I do not understand myself at all.

Multiple versions of people live inside, and I have been wondering for ages, trudging around my whole being in search of the real one.

Is the real one still alive, or has it perished long ago?

The thing is, I have this reserved personality for each person I interact with. Not really one person, I suppose. One personality for multiple people could be the case.

People say I might be a people-pleaser, but I do not even care about people at all. I am a self-centered person; that is the reality. The people closest to me agree about this. I had been asking around when a certain person told me that I was fucking self-centered and that I did not even care about him.

I tried caring. Changing it. And the person who called me selfish, he was the only person I care about the most, even more than my family, friends, and myself. I was indeed too focused on myself until I met him, though.

I used to loathe this world so much that I, never once observed reality with my own two eyes. Aha, that sounds like I am trying to justify myself.

I am a master of detachment. This is one thing that I have come to realize after years.

However, even I doubt myself now. Sometimes, that feeling of love is genuine. I care and cherish people. I am worried for them too. What do you call it when that feeling slowly disappears into nothing, and it comes back when you have fully disconnected from them?

I thought I had just realized that I cared. Maybe I wasn't grateful for all the love they had given to me, and I was suddenly aware that I took everything for granted.

I wish that were the case.

I am just so confused. If that were not the reason, what would be the cause?

Since I have been thinking deeply about it for so long, I have come to this "false" or "made-up" conclusion that I truly am just a person who does not have an ounce of concern left for this world and everyone who resides within it.

Well, let's go back to the topic I was talking about. Man, this turns out to be very messy writing, but I will let out every raw thought. I think the word "messy" represents me the best.

How come I do not know the real me, when it sounds like I do, based on this writing? Good question, maybe the real me only comes out when I write like this!

Do you know? I unconsciously mirror people's personality and try to match their vibes. But then, the person who mimics other people's traits is not me. Where can I find me, then?

I should start from describing each personality that I am aware of.

The first one is the rational type of person. He (I am going by he) is harsh, cold, and rude. This person hates emotions and unreasonable decisions made by humans. Every single time someone is spouting some ridiculous nonsense, he will slash them back with what he thinks are rational remarks. Although, it does not appear that he understands the fact that he is being subjective. Because of that, people think he is a vile person. He loves to pop out whenever I feel stressed, depressed, and am too overwhelmed to deal with people.

The second one is the anxious, panicky person with irrational fear. This person gets scared easily whenever something trivial happens. Her fear stems from the anxiety buried deep inside her. She is so different from the rational person. Therefore, the rational detests her existence so badly. Yet, he always protects this little girl by hiding her small figure behind him. She is a fragile, kind-hearted, and really soft towards people that are precious to her.

"A naive, gullible person who trusts other too easily." This was the rational person's answer when I whispered my question quietly.

The third person is someone who chases adrenaline, pleasure, and excitement more than anything else in the world. He loves the feeling of "high" and adrenaline rush. Call him the npd guy. This person is arrogant by nature, and overly confident. That is only a cover to hide all that insecurities inside him though. And the little girl admires this guy so much, because he can be himself in front of everyone, unlike her. He is just like a storm coming in, bewitching everyone. You can say that, she is in love with him. His childish little habits, his smile, and when he yaps about random things.

"I think he is very admirable. When I first saw him, I quickly thought of.. freedom. He is not the illusion of freedom, he is the freedom itself in person." The little girl blushed, a splash of red spreading across her cheeks.

"Heh, she is just so cute to me these days. Look at how she is trying to hide her expression like that." The not-so NPD guy laughed when I showed him the recording of the interview I had done with the little girl.

The fourth person is someone who craves normalcy. A boring person, I might say. He follows what society has in place for him, not even attempting to defy them. He will gladly follow this cycle of life without a single complaint. The NPD guy dislikes this person.

"What I think of him? He should just stop being normal. What's so fun in that? Next time, I will teach him all about this world. Too rigid of a person for me, tbh. Meh." He was lazing around in a sofa, without a hint of interest in his face, when I sat down in front of him to talk about the normal guy.

The fifth person loves living inside her head. She has a wild imagination, a unique perspective on things, and truly craves for a world without any restrictions. She knew such things weren't possible, and that's why she gave up on that dream. From the outside, she seems detached and empty. Well, that's because she is dead already. Only her body is here.

"There might be something wrong with her." That's all the normal person had said when I questioned him. He is not gonna believe on that "detachment" bullshit. Since he is just a normal, basic person, he does not understand that it is a kind of mental illness.

Do you think this is a common experience? Is this relatable to other INTPs?

Ah, this is too exhausting. There is just a lot. I might have to stop it here. Let's continue this on another time. Ciao!

on the behalf of u/Confident_Thing908 rip

me and my partner have developed a habit of communicating with each other entirely through meowing like we're both cats. we've got it to the point of being able to easily express basic ideas, but sometimes we can even hold full on, deep conversations with each other just by modulating the pitch and intonation of each meow. it's become such a regular thing for us that we sometimes we switch to meowing mid conversation without realizing. we're wondering if anyone else does this or if we are just weird lol?

