# MBTI and depression. Which E type is most prone to it?



## WarriorDreamer (Dec 14, 2011)

So I've been looking at depression and which type I believe is most prone to it than others. It is said that the INFP is the most liable to have it, because they live on that line of wanting to live in a fantasy world where their ideals come true to living in the real world where what they want to happen never comes true. 

I think all Fi types are normally the most likely to get it. I would say ISFJ get pretty depressed at times. They constantly look after and care for other people that when they get no support back, they feel apathetic about things. ISFP's can become depressed when they feel like no-one cares about them and INFJ's can become depressed when they are not given an outlet to express their feelings.

But I was thinking, most E types _never_ seem depressed. They always seem happy as if nothing in life fazes them or makes them less happy.

I would assume it would be the Feeling types, to me ENFP seems _constantly_ happy. I think they _get_ what unhappiness means but just don't feel it. I think the only thing being they are sometimes slightly disillusioned if something doesn't meet their expectations.
I think of all E types ENFJ is most prone to feeling 'down' about things. They constantly give and when they get nothing back, they feel down. Same with ESFJ, but they don't self pity as much as ENFJ's do, they can move on quicker.

Although both types can EVENTUALLY pick themselves up and move on.


But I would say I think one of the key factors to any type not feeling depressed is to not put all their happiness onto one person, or even an imaginary person they hope will come. But to feel content and fulfilled just being themselves. It works for me.


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

I think you're relying on a lot of stereotypes and misinformation. All personality types and all people go through some form of depression at some point or another. Jung is explicit in this as it the tension or conflict is often a sign of individuation. For instance having to deal with your inferior function will cause mental conflict. Being forced to use a lesser-preferred function more than you are comfortable with will cause conflict. If you will, the use of shadow functions causes conflict. People who identify too heavily with their persona will cause major depression (as they are not even being true to themselves). Simply saying ENFPs aren't depressed is erroneous and just silly.

Let's expand this past depression and out to the pathologies that are generally identified by the DSM-IV as identified here by Theodore Millon. Personality Subtypes Summary You begin to see that there are a lot of different mental problems people can suffer from and that its likely no type is exempt.

Now Millon is not a Jungian he's a modern psychologist (and his ideas of the ego are far more Freudian than Jungian) but what you can begin to see is that there are certain pathologies that could apply to any type. It's just some types might be more prone to certain pathologies over others.

Since general Introversion is typically thought of as pseudo-pathological by the modern psychological community (probably due to the extraverted cultural predilections) it is no surprise that many of the disorders listed here would be linked directly or indirectly to introversion (Freud believed that introversion itself was a narcissistic pathology, but Jung thought there could be such a thing as healthy introversion provided it was adequately balanced. Modern psych tends to follow Freud on this however). Also pathologies are measured on a sliding scale, so its possible for people to identify with more than one to varying degrees. Some people may be highly paranoid but only moderately Negativistic. 

So if we look at the four Avoidant types it becomes clear that many of these descriptions tend to fall in-line with commonly held notions (many Kiersey and MBTI-based) about INF types.









Histrionic Disorders, on the other hand are probably more in alignment with certain Extravert types (probably Ne/Se-doms maybe some Fe-doms).









The Sadistic traits might be applicable to strong Thinking types (probably unhealthy Te-types)









Now i'm not saying these are the pathologies for these types. What I'm saying is that all types can exhibit a pathology, self-inconsistency, internal and external demands, dissociation from self, etc that could bring about a depressive episode.


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## MuChApArAdOx (Jan 24, 2011)

WarriorDreamer said:


> So I've been looking at depression and which type I believe is most prone to it than others. It is said that the INFP is the most liable to have it, because they live on that line of wanting to live in a fantasy world where their ideals come true to living in the real world where what they want to happen never comes true.
> 
> I think all Fi types are normally the most likely to get it. I would say ISFJ get pretty depressed at times. They constantly look after and care for other people that when they get no support back, they feel apathetic about things. ISFP's can become depressed when they feel like no-one cares about them and INFJ's can become depressed when they are not given an outlet to express their feelings.
> 
> ...


