I don't know if there's a difference between ISFJ's and ISTJ's in how this manifests itself. Maybe ISFJ's tend to find worst case scenarios in people relations whereas ISTJ's do it more for things like work? There may not be a difference, I'm just thinking out loud here. But can any of you guys relate to this at all?
By the way, the book also gives some possible solutions on how to deal with this dark side of Ne.
"Possible Activities for Type Development
Work on a hobby or other activity that you haven't worked on for a long time. Visit someone in the hospital, go collect seashells, visit a friend from a long time ago--just do it. It will remind you of your strength and show you that possibilities abound that are neither dire nor foreboding. Some folks report that renting the most sinister movie they can find helps them realize just how much the inferior is playing with their minds."
The book posts these sections for all of the types (or at least 8 pairs of two types together). I was curious in asking some of the other types about theirs, but first I wanted to test it out on the ISxJ's to see if anyone else found any truth in this!