Seriously why is it so hard. I can remember obscure historical facts or the precise workings of a complex system but someone tells me their name five seconds ago and poof gone. Its like my brain decides that information is too fleeting to commit to long term memory. Then I spend the whole conversation trying to find a subtle way to get them to say it again.

By introversion I don't necessarily mean the MBTI "I", let me clarify so we're all on the same page:

I mean introvert as a person that gets tired by unknown situations, mostly social interactions.
This person will prefer staying at home with the few usual friends rather than going out every weekend.
Going out can be fun, but tiring.

Sometimes a person doesn't even need those friends, they're happy just being by themselves, reading, playing videogames, and it's cool and healthy to be able to just be with yourself

This of course to the extreme leads to the "ikikomori" effect which I'm sure we've all heard of, it's by definition a health issue at that point

where's the line? when do you go from healthy to unhealthy asocial introvert?

discuss, cheers

Guys is it just me or do the best convos always happen with intj’s. I just spew my insight with them and they sort of just understand and appreciate it.

Do you also get irritated by advice. I am not able to understand why - and its not everyone's advice, just some people..it irks me off.

Maybe I get irritated by unasked advice and personal life advices?

even I want to respond with "it depends" to this question but lets cast that aside however hard it may be

ask me basic questions, please

Sometimes I just find myself staring at a wall or a ceiling fan. It's not boredom exactly. More like a meditative state where I'm just absorbing the lack of movement and the quiet. There's a profound stillness to it that I actually find quite grounding and peaceful. Anyone else do this?

Hopefully the title isn't rude sounding for people who lurk on other MBTI subreddits, but for all the other INTPs here do you feel as though with age it's easier and more fun to talk to sensing types as well as intuitive ones? ​I no longer feel like placing the burden of intellectual conversations onto people and my range of conversation topics grew with time. I still like what I like, but I don't feel the need for those around me to understand or support my curiosities as much as when I was a teen.

body

I heard that Fi-doms often annoy the thinkers in MBTI..

this is true no?

I have an ESTP friend who is exceptionally charming and socially successful. He comes from a bad childhood and I think this is how he learned to survive.

The interesting thing is that I am extremely direct with him and have set some strong boundaries. I don't really want to get sucked into the chaos of his life, but I very much value our conversations and shared bond. I thought that would end the friendship but he always comes back and keeps playing around, testing my boundaries here and there and never gets upset when I reinforce boundaries. Honestly, it is kind of fun for me, but usually people with similar slightly manipulative behavior run for the hills when they realize that I am principled and difficult to sway.

Now thinking about it, over the course of my life I have had numerous friendships such as this one. It can seem asymmetric in nature but somehow it just works. Anyone else notice the same thing in their relationships?

So I was lurking for some MBTI information and hit an argument that intps tend to have way more inactive tabs opened on their browser(mobile) than other types on average. So what is your count? Mine 400+. Also the argument says that other types may have like 10 inactive tabs.

Just the title

Just wondering if anyone here went through this feeling, I think its the result of me never being getting where i wanted to in life, feeling behind, feeling like i disapointed my family and on top of it lonliness. even the things i alwayes loved doing like sports and volunteering feel hollow to me.

did anyone manage to dull this feeling?

i think i spoke with ai about this 1000s of times and theres nothing left to say

Im an INTP and SOME of u guys in this little reddit thingy or whatever take ur intp role too seriously. Like ughh u don’t need to follow “stereotypes” and be rude, condescending, impatient, yknow all that. Like ur not cool for following something precisely to the point ur rude, ur just a loser 😢.

Don’t hate on my spelling I’m too lazy to type it out formally 😢

Edited Formal Vers:

I’m an INTP and some of you guys in this reddit group take your “INTP role” way too seriously. Some people find out that INTPs can be perceived as cold, condescending, and insensitive and try to overly apply it just so they can align w INTP more. I mean, it’s not cool to follow something so closely that you even become more insensitive and rude, it just makes you not cool.

Ok this post is about people who js take it way too seriously and do way too much (not about INTPs who can occasionally be rude or insensitive). Also I only see it online, never IRL.

Hii I’m an intp 9w1 girl approaching 20.

