Do You Know What Your Myers Briggs Personality Type Is?

Here is some information on the Myers Briggs Personality Type Quiz. I am an ISTJ which I think is very accurate. I was wondering what other people with ED's personality type would be. If you do not know yours and would like to find out, there are two links at the bottom of the information for free adapted Myers Briggs Online Tests.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality test designed to assist a person in identifying some significant personal preferences.

The Indicator is frequently used in the areas of pedagogy, group dynamics, employee training, leadership training, marriage counseling, and personal development.

The Indicator measures four bipolar factors, Intraversion/Extraversion, Thinking/Feeling, Intuition/Sensing, and Judging/Percieving, but these names don’t exactly mean what we commonly understand when saying somebody is “extroverted” or “introverted”. Have a look at their meaning below.

As a test result you will get a 4 letter personality type and you can then read up on the description of this specific type as well as typical careers, how it relates to family/relationships and get suggestions for personal growth. And there are even tests for assessing children’s type.

SENSING (S) vs. INTUITION (I): How we take in information.

Those who prefer Sensing favor clear, tangible data and information that fits in well with their direct here-and-now experience. In contrast, those who prefer Intuition are drawn to information that is more abstract, conceptual, big-picture, and represents imaginative possibilities for the future.

THINKING (T) vs. FEELING (F): How we make decisions and come to judgements.

Those who prefer Thinking have a natural preference for making decisions in an objective, logical, and analytical manner with an emphasis on tasks and results to be accomplished.

Those whose preference is for Feeling make their decisions in a somewhat global, visceral, harmony and value-oriented way, paying particular attention to the impact of decisions and actions on other people.

EXTRAVERTED (E) vs. INTRAVERTED (I): How we get our energy.

Those who prefer Intraversion draw their primary energy from the inner world of information, thoughts, ideas, and other reflections. When circumstances require an excessive amount of attention spent in the “outside” world, those preferring Introversion find the need to retreat to a more private setting as if to recharge their drained batteries.

Those who prefer Extraversion are drawn to the outside world as their elemental source of energy. Rarely, if ever, do extraverted preference people feel their energy batteries are “drained” by excessive amounts of interaction with the outside world. They must engage the things, people, places and activities going on in the outside world for their life force.

JUDGING (J) vs. PERCEIVING (P): How we relate to the outer or external world.

Those who prefer Judging rely upon either their T or F preference to manage their outer life. This typically leads to a style oriented towards closure, organization, planning, or in some fashion managing the things and or people found in the external environment. The drive is to order the outside world. While some people employ an assertive manner, others “ordering touch” – with respect to people – may be light.

Those who prefer Perceiving rely upon either their S or N preference to run their outer life. This typically results in an open, adaptable, flexible style of relating to the things and people found in the outside world. The drive is to experience the outside world rather than order it; in general lack of closure is easily tolerated.


16 DIFFERENT PERSONALITY TYPES – WHICH ONE ARE YOU ?

The possible combinations of the above 4 preferences result in 16 different personality types. To find out about which one you are and what that means, take one of the tests mentioned below and read up on the interpretation given.

FREE ON-LINE TESTS

All of the below mentioned links lead to tests based on the work of Carl Jung, Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs. They are similar in underlying theory to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Please note that the tests and resource here are not officially MBTI but are adaptations that of the original work done by Myers Briggs.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

http://similarminds.com/cgi-bin/newmb.pl

Love this test

In the past I was usually INFJ but now I consistently come up as INTJ

Thank you for your response ladyswan. I replied back yesterday, but something must have happened because my reply is not here.

Anyway..it is very interesting that you used to be an INFJ because I was always an ISFJ Both of us have switched from the "F" to a "T". Why I find this interesting is that I have read that people with eating disorders can develop Alexithymia. One characteristic of Alexithymia (quoted from Wikipedia) is :

"Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by the sub-clinical inability to identify and describe emotions in the self."

People can be born with Alexithymia, most autistic people are Alexithymic, people can develop it from a trauma either emotional or physical as well and like I mentioned people with eating disorders.

I sometimes wonder if many of us are very sensitive people that almost had to step back from our emotions a bit because we have a very hard time regulating them. I think that when that becomes a consistent coping mechanism that we do become somewhat alexithymic. Of course just because we cannot identify how we are feeling, it doesn't mean that our feelings don't impact us and I think the ED becomes our way of coping with that.

CBT and DBT both seem to work well for us because the therapies work on forcing us to be aware of how our feelings are impacting our thoughts which then impact our behaviors. However I think that most of us found this extremely uncomfortable to do.

Thank you again for sharing your Myers Briggs , I wonder how many people with eating disorders shifted from the "F" to the "T"? Or even how many currently have similar personality types to ours.

I did find an online alexithymia test and I scored a 123 which equates to having "high alexithymic traits"

Promise this is the last online test that I post for a while!

http://www.alexithymia.us/test.html

Priscilla13 wrote:I did find an online alexithymia test and I scored a 123 which equates to having "high alexithymic traits"

Promise this is the last online test that I post for a while!

http://www.alexithymia.us/test.html

I scored 131 I knew it would be high, but not that high! It makes sense though because I've been struggling pretty hard with empathy.

