# Self-consciousness and the Enneagram



## Daeva (Apr 18, 2011)

*Self-consciousness: *from thefreedictionary.com
*
1.* Aware of oneself as an individual or of one's own being, actions, or thoughts.
*2. *Socially ill at ease: _The self-conscious teenager sat alone during lunch._
*3. *Excessively conscious of one's appearance or manner:_The self-conscious actor kept fixing his hair._
*4. *Showing the effects of self-consciousness; stilted: _self-conscious prose.
_
​I mainly want to talk about definitions *1.* and* 3.*, and which enneagram types would find themselves in it the most. And which types not at all.

I think the ones who would relate the most would be part of the image triad, with the whole _image_-thing and all, but I figure each of them would still experience it differently somehow. And I think the gut triad would relate the least, but I can't really figure out why, call it a gut feeling  Then the head triad; honestly, I have no idea how they would relate. I guess I could see how 7's would be too preoccupied with other stuff to care, or something like that?

So, my question goes: Do you see yourself in any of these descriptions and how do you think it relates to your type?


----------



## cudibloop (Oct 11, 2012)

Image triad and 6. 4s and 6s are gonna be more obvious externally.


----------



## jbking (Jun 4, 2010)

Boogie man said:


> *Self-consciousness: *from thefreedictionary.com*
> 1.* Aware of oneself as an individual or of one's own being, actions, or thoughts.
> *2. *Socially ill at ease: _The self-conscious teenager sat alone during lunch._
> *3. *Excessively conscious of one's appearance or manner:_The self-conscious actor kept fixing his hair._
> ...


Sure, I see myself in 1 and 3 at times. I'll have moments where I'll want to hide or employ stealth to some extent and that would likely fall under the "excessively conscious of one's appearance or manner" component rather trivially I'd think. Really, to go through each types perception of this:

1. Looking out to avoid making mistakes and thus may be hyper-vigilant to prevent that inner critic from putting down one's appearance, pun intended.
2. Look at all the stuff I do for others! I'm such a giver and generous person.
3. To get the fame and recognition I want, I have to control my appearance to potentially excessive levels obviously.
4. In order to be special and stand out, I have to know what I look like so no one else looks just like I look.
5. I have to maintain my distance and thus I will be careful about what I wear so I blend into the shadows.
6. Phobic - Out of fear, they may be vigilant like the One on the look for danger including any dangers by their own appearance or manner.
Counter-Phobic - "Nothing is standing in my way," and thus there may be a focus on appearance to rebel against the fear.
7. "What can I do for fun?" and the other Hedonistic tendencies of a 7 could be how they'd be self-aware as after all, one has to have an idea of what is fun to start.
8. In being the person that will take a stand, I have to control the image I project for others to know I mean business. Think of this as the fighter that may gesture more in body language and manner than the wardrobe selection.
9. "What can I do to bring peace?" and maintain it would be their thought that would be how they may be excessively conscious of their image so that they aren't creating conflict.


----------



## cudibloop (Oct 11, 2012)

@_jbking_


Thats more 6w5s and Sp 6s. I'm mainly self conscious about my physical appearance, body language and overall presentation. I'm only vigilant if there's a legitimate reason to be (IE; snake pit, guerrilla war zone, etc.)


----------



## ScarlettHayden (Jun 8, 2012)

Boogie man said:


> *Self-consciousness: *from thefreedictionary.com
> 1. *Aware of oneself as an individual or of one's own being, actions, or thoughts.*
> 2. Socially ill at ease: The self-conscious teenager sat alone during lunch.
> 3. Excessively conscious of one's appearance or manner:The self-conscious actor kept fixing his hair.
> 4. Showing the effects of self-consciousness; *stilted*: self-conscious prose.


I'm not particularly self-conscious as I tend to tune the world out and just focus on my own thoughts. But I can be conscious of myself when interacting with people outside of my immediate family. I feel socially incompetent, but not excessively.


----------



## jbking (Jun 4, 2010)

cudibloop said:


> @_jbking_
> 
> 
> Thats more 6w5s and Sp 6s. I'm mainly self conscious about my physical appearance, body language and overall presentation. I'm only vigilant if there's a legitimate reason to be (IE; snake pit, guerrilla war zone, etc.)


My 5 bias probably crept in to that more than a little bit. Thanks for the correction.


