Signs of an Unhealthy INTP Personality Type
Signs of an Unhealthy INTP Personality Type
INTPs – sometimes referred to as Logicians – have Introverted (I), Intuitive (N), Thinking (T), and Perception (P) personality traits. Most of the time, they’re very intelligent and creative individuals who have a unique outlook on life. But due to their unique personalities, they sometimes develop unhealthy habits.
In this post, we explore some of the main signs to identify someone with the INTP personality type who may be developing unhealthy habits that are causing conflict in their lives.
They can be very abrasive
INTPs sometimes come across to other people as very abrasive and arrogant. This is because they’re not afraid to be direct with people and criticize other people’s ideas when they strongly disagree with them. When other people act offended, the INTP can find it difficult to understand why as they also struggle to react to other people’s emotions.
INTPs also love to be left alone and value their own space. When they deem other people to be encroaching on their space, they can push back strongly, which can come across as very rude and disrespectful to other people.
Many INTPs hate being told what to do by other people, which can cause real problems for them—especially in work situations. For this reason, many INTPs love to work independently or if they must work in a group, they prefer small groups in which they're the leader.
These issues can be very unhealthy when it comes to relationships with other people in their life. Their abrasiveness can cause a lot of conflicts, which the INTP doesn’t always understand as they simply believe they’re being honest.
When an INTP has an unhealthy childhood, these problems can develop to be even more of an issue later in life. If you’re an INTP, you can overcome most of these issues by having a good understanding of your thought processes and by learning to be more tactful when dealing with other people.
They can become defensive
When an INTP becomes very defensive, it can result in unhealthy behavior that causes conflict in their life. Many INTPs become very defensive when they believe their independence is threatened. This is because of their propensity to work independently and their enjoyment of their own space.
They also get very defensive when situations arise that require them to use personality traits that they don’t have. For example, because they lack the ability to read and understand the emotions of other people, they can struggle to empathize with other people, which causes conflict and can lead the INTP to shut themselves off from other people. They also avoid situations that they won’t have any control over, which can upset people around them who feel they’re not being supportive.
They can become isolated
INTPs feel very strongly when they think they’re right about something. When other people question their ideas, they shut them out of their lives rather than engage with them as they view that person as questioning their intelligence and competence.
This is because INTPs know and are very proud of their intelligence and ability to solve problems. So, when someone questions that, they become greatly offended and react negatively by removing that person from their life.
This behavior can be very unhealthy for two reasons. First, it stops the INTP from learning from other people and potentially being able to come up with even better ideas. Second, it makes them closed off from the rest of the world, so they miss out on forming healthy relationships with other people—both professionally and personally.
They can get stuck in the past
In some cases, INTPs can become overly focused on their past actions and decisions, which causes them anxiety. This can become very unhealthy if not addressed. This is especially a problem when they dwell on past embarrassing things they’ve done as it causes them to feel a deep sense of shame.
If these issues aren’t addressed, they can lead the INTP to stop growing as a person, as the person becomes reluctant to have new experiences and explore new ideas because they’ve become afraid to fail. This also stops them from making new friends and forming new romantic relationships, which can adversely affect their level of happiness and self-esteem.
They can become obsessive
INTPs love to solve problems. When they’re unable to find a solution to a problem they’re working on, they can become obsessed with it. This can be unhealthy if it causes them to pay less attention to their friends and family or look after other areas of their life.
It can also mean they become so caught up with thinking about the problem themselves that they fail to seek outside information or input from other people, which reduces their chances of solving the problem.
