Myers-Briggs

So I'm a real personality test junkie. You name it, and if I haven't taken it I will. Even if I have taken it I might just take it again. So naturally when my supervisor mentioned Myers-Briggs I wanted to know what everyone was, though I didn't voice this wish. She then said she wasn't going to ask us our types because she didn't want to make any judgments. Now, I don't assume that if someone is a certain personality type they're going to fit into some neat little box. I just like to know what people are because it's fun. And I'll admit, I'm a naturally curious (read nosy) person. So I've been meaning to ask a particular coworker about her Myers-Briggs.

So how amusing was it for me to come across a post about BPD and Myers-Briggs types. After reading his thoughts I wondered about the connection between my own Myers-Briggs type and my experience with BPD.

I am an ENFP: the Champion. Which makes total sense with the work I do and completely describes me. (In fact, Myers-Briggs probably describes me better than any other personality type indicator, including zodiac). ENFP happens to be pretty rare, only 2-3%. And yes I'm quite proud of this because I like being a rare personality. It's the diva in me I guess.

It's interesting because even I think of BPD as being a more introverted disorder, if that makes any sense. But it stands to reason that BPD can affect various types of personality and that it would manifest itself in different ways.

E=Extrovert
It would make sense that one of the hardest things for me concerning BPD is that fear of abandonment and loneliness. Because I'm an extrovert, I absolutely need to be around people. If I am left alone for too long, I get depressed. And mind you too long could be only a few hours. No wonder I'm afraid of people leaving!

F=Feelings
The other BPD trait that I have the most trouble with is that "emotional lability", meaning I have really severe mood swings (which is complicated by the bipolar but I won't get into that. Also, saying "mood swings" really minimizes the severity of the symptom and how disabling it can be). Not only do I feel before I think, but I'm also very attuned (and this may be where the N=iNtuitive comes in) to other people's feelings. So, at any given time I'm an emotional hurricane. Sometimes it's hard to figure out if I'm have a real me emotion, or just picking up on someone else's emotions. Either way it means that it's pretty difficult to rationalize feeling for me. That could also be my issue with DBT and Wise Mind. I can't get to Wise Mind because I can't rationalize my feelings.

The P=Perceiving, but I don't know enough about that aspect to really comment on it.

So there's a little bit about me and good old MB. Alright, so this post really gave me an excuse to talk about myself, which I love doing. Not in an arrogant, oh I'm so wonderful way; but more in that I'm pretty open and love to talk and I wish everyone was more open. Because I would be just as happy to talk to someone about themselves. Not in a judgmental way. Just cuz I love sharing.

Ok, so I might be a little hypomanic right now. Not sure if that's it, if it's the decrease in sleep, or if it's the coffee I had three hours ago...