I think you actually make a good point here. I've also noticed a trend that extroverted NF's aren't as depressed as introverted. Now this isn't something i've weighted in reality as i don't know many introverted NF's, within_ my own family dynamics_ the introverted ones seem to show signs of depression externally more than the extroverts. They seem to express their depression more verbally, so it is more noticeable externally. That has been my observation anyways. If we were to compare with the INFP here at PerC alone, personally i get a vibe of sadness more than happiness, this could be my own perception. It does appear the ENFP are happier internally/externally overall. This could be the major difference between DOM Fi and AUX Fi. How we handle depression differently. maybe !


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

Being depressed and clinical depression are both leagues apart from each other. Sure, INFPs might be most prone to having depressed moods, but the mental disorder in unlimited to types.


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## Dgostah (Aug 19, 2012)

Well, I have to say I disagree with you. All of my ENFP friends (including myself) struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide. I believe it is partially because we sacrifice our feelings a lot to make others happy, because we hate seeing people feeling down. I think the reason for this is because we know how it feels to be depressed. It sucks. So (talking now in retrospect to myself) I have now become really good at the "happy" facade. My friends, for the most part, think I am a very ditzy happy person without a care in the world. Well, except for my ONE friend that figured it out. 
I have struggled with depression since I was really young, but always brushed it off because I want people to think I'm happy so that they don't worry. Well, eight years later, and I'm going through therapy while dealing with thoughts of suicide and complete lack of care for myself. Now that my family really does not worry about me, when they definitely should, I need them. I have completely cut off emotional connections with everyone but my friend, and I continue with the happy facade around people. 
I don't know if I'll get past my depression, and it is certainly not the point of this response. The point is, MANY extroverted people get depressed, and it turns out it is the one thing they hide from everyone.


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## Raichu (Aug 24, 2012)

WarriorDreamer said:


> I would assume it would be the Feeling types, to me ENFP seems _constantly_ happy. I think they _get_ what unhappiness means but just don't feel it.


My sister's an ENFP, and she gets awful depression. It runs in our family, but she gets it the worst. I deal with it, too, and I haven't got any Fi.

I think the thing with depression, though, is it kind of sucks all the extroversion out of you. So even someone who's actually an extrovert might seem like an introvert if they're depressed, because it makes you just wanna sit around all day inside. Even if, hypothetically, you'd like to go out, you've got no energy or motivation to.


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## Coffee Soap (Jun 25, 2012)

Clinical depression can (and will) get anyone regardless of type, but yes Es can feel very depressed too. From personal experience I think ENFJs would be much more likely to show it than ENFPs. I'm only 18 years old and I'm fortunate enough to have never been suicidal or clinically depressed, but I can already understand why people might sometimes want/choose to kill themselves, especially when I am feeling particularly down. It's my estimate that E types, being better at reading people and 'moulding' themselves to fit, are more likely to be really good at putting up a 'happy' facade. Speaking as an ENFP - Yes, I am a generally happy person, but with the big highs also come great, sinking lows. I'm certainly not saying that every happy ENFP you know are secretly in emotional quicksand inside, but I can say that I know _and_ feel what unhappiness is, and that I learnt to cry silently and fake a realistic smile from a very young age. Just thought it was important that you know this.


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## WarriorDreamer (Dec 14, 2011)

I think there are differences between heavy sadness/ feeling down/ miserable (normally due to something) and actual depression which can be clinical and other times not, not wanting to go out, not wanting to see anyone, not wanting to do anything, lift a single bone in your body, just lying there and literally waiting to die. That latter description is _real _depresssion, that is what I call actual depression, the person should have completely and utterly lost the will to live. ANYONE can get down, it is human nature to get down, even feel hugely sad at times. But when I say depressed I don't mean 'feeling sad but putting on a happy face for the friends.' I mean full-on curled up, lying down, crying, dying inside, can't eat, depression, anything less than that is more of a mood disorder IMO. Literally anyone can get moody.