----------



## SharkT00th (Sep 5, 2012)

It would be easier for me to talk about the E-types who are not self-conscious, and there seems to be a link between introspection and self-consciousness. The Types that are not very self-conscious are the Cp-6, 7, and 8. Those types exhibit the least amount of self-consciousness, the CP-6 is in denial of fear which includes social anxiety as well. THe 7 and the 8 are both narcissistic and therefore believe that they have no need for self-consciousness since they are above you and therefore don't need to be aware of themselves. 

A lack of self-consciousness is typically a thing of the Id since those types suppress their superego which is the psychological agency responsible for feeling self-conscious.


----------



## Father of Dragons (May 7, 2012)

Boogie man said:


> *Self-consciousness: *from thefreedictionary.com*
> 1.* Aware of oneself as an individual or of one's own being, actions, or thoughts.
> *2. *Socially ill at ease: _The self-conscious teenager sat alone during lunch._
> *3. *Excessively conscious of one's appearance or manner:_The self-conscious actor kept fixing his hair._
> ...


Personally I would say that I really relate to 1, but only a little to 3. For me it would be:

"_Aware of oneself as an individual [and] of one's being, actions_." 

Most of the time I don't really feel like I'm "thinking", at least not in the sense of discrete thoughts or sentences. I think this is somewhat common in gut types, as we are more physical and instinctual. 

I do however feel intensely the sense of inhabiting myself in the immediate, present environment - I am hyper-conscious of my presence, and to some degree how I must appear. I am not necessarily anxious or concerned about how I am and how others must see me, but I feel like I am always aware of it.


----------



## braided pain (Jul 6, 2012)

I started to say I relate to one and not three, but thinking on it more I realize that I'm often fiddling with my clothes or hair. If I stand out I want it to be deliberate, so I have more control over it.


----------



## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

@Boogie man
I'd say
high self consciousness: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
medium self consciousness: 5, 9
low self consciousness: 7, 8


----------



## Coburn (Sep 3, 2010)

@jbking For the love of God, lay off the stereotypes. 


To answer the OP, I find I am self-conscious when I become aware that something I have done/am doing is jeopardizing my well being.


----------



## cudibloop (Oct 11, 2012)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> @_Boogie man_I'd sayhigh self consciousness: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6medium self consciousness: 5, 9low self consciousness: 7, 8


A lot of 5s seem oblivious to me.


----------



## sleepyhead (Nov 14, 2011)

Boogie man said:


> *Self-consciousness: *from thefreedictionary.com*
> 1.* Aware of oneself as an individual or of one's own being, actions, or thoughts.
> *2. *Socially ill at ease: _The self-conscious teenager sat alone during lunch._
> *3. *Excessively conscious of one's appearance or manner:_The self-conscious actor kept fixing his hair._
> ...


I think #1, which sounds like self awareness to me, would depend more on a type's health levels than type itself. I used to think it would be more type related, but I feel like I've seen such a wide variation of this among type's that it all just depends on how healthy they are. In average types, there may be some correlation. 

Myself, I relate to all of them. #1 the most, #2 comes in second, #4 is third, and #3 is fourth. I've always felt a need to fully understand myself, my issues, my actions, etc and that requires reflecting on myself and my experiences. I can be fairly relaxed socially if the conditions are right, but most of the time I feel fairly awkward. I can get past it, but sometimes it's a struggle.

On second thought, I wouldn't say I relate to the "appearance" part of #3, but the "manner" part. I'm excessively conscious because I feel out of place and I get stuck in my thoughts trying to force myself to relax, which only makes me more stiff. If I'm in a situation where I have to talk to new people my mind usually goes blank and I start thinking about not looking awkward until they start the conversation and save me. Once I get going I can be in the moment more.


----------



## Daeva (Apr 18, 2011)

I'm loving all the reactions, it's interesting to see how many people can experience self-consciousness and yet feel very different about it.

For myself, I relate to 1 and 3 the most, and 2 and 4 only when I was a teenager (and unhealthy).
I feel as if I'm on stage -performing- pretty much all the time. Even when I'm alone. Yet it's not very stressful, it somehow feels quite natural to me.
I have this image of myself in my head, the 'perfect' me. Or at least, traits that I admire in others and take for my own. I'm a mess compiled with other people's traits. This makes me feel very self-conscious, yet people tell me I come across as a confident man.
Pretty much every action is done deliberate and conscious, constantly thinking about how I'm perceived. Or how I think I am perceived as. It's just, over the years I've made it an art to make all of this look as fluent as possible.
I don't know my type yet, so I was curious if anyone would relate


----------