Priscilla13 wrote:CBT and DBT both seem to work well for us because the therapies work on forcing us to be aware of how our feelings are impacting our thoughts which then impact our behaviors. However I think that most of us found this extremely uncomfortable to do.

This has come up in discussion for me before. I think the CBT is partly responsible for separating myself from emotions. When something distressing comes up, I go through a series of steps in my mind that would be the same taken on a CBT worksheet, and make my decisions based on that. Emotions rarely factor into decision making anymore unless I'm severely triggered. Strong emotion makes me very uncomfortable. The ED was a way of stuffing them in.

Priscilla13 wrote:Anyway..it is very interesting that you used to be an INFJ because I was always an ISFJ Both of us have switched from the "F" to a "T". Why I find this interesting is that I have read that people with eating disorders can develop Alexithymia.

About this, though, I've been eating disordered since the age of 8 and my personality type didn't change until my mid-20s. That was when my eating disorder bottomed me out so there might be a connection. It was a very traumatic time. When did yours change, was there something that prompted it?

ladyswan said:

This has come up in discussion for me before. I think the CBT is partly responsible for separating myself from emotions. When something distressing comes up, I go through a series of steps in my mind that would be the same taken on a CBT worksheet, and make my decisions based on that. Emotions rarely factor into decision making anymore unless I'm severely triggered. Strong emotion makes me very uncomfortable. The ED was a way of stuffing them in.

You know I never thought about it like you are describing, but you are completely correct! Just yesterday I was very agitated/ anxious about something at work. I wanted to reach for something sweet. But I stepped back and logically assessed the situation, but it was more like from outside of myself not connected to the emotions that I was feeling.

Strong emotions also make me uncomfortable. There is only one person that I feel very safe with and therefore strong emotions in regard to him do not make me uncomfortable.
ladyswan said:

About this, though, I've been eating disordered since the age of 8 and my personality type didn't change until my mid-20s. That was when my eating disorder bottomed me out so there might be a connection. It was a very traumatic time. When did yours change, was there something that prompted it?

My eating disorder began when I was about 11 (the binging and purging) but I used food as a way to deal with my emotions from about the age of 10. My eating disorder was at is worst in my late 20s/early 30s and I'd say that is also when my personality began to change. I think what prompted it was being in a completely emotionally and physically empty relationship and not knowing what to do about it. It was also about that time that I began to realize just how difficult interpersonal relationships were for me. I realized that I had hardly any friends, didn't stay in touch with anyone from high school or college and was having a hard time with the constant interaction that seemed to be required at work. I eventually began to accept that I was never going to be able to form that many close relationships, but I did really want to find a partner who I could feel close to. I was so stressed out that I began therapy when I was around 32.

Definitely not a great time for me either! And I believe that is about the time that my "F" became a "T."

I got ISTJ

ISTJs are often called inspectors. They have a keen sense of right and wrong, especially in their area of interest and/or responsibility. They are noted for devotion to duty. Punctuality is a watchword of the ISTJ. The secretary, clerk, or business(wo)man by whom others set their clocks is likely to be an ISTJ.

As do other Introverted Thinkers, ISTJs often give the initial impression of being aloof and perhaps somewhat cold. Effusive expression of emotional warmth is not something that ISTJs do without considerable energy loss.

ISTJs are most at home with "just the facts, Ma'am." They seem to perform at highest efficiency when employing a step-by-step approach. Once a new procedure has proven itself (i.e., has been shown "to work,") the ISTJ can be depended upon to carry it through, even at the expense of their own health.

ISTJs are easily frustrated by the inconsistencies of others, especially when the second parties don't keep their commitments. But they usually keep their feelings to themselves unless they are asked. And when asked, they don't mince words. Truth wins out over tact. The grim determination of the ISTJ vindicates itself in officiation of sports events, judiciary functions, or an other situation which requires making tough calls and sticking to them.

Think its pretty much spot on

Priscilla13 wrote:I did find an online alexithymia test and I scored a 123 which equates to having "high alexithymic traits"

Promise this is the last online test that I post for a while!

http://www.alexithymia.us/test.html

I scored 150 on this! tbh tho im not that shocked by it.

Thanks for taking the quizzes willow! You and I are the same and both of us are close to ladyswan. Very interesting indeed!

"ISTJs are easily frustrated by the inconsistencies of others, especially when the second parties don't keep their commitments. But they usually keep their feelings to themselves unless they are asked. And when asked, they don't mince words. Truth wins out over tact."

This statement in particular pretty much sums up every day at work for me

It is also interesting how all three of us have alexithymic traits.

I'm learning a lot, but I think what actually feels good, is to know that there are people who are very similar to me.

I will also share that C. is an INTJ and I think that how similar that we are in many ways, makes our relationship very easy.

Hope you are doing well!

(((Hugs!)))
Priscilla

Priscilla13: I once knew my Myers Briggs profile. I retired as a clinical psychologist. My diagnosis is bipolar. A good while before I retired from the Veterans Adminstration I decided test results were of little use to patients I saw. I suppose they might give therapists and patients something to talk about should the problem the patient brought not be enough. I never ran in to that kind of situation after I stopped giving psych tests.

They can be interesting playthings. Your giving sites to take them for free is a service. I recommend against anyone paying to take them.