One of the key signs of real depression is if it is not caused by anything else. If it's caused by something in the real world, I've learnt it's always one of those 'hard to deal with' things, which you can get through with lots of help and support.


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## Peripatetic (Jul 17, 2012)

Well studies show that extroverts tend to be happier than introverts. & to your point, given that depression almost always involves loneliness you might be able to find some facts and make some arguments about introverts more likely to be lonely, then, depressed.

But what I find interesting in all this, is extroverts really seem to feel pain less in a way. For example I have an extrovert friend (esfj) who's going through the exact same life problems that I am, and we both developed anxiety. But what's weird is, my anxiety is deeper while hers is more intense. If that makes sense. I think maybe introverts take their thoughts more seriously, and thus are affected more deeply by them.

Who knows, this could just be random prejudice on my part though.


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## fluorine (Jan 13, 2013)

I think that IxFx types are the most depression-prone of all, but many E types can get hit pretty hard. I am an ENTP and am aften accused of having my head up my ass because I am just so thrilled with life and the world in general, which apparently is pretty common for my type, but I have spent a good chunk of time every few months trying to get my very close ENFJ friend happy again. So, of the extroverts, the ENFJ must be the most susceptible to depression.


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## Acerbusvenator (Apr 12, 2011)

Depression as the thing people normally mean (aka. not clinical depression) comes in many forms, the cure to most of them however is company since humans are social creatures (no matter if you are an introvert or an extravert). 
It often doesn't matter if you can speak out about what bothers you, but the mere presence of people can be enough to cure the depression; in severer cases it only really helps if you can speak to someone who you truly trust and whom you know you won't bother. Especially the people who don't just ask how you feel, but realize that you are lying when you say that you are alright.

Lack of people can do so that you have a weaker defense against things. Minor things become large issues.

Due to the need for people; introverts are a victim of their own device. 
Introverts generally have a small amount of friends and might stay away from people without noticing that they got an overdose of loneliness.
Extraverts however generally have a quite large group of friends which seldom means that they are alone, this however means that they are even more sensitive when they are forced to be alone by things they can't control.

I wouldn't say that any type is more sensitive than any other, different types just got different triggers and different ways to express it. 
I wouldn't call this a N vs S, F vs T issue or anything like that, but a human issue that often is dependent on E vs I.

To be fair tho, everyone wants to feel accepted and one of the mayor reasons for depression and a contributor to suicide (I'd guess it is one of the biggest if not *THE* biggest reason for suicide).

I do however find that I tend to keep the pain inside and thus it becomes cumulative until it hits a peak which makes me seem like a very emotionally stable person since I hold almost everything inside, many extraverts however seem to express what is bothering them which makes it seem like they are more prone to depression than me just because I don't go around telling everyone about it.


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## sarahbelle68 (Mar 26, 2014)

LiquidLight said:


> I think you're relying on a lot of stereotypes and misinformation. All personality types and all people go through some form of depression at some point or another. Jung is explicit in this as it the tension or conflict is often a sign of individuation. For instance having to deal with your inferior function will cause mental conflict. Being forced to use a lesser-preferred function more than you are comfortable with will cause conflict. If you will, the use of shadow functions causes conflict. People who identify too heavily with their persona will cause major depression (as they are not even being true to themselves). Simply saying ENFPs aren't depressed is erroneous and just silly.
> 
> Let's expand this past depression and out to the pathologies that are generally identified by the DSM-IV as identified here by Theodore Millon. Personality Subtypes Summary You begin to see that there are a lot of different mental problems people can suffer from and that its likely no type is exempt.
> 
> ...


actually, certain types do experience unhappiness more than others

http://keirsey.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/happiness_survey_graph.gif


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## sarahbelle68 (Mar 26, 2014)

here';s a keirsey chart of the happines/ unhappiness of different types

http://keirsey.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/happiness_survey_graph.gif


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## bellaisinhere (Oct 23, 2016)

I am an ENFP and I have had depression for a very long time. It's just that when I am around people, I get excited to be around them. So I seem like a am happy because when I am socializing with you, I am temporarily happy.


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