# Reasons why it's not easy to type as 6



## DomNapoleon (Jan 21, 2012)

*1. Lame/crappy descriptions*

One of the biggest problems of people who type as 6 is that they have to face lame descriptions on the type. Some of them are really bad like the R&S description who makes 6s appear like borderline suffers. One example of that: 



> *The world of the Six*
> 
> Sixes seem to be everywhere. They are. As the most numerous type, they make up about one person in six or seven. It’s natural, for they are Everyman. Even though the USA is thought to be a Three culture, our institutions reflect Sixness in many ways: in its fraternal groups, its political parties, its sports teams, its conspiracy theory and Peace Corps.
> 
> ...




*2. Type 6 deals with anxiety *

Type 6 deals with the vice of fear/anxiety.. one of the most misunderstood vices. They 6 surely use anxiety to avoid danger and to prepare themselves to possible negative scenarios. But the type 6 anxiety is very different from anxiety disturb. In an anxiety disturb, people feel anxiety because their brain has some chemical imbalance and this is very different from type 6 anxiety, which is a kind of survival anxiety, a preparatory anxiety to avoid risks and dangers. 


*3. Descriptions make 8s look cooler than 6s *

So most descriptions make 8s seems like a ruthless warrior and 6s look like pathetic anxiety disturb suffers. That's wrong. Many Cp 6s are not even aware of their anxiety, since they fly away from it, and yet there is this nonsense stereotype that being a 8 is much more cooler than being a 6. 


*4. People believe type 6 is a crappy type*

Well, sadly but true. However the truth is type 6 can be one of the most insightful type concerning human nature, along with one of the bravest type and fear-free. Type 6 can be very independent, straight forward, commanding and alpha leaders as other types.

In fact, the type 6 anxiety acts like a blessing to the own type. Check out the advantages of anxiety: 



> What are the benefits of anxiety?
> Anxiety is normally associated with fear and uneasiness. Anxious people are typically viewed as stressed out, nervous, and on edge. For most people the idea of walking around riddled with anxiety is good enough to send them running to the nearest doctor for some anti-anxiety medication.
> 
> 
> ...





> *Anxiety’s Reputation*
> 
> 
> Let’s face it, anxiety has a bad rap. It’s well deserved: according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of Canada, anxiety is the most common mental health concern in this country. It’s also the number one reason why people seek help at Willow Tree Counselling in Vancouver.
> ...


----------



## DomNapoleon (Jan 21, 2012)

If you have more reasons to add, please do it.


----------



## charlie.elliot (Jan 22, 2014)

I've always found 6 to be the most fascinating and enigmatic of the e-types-- especially when you start trying to type people as 6 in real life, and realize how different they all are. 
I also have a theory that 6 is in fact the most basic of the e-types, even though many authors say that 9 is. I think fear is the most basic emotion.
And also I kind of wish I was a six. Not sure why. Well it is my ultimate level of integration so I guess theres that.


----------



## Quang (Sep 4, 2014)

> Anxious people tend to be less judgmental and more accepting of others. They understand what it feels like to be different from those around them.


Isn't it the other way around? The fear of the unknown also derives from anxiety and ignorance, so how can anxiety make people less judgmental? The essence of 6s is protecting the group from potentially harm 'foreigners'.


----------



## Paradigm (Feb 16, 2010)

Quang said:


> Isn't it the other way around? The fear of the unknown also derives from anxiety and ignorance, so how can anxiety make people less judgmental? The essence of 6s is protecting the group from potentially harm 'foreigners'.


Maybe if said 6 was extremely conservative in beliefs, and if you subscribed to Nazi-like stereotypes. I'm more liberal, personally. And SOC-last, so I'm good without groups; I care more about myself and individuals.

It's saying that anxious people are more empathetic to the emotional states of others. That assumes a 6 is overtly anxious, and aware of their existential anxiety, which many 6s are not.


----------



## charlie.elliot (Jan 22, 2014)

Your own fear makes you the most dangerous kind of person.... And I would imagine less judgemental and empathetic. Fear puts you into survival mode which doesn't allow for niceties. However, sixes will act very loving and kind towards others in an attempt to bond together for safety. So maybe they act empathetic and non judgemental in the name of bonding together.


----------



## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

charlie.elliot said:


> Your own fear makes you the most dangerous kind of person.... And I would imagine less judgemental and empathetic.