I got addicted to wasting time and I feel like I can’t ever get anything done. My grades are so low in med school and I feel so dumb and behind compared to my colleagues. I just don’t enjoy reading, sitting for long hours to study, I have high screen time and I get distracted so easily… I know it sounds like a personal problem rather than an INTP problem but I believe that INTPs are prone to being stuck in such unhealthy lopes. Even when I set down to study I get distracted with the content itself because I want to know the exact details and mechanisms of everything so I end up spending an hour on two slides because I wanna know “why the central dogma isn’t accurate anymore” when the actual material I’m getting tested on mentions nothing about that…

Also I grew up with a mom who would shame me for being apathetic or indifferent so I was forced to kind of wear this Fe mask to help me cope. I’m having identity crisis honestly because the Fe inferior became a priority over my own authentic self even though I’m fine with empathy and being a caring person in general but I keep gripping and people pleasing or softening my edges to maintain harmony it’s just exhausting…

can someone share if they experience similar issues or solutions or whatever just chat pls that’s my first reddit post here don’t keep it empty 😔
I would love to hear from other older INTP females

I have turned 35, and I feel that I have ruined my life badly. I have repeatedly made the wrong choices in my career and in other aspects of my life. I am a cook by profession, but I have never been able to grow in my career because of my impulsive job-hopping habits.

At this stage of my life, I want to start everything from scratch. Kitchen jobs are extremely low-paying, and I know this career will never provide me with the kind of life I want.

I also dropped out of my bachelor's degree. Now, I want to return to education and build a new career, but I am worried that if I spend too much time studying, I will reach the age of 40 without having achieved anything significant.

Please guide me on what I should do. Which field should I choose for my bachelor's degree, and what kind of job should I pursue?

AI is already here, and over the past six months, after discussing numerous topics with AI multiple times, I have repeatedly been advised to consider a career in Data Analytics. Cybersecurity has also been suggested to me.

However, I am afraid that I might not be good enough for cybersecurity. If someone entrusts their systems to an inexperienced person like me, I worry that I might end up compromising their security.

I haven't used a computer in almost 20 years. I don't even know how to use Excel yet. I would have to learn everything from the absolute basics.

Given my age, educational background, lack of computer skills, and the rapid advancement of AI, what should I do now to build a stable, well-paying career without wasting the next five years of my life?

I feel like good looking INTPs know how to use their looks to make their lives easier. Being a good-looking INTP gives them an advantage when it comes to building a network. Is this true? Have you had a similar experience?

Meaningless question just for fun!

I like slice of life like K-on or Lucky star. Gives me the feeling of full and fun youth

I also like something with deeper meaning, philosophy like (stereotypically) Experiments of Lain, Paranormal Agent or Ghost hound

Also non stereotypically I like school romance like Say I love you

The more time I have to think about my career choice the more unsure I am becoming of what I should pursue. To know what suits me best I need additional data but I don’t have time going round and doing Internships all the time.

I wanna do something where I have my own space and I don’t have a lot of coworkers that depend on my work on a daily basis- and I can talk to people but I don’t have to depend on social skills for my job performance. I wanna have a routine but also analyse and really work out some things on my own. I like feeling independent but also safe. I‘m good at developing ideas and I have a good vision for what I want my outcome to be in projects.

Also if you like your job please tell me what it is and why you like it. Could use some other viewpoints here.

I'm blessed to have nonjudgmental friends (3 of them happened to be an INTP after I told them to do the MBTI test), I know them for years and we're still best friends, and so I think:

- You all are some of the best low maintenance nonjudgmental friend I'm blessed af to have
- ENTPs and INTPs could talk about totally random shiz for hours (I'm the one who'll get exhausted coz yall just kept going lmao)
- We're both brutally honest and no bs, we'd just say "bro you hurt me with that statement" and the other "sorry my bad I'm just being stupid for a sec" and move on the next second to whatever topic interests us
- 3am is the time when we'll discuss million dollar ideas, logistics, science and probably get mathematical and the next morning we forgot about them and move on
- I fkin love yall

thanks for listening to my ted talk

edit: low maintenance relationship as in no one got hurt from the distance or having to force an interaction

I’ve been unemployed for 5 months and it’s really taking a toll on my mental health. I’ve money saved up and given I’m very very low maintenance, I know I’ll be fine for the next 2-3 months.

But that sense of existential dread has been catching up to me. When I had a job, I was so distracted that even while having it at the back of my mind, it never seemed to creep up on me.

Now, all I do is apply to places, get ghosted, get rejected, and lie on the floor and think about what is happening to the world and how it is all dying. The sleu of natural disasters that occured in my country and home town doesn’t help either.

So, can anyone give me a job. I’ve worked in IT (not core programming but product development) for the last 6 years. Databases, Salesforce, Cybersecurity, AI products, self made products for games and productivity, finished masters in data science, and lastly dabbled in compliance software. I’ve dabbled in all of them. The Jack of all trades, and master of none. And with claude code, I’ve enough Dunning Kruger to move to the idiot side of the curve and feel like I can accomplish anything.

For an INTP, I’ve also learnt public speaking, won second in one of the district level toastmasters, and made product demo videos explaining how to use a product. (Not polished like insta and LinkedIn influencers but good enough)

So, if any of you other folks could use an HD-tism INTP 5w4 generalist (a treat, I know), please help me. I’m here to work. I’ll work for pennies at this point. I just need a distraction now that I’ve beaten Elden Ring and its DLC. I’m Raani’s consort now. Need to provide for her.

Mine is 0 because of the smoothness of its shape and unique properties.