I haven't noticed this _at all_. how many 6s do you know? some of the most judgmental (whether implicitly or explicitly), passive-aggressive and cutthroat people I've come across have been 6s. obviously, this doesn't account for all of them, but 6s can be sneaky lil things. 



> Fear puts you into survival mode which doesn't allow for niceties


or it necessitates them. depends on your strategy.



> However, sixes will act very loving and kind towards others in an attempt to bond together for safety. So maybe they act empathetic and non judgemental in the name of bonding together.


sometimes. I've noticed the Sp 6 is probably the most genuinely loving/loyal 6. if you are friends with an Sp 6, they are loyal to _you_, not your position or whatever organization structure you are part of like Social 6 (Sexual 6 doesn't seem very loyal at all most of the time).

in my experience, the most loyal types are 1 and 8 (sometimes Social 2, but seldom Sexual or Self Preservation 2).


----------



## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

[No message]


----------



## Lord Bullingdon (Aug 9, 2014)

Phoenix_Rebirth said:


> *1. Lame/crappy descriptions*
> 
> One of the biggest problems of people who type as 6 is that they have to face lame descriptions on the type. Some of them are really bad like the R&S description who makes 6s appear like borderline suffers.


First, what is the R&S description?

Second, I agree that the description you listed is crap, but have you checked out the rest of them? msml on HubPages



> *2. Type 6 deals with anxiety *
> 
> Type 6 deals with the vice of fear/anxiety.. one of the most misunderstood vices. They 6 surely use anxiety to avoid danger and to prepare themselves to possible negative scenarios. But the type 6 anxiety is very different from anxiety disturb. In an anxiety disturb, people feel anxiety because their brain has some chemical imbalance and this is very different from type 6 anxiety, which is a kind of survival anxiety, a preparatory anxiety to avoid risks and dangers.


One of the problems with associating 6s with "anxiety" is the prevalence of anxiety disorders in the modern world. You wind up with a lot of people typing as 6 because they have "anxiety". I don't think this makes it harder to type as 6, but it means some people are initially discouraged from looking beyond basic descriptions because they have anxiety and are therefore 6s.



> *3. Descriptions make 8s look cooler than 6s *
> 
> So most descriptions make 8s seems like a ruthless warrior and 6s look like pathetic anxiety disturb suffers. That's wrong. Many Cp 6s are not even aware of their anxiety, since they fly away from it, and yet there is this nonsense stereotype that being a 8 is much more cooler than being a 6.


Why are 6s only ever compared to 8s? They don't only mistype as 8s, you know. What about 6s that mistype as 9s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 7s? I don't think all those types have the reputation of being "cool", online or irl. I'd rather be a 6 than a 4 based on most descriptions and personal experience with my own 4ishness; why isn't that part mentioned?

Actually, regarding online coolness, the only place I've encountered the "8s are cool" attitude has been online. Most people irl don't seem to feel that figures like Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin, and Idi Amin are cool. Even semi-kick-ass 8ish cultural figures, like Hell's Angels and the Mafia are dealt with using extreme caution. They often tend to be offensive to the larger proportion of "proper" society.

Don't get me wrong, you're right in saying that online 8 has some sort of mythic status (which is bullshit imo), I just don't think every 6 mistypes because they want to be an 8 or anything like that.

Last, "pathetic anxiety disturb suffer" ... ? Sorry. That gave me pause as I tried to sequence the information.



> *4. People believe type 6 is a crappy type*
> 
> Well, sadly but true. However the truth is type 6 can be one of the most insightful type concerning human nature, along with one of the bravest type and fear-free. Type 6 can be very independent, straight forward, commanding and alpha leaders as other types.
> 
> In fact, the type 6 anxiety acts like a blessing to the own type. Check out the advantages of anxiety:


Fair point in the quoted part.

In my experience, "Type 6" is for some reason used as an insult. The association is "you just can't admit it", or "you're just posing as another type to boost your ego". I know, because I've had this logic used against me in some other places. If you argue, you're a 6 who is resisting others' authority. If you agree to it, then change your mind, you're just "doubting". How stereotypical. People tend to want to label all the hard-to-type people as summary sixes, so I think it's important to distinguish people who "don't want to type" this way due to some inner reaction to it, and people who simply don't accept 6 as the final conclusion to all questions and outliers.

That's no doubt why it's seen as being "crappy"--a negative myth is being built around it online.



I'll add a Number 5:

*5. Sixes Explore the Cons of Every Situation.*

Including the enneagram, its faults and logical flaws, its inconsistencies. If you argue they're one type, a significant number of Sixes will be skeptical and therefore argue against it until the parameters are so solid they can accept this conclusion. When your natural stance is one of skepticism, other possibilities must be explored and ruled out first. 

(Let's not reduce it all to "I don't want to be a 6 because of what people think of me" thing. Not everyone is still in high school.)


----------



## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

On here it seems the general thing to invalidate the concerns of type 6 putting them down to being over-reactions and then a different position is put forth irl but still means the same thing - the people irl who don't know my type instead tell me I shouldn't worry about things so much so its invalidating from both groups of people but not intentionally hurtful from those who know me irl, it's a more human based interaction and therefore more understanding and concern. 

So yeah, id say this is a hurtful thing about being a 6 irl or online where others know your type and use it to devalidate your concerns.


----------



## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

The Typeless Wonder said:


> In my experience, "Type 6" is for some reason used as an insult. The association is "you just can't admit it", or "you're just posing as another type to boost your ego". I know, because I've had this logic used against me in some other places. If you argue, you're a 6 who is resisting others' authority. If you agree to it, then change your mind, you're just "doubting". How stereotypical. People tend to want to label all the hard-to-type people as summary sixes, so I think it's important to distinguish people who "don't want to type" this way due to some inner reaction to it, and people who simply don't accept 6 as the final conclusion to all questions and outliers.


Great post. This kind of relates to what i was saying about using types to gaslight. Enneagram seems almost water soluble to me, like it has some merging behaviour about it rather than solid walls i.e. the way one type melds into the next but how they can be viewed as so opposite to each other is intriguing. 

The 7 description on that spoof website seemed pretty flattering to me, I wander what the type is of the author, just out of interest.
Those descriptions are old now though, so much has changed within the e community, we've all become a lot more read up since and threads like this one, rather than be effective are just dragging the cat through the grass, it's not relevant anymore and just keeps the misinformation alive and well.


----------



## Helios (May 30, 2012)

The Typeless Wonder said:


> First, what is the R&S description?
> 
> Second, I agree that the description you listed is crap, but have you checked out the rest of them? msml on HubPages
> 
> ...


This point is pretty solid. Not only that but the head triad (5, 6, 7) is associated with fear and anxiety as well. It's not enough to type a person as a 6 just because their core motivations seem to be wrapped up in that realm. Also, due to this association with anxiety, many people who are self-preservation first in their instincts can come of as "6-like."




> Why are 6s only ever compared to 8s? They don't only mistype as 8s, you know. What about 6s that mistype as 9s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 7s? I don't think all those types have the reputation of being "cool", online or irl. I'd rather be a 6 than a 4 based on most descriptions and personal experience with my own 4ishness; why isn't that part mentioned?


This probably has to do with the phobic vs counterphobic distinction that some internet typology communities like to make with 6s. Counterphobic 6s are apparently more likely to mistype as 8 since there seems to be overlap in the behaviors they are associated with, and both are made out to be the badasses of the enneagram so that's probably why that bit gets mentioned often.



> Don't get me wrong, you're right in saying that online 8 has some sort of mythic status (which is bullshit imo), I just don't think every 6 mistypes because they want to be an 8 or anything like that.


I think more 6s mistype because they genuinely don't grasp the nature of type 6 rather than some overwhelming desire to be a closeted baby that needs to be in control over its environment to overcompensate for that fact.


----------



## Arya (Oct 17, 2012)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> I haven't noticed this _at all_. how many 6s do you know? some of the most judgmental (whether implicitly or explicitly), passive-aggressive and cutthroat people I've come across have been 6s. obviously, this doesn't account for all of them, but 6s can be sneaky lil things.
> 
> 
> or it necessitates them. depends on your strategy.
> ...


Depends on fix. I have a 9 fix and I am one of the least judgmental people you will ever meet. I end up in arguments with other sixes all the time, because they start making judgmental proclamations I don't agree with. Most of them have 1 fixes though. Eight fixed sixes don't seem to care that much either so long as you leave their territory alone. I am very close friends with a six with a one fix, but sometimes I want to scream at his constant stream of judgmental statements, and this is not a problem I have with non 1 fixed sixes.

6 with a 9 fix says I don't care what anyone does. Nothing affects me. (I could give you some extreme examples of how this has affected me, such as not caring when guys sexually harass me. My 6 with a 1 fix friend is like that is just plain wrong. You need to go talk to someone about it. And I'm just like but who cares? I'm fine.) 

6 with an 8 fix says I don't care what anyone does so long as it doesn't affect me and my territory.


----------



## d e c a d e n t (Apr 21, 2013)

Arya said:


> 6 with a 9 fix says I don't care what anyone does. Nothing affects me. (I could give you some extreme examples of how this has affected me, such as not caring when guys sexually harass me. My 6 with a 1 fix friend is like that is just plain wrong. You need to go talk to someone about it. And I'm just like but who cares? I'm fine.)


I guess seeing yourself as unaffected can feel safer in a way too.


----------



## Paradigm (Feb 16, 2010)

Kink said:


> I guess seeing yourself as unaffected can feel safer in a way too.


Pretty much how I survived high school, yeah. Distancing yourself as severely as I did can have long-term consequences, though. I'm still trying to learn how to un-distance myself, and it's been seven years since graduation -_- On the bright side, it did preserve my sanity, so I guess that's something.


----------



## Golden Rose (Jun 5, 2014)

I agree that one of the main issues is that type 6 suffers from lots of misinformation and negative stereotypes associated to both anxiety (despite not being the only anxiety driven type) and the misconception that a 6's focus on security is something boring and SJ-like, not that that stereotype is valid either but I can see the lack of appeal to most people. Many users of this forum tend to type either as INTx or INFJ/xNFP and I can see why they'd rather type as 4s, 5s or any of the "cool" types, especially when it all boils down to either look "quirky, creative and charmingly melancholic" or "intellectual, logical, pragmatic and smart" vs "anxious, desperate for security, untrusting, suspicious, attached". Image types (aside from type 4) seem to be affected by a similar bad reputation. It took me a while to understand and appreciate type 6, as it isn't part of my tritype and I often bought into the stereotype, not understanding what their anxiety and lack of trust entailed, but now I can safely say that it's one of the most multifaced types of the Enneagram and being so widespread doesn't make it bland or boring, if anything it makes it even more complex as more people implies more variety in its concrete manifestations.


----------



## tresemme (Jun 21, 2014)

6 is the devil's #.


----------



## FlaviaGemina (May 3, 2012)

> _Sixness in many ways: in its fraternal groups, its political parties, its sports teams, its conspiracy theory and Peace Corps._
> 
> 
> _The two Six subtypes, 6/5 and 6/7, roughly correspond to the core constituencies of the Republican and Democratic parties. Sixes in general are social conservatives who enjoy nesting within a tradition. They draw strength and a feeling of identity and belonging from the roles they have in their family, community, and country.
> ...


Literally NONE of this applies to me in any shape whatsoever.


----------



## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

I think there is a tendency to overtype people who are "psycho" as Sexual 6, when they are often Sexual 2, Sexual 4 or, less frequently, Sexual 8w7 or Sexual 1. one thing remains consistent though, "psycho bitches", regardless of gender, are almost always Sx dom :laughing:


----------



## Dalton (Jun 10, 2013)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> I think there is a tendency to overtype people who are "psycho" as Sexual 6, when they are often Sexual 2, Sexual 4 or, less frequently, Sexual 8w7 or *Sexual 1*. one thing remains consistent though, "psycho bitches", regardless of gender, are almost always Sx dom :laughing:


HELL YEAH!
Psychos unite!

That first description that said "I've never seen a cop who wasn't a 6" was enough to ruin the writers' credibility. There are many type 8 cops, and even type 1 is probably present in most precincts.


----------



## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

@The Typeless Wonder



> One of the problems with associating 6s with "anxiety" is the prevalence of anxiety disorders in the modern world. You wind up with a lot of people typing as 6 because they have "anxiety". I don't think this makes it harder to type as 6, but it means some people are initially discouraged from looking beyond basic descriptions because they have anxiety and are therefore 6s.


True enough...



> Why are 6s only ever compared to 8s?


Because counterphobic 6's can mistype as 8's except an 8 would view the CP 6 as a wimpy 8 that's just too dominated by anxiety and shit and thinks too goddamned much!



> They don't only mistype as 8s, you know.


I mistyped as 1... @Promethea once speculated I could have a 9w8 gut fix _(admittedly I'm not slow and lethargic, but my default mentality was "hey, so long as it don't affect me, I don't really care -- just leave me alone")_.



> Most people irl don't seem to feel that figures like Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin, and Idi Amin are cool.


Well they're clearly unhealthy examples, especially Idi Amin, too much "salty" meat



> I'll add a Number 5:
> 
> *5. Sixes Explore the Cons of Every Situation.*


I usually start out with "How can this go sideways?". I'm not necessarily that smart, it's just that I usually immediately think of all the ways it can go bad. As a result people who are obviously smarter than me academically have been surprised and said "I didn't actually think of that" or "Good catch"


----------



## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

tresemme said:


> 6 is the devil's #.


That's deep. This post really resonated with me.


----------



## tresemme (Jun 21, 2014)

emberfly said:


> That's deep. This post really resonated with me.


As expected. You have a 6 wing.


----------



## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

tresemme said:


> As expected. You have a 6 wing.


I only assume I do based off consistent test results. I'm open to people trying to type me


----------



## FearAndTrembling (Jun 5, 2013)

What I basically see it as, is knowledge vs protection. 5 vs 6 for me. I am not schooled in enneagram at all. But I think Fe is a major issue here. Fe is self defense against the environment. In my position anyway. 

My theme is knowledge. Always has been. But then knowledge leads me to the truth --which is that violence solves things. Because people say my paranoid nature is more like a 6. But I am paranoid, because I believe I should be. I intellectually believe the world is unjust and violent. I know it, actually. A bunch of other guys figured this out in philosophy, no matter the type. It is truth.


----------



## FlaviaGemina (May 3, 2012)

I've just read some more:



> You can count on them to have strong feelings about their families, community, and country, either positive or negative, or switching between the two.
> 
> *How they handle money and resources*
> 
> ...


This is bizarre. 
How does the author of this explain that quite a few INTJs and INFJs type as E6? 
I can see INFJs feeling strongly about their family, but team sports, following fashion trends etc? That doesn't sound INXX at all.


----------



## FlaviaGemina (May 3, 2012)

Paradigm said:


> Maybe if said 6 was extremely conservative in beliefs, and if you subscribed to Nazi-like stereotypes. I'm more liberal, personally. And SOC-last, so I'm good without groups; I care more about myself and individuals.
> 
> .


This is the first time that I've ever heard that 6s defend the group against 'foreigners'. I'm not that well-versed in Enneagram, but I've read the chapters from books that people have posted on here and I've never ever come across anything like that before. 

I can tell when somebody is harming the group (e.g. stirring up arguments about nothing, drawing too much attention to themselves, dominating the conversation), but this is usually someone who is part of the group, not a 'foreign' intruder.


----------



## FlaviaGemina (May 3, 2012)

RobynC said:


> I usually start out with "How can this go sideways?". I'm not necessarily that smart, it's just that I usually immediately think of all the ways it can go bad. As a result people who are obviously smarter than me academically have been surprised and said "I didn't actually think of that" or "Good catch"


LOL, I do this all the time. Do people misunderstand you? When I do this, it means "I want to prevent it from going wrong, so let's take this and that precaution to make sure it goes right." but people understand "Let's not do it."


----------



## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

@FlaviaGemina



> LOL, I do this all the time.


Makes enough sense



> Do people misunderstand you?


Sometimes, particularly when it comes to certain things: Examples would be when crises occur these days, there has been ample cases where the events were either contrived, sensationalized, or exploited

When 9/11 happened we were all horrified and was much more worried about the people that died than how this would affect us: When I hear something about terrorism modern day I think "How's this going to affect my ... I mean _our_... civil liberties" and run through the options... then I usually think "Oh, by the way, how many died?"

It sounds heartless... there are other cases where I've heard that the government was saying that domestic terror threats were more of a threat than Al Qaeda: They cited a case where a few law enforcement officers were killed. I looked at the numbers, and they were a few over the course of a couple of years and I pointed out that so many cops die in the line of duty that it's miniscule.

I was accused of saying that it's okay to set a minimum acceptable threshold for death: My response was kind of "yeah", people die, and people who have dangerous jobs have a higher risk of dying so yeah there probably is an "acceptable" rate of losses. Not that I like it, but it's just how it is. You can't have absolute safety (not at least withouts sacrificing all freedom -- and paradoxically if you have no freedom, you have no safety)



> When I do this, it means "I want to prevent it from going wrong, so let's take this and that precaution to make sure it goes right." but people understand "Let's not do it."


Depends on what it is: Some things shouldn't be done at all, some need precautions to make it work right and not injure, or kill yourself or others.


----------



## JTHearts (Aug 6, 2013)

@RobynC

You're even pushing your liberal propaganda in the enneagram forum? lol


----------



## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

I was simply citing an example about how I could be misunderstood


----------

