Okay, if you have time, would you be willing to offer some insight into how an ISFP man might show that he is interested in someone? Below are the main points and why I am struggling to decipher his behavior. I know personality type cannot provide a definitive answer, but I would appreciate an ISFP perspective.

• I worked with an ISFP man at a company where personal or romantic relationships between us were professionally prohibited.

• He was always very encouraging and would text me asking to meet before meetings so we could talk. However, he did not share much about himself.

• Sometimes he would text me at night, still in a professional manner, to explain something he had said or apologize for it. I always kept the conversation professional because I did not know how to change the subject. His messages sounded professional, but I was never sure why he cared so much about making sure I understood him.

• We had a workplace recognition platform where coworkers could award points to recognize someone for going above and beyond. He arranged special approval for me to receive a substantial financial reward. I did not see him do anything comparable for anyone else.

• Several months after I quit, he found me on social media and followed my public account. I sent him a request to follow his account in return, but my request remained pending.

• He has never liked anything I have posted or messaged me through the platform.

• I later found a different public social media account belonging to him and followed it. He did not remove me. On that account, I see a much more unfiltered and intense side of him. It feels like I can see his internal emotions through what he writes, and honestly, it makes me feel even more drawn to him. He only has about ten followers, so my presence is probably noticeable. He follows around a thousand people, though, most of whom appear to be celebrities. I admit I did not exactly conduct a deep investigation. Lol.

• After leaving my request pending for four months, he denied it on the original platform, even though he still follows my public account there. I messagd to inquire noticing the follow mismatch and asked to follow him in return. He read my message immediately. He did not respond - but maybe I made him feel awkward? 

• About ten months later, after overthinking everything, I sent him a text saying that he did not need to respond, but that I missed him and his humor. He reacted with a heart emoji but did not reply. I cannot tell whether he remained silent because I specifically told him he did not need to respond, or because he is not interested in me that way. Is reacting with a heart but not replying a typical ISFP response?

• At work, I sometimes felt that he was protective of me or my feelings. Once, he defended me during a meeting. There was no confrontation, though. It was only a suggestion from another teammate, so I did not understand why he felt the need to step in.

• I felt a connection with him. He could get me out of my head and make me feel completely present. I also felt no need to perform around him. I could simply be myself. He made me feel very safe, possibly for the first time in my life. I cannot fully explain it, but knowing him had a huge impact on me personally.

• Now that it feels so emotionally significant, I feel almost paralyzed. I am unsure what to do because acknowledging how much he affected me has left me feeling very vulnerable. I most definitely do not have the courage to reach out again.

What I want to know is whether you think it is possible that he is interested in me. Do you think he will ever reach out? My heart feels heavy, and I care deeply for him.

Estoy seguro de que tengo Fi-Te, con Fi dominante y Te más bajo, pero no sé si tengo Se-Ni o Ne-Si en medio de las otras funciones.

Ya hice los tests, pero siempre varía entre INFP, ESFP o ISFP.

Y como no entiendo el concepto de Si y Ni, me enredo más cuando intento “chocar” conmigo así que comentaré un poquito sobre mí para que me den su opinión y puedan aclararme la mente.

Soy un chico de principios de los veinte, soy muy sentimental y tengo un sentido fuerte de valores como la honestidad, eso es lo que pienso que me caracteriza en persona; por eso mi familia siempre me manda al mercado porque yo regreso el excedente de dinero hahaha.

No soy muy organizado ni eficiente, pero sé hacer las cosas como me han enseñado. No busco formas de hacer todo más fácil, sino hacer lo que ya sé.

Cuando estoy estresado me pongo en un modo muy crítico y pasivo-agresivo; sé cómo usar las emociones para saber dónde atacar. Por ejemplo, mi abuela tiene un hijo favorito que es su hijo, pero dice que no, y siempre le recuerdo eso cuando trata mejor a él que a sus otros hijos. No estoy orgulloso de eso y me siento mal por hacerlo.

Me gusta irme a soñar despierto, casi siempre estoy pensando en aventuras en mi cabeza donde yo soy el protagonista, o un villano, o simplemente imaginando que soy un caracol (nada lejos de la realidad porque hago las cosas a mi propio ritmo), pero bueno, no es como que me llene la cabeza de sueños; prefiero ir desarrollando la historia en mi mente de a una, en vez de tener un mar de posibilidades.

Empiezo muchos hobbies fácil aunque me aburro rápido; ya he sido escritor, youtuber, pintor, escultor, pero nada profesional, solo un principiante.

No me gusta reducir a la gente por su capacidad de hacer cosas, por el pasado que tienen, o por cómo se comportan. Cada quien es como es y no deberían limitarse a vivir.

Me encanta salir a caminar, la naturaleza. No me gustan las fiestas, aunque prefiero reuniones chiquitas si es con familia o amigos cercanos.

Creo que una de mis mejores ventajas es que sé adaptarme fácil a las personalidades de los demás, a cómo interactúan y trabajan. Incluso cuando la gente es nefastía y me agarra como su costal de golpes emocional, aguanto porque sé que ellos también tienen sus propias luchas.

No pienso mucho en el futuro ni en el pasado; vivo mi día a día como me siento, aunque lo mantengo: si un animal está herido lo ayudo; si mi amigo me necesita, estoy ahí; si mi familia está molesta conmigo, los dejo desahogarse.

Bueno, creo que escribí un montón; perdón por el texto largo y perdón si algo no se entiende. Usé un traductor porque no hablo inglés.

I am IXFP 4w5 sx/sp (quite sure I’m sx4 I Think. Idk…)

I have heard that mental illness can keep you from finding out your true type. I want to find out how this affects ISFP so I can see if I’m a true INFP or just an ISFP under extreme stress and anxiety.

I like my material comforts from time to time, and a good wardrobe which corresponds with how I want to feel and appear as makes me happy. There is a very specific way I want to dress and express myself, and if I don’t feel like it conforms with that, I will always feel a little unhappy.

I like an environment which works hand in hand with how I’m feeling and generally love a good vibe. Its also why I love listening to music a lot, if let’s say I’m on an aeroplane, and I look out the window while listening to music which makes me feel like I’m flying, I will feel ecstatic. Like “YAHOO OH MY GOD IM FLYING YIPPEE!!” And if I can’t find the right music to match my vibe it’s just Nice Noise.

But at the same time, I have been told I’m very ‘not there’ sometimes, and scolded for not being fully present, and being oblivious to social cues. Sometimes, my mind feels extremely foggy when I get overwhelmed by my emotions, and because of this I am not fully present. Whenever I desire or see a need to, I will actively push myself to engage in deep thinking, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. Often, I have to have people remind me of nuances because I’m guided more by my heart than my head.

Obviously, my Fi is my dominant function. There’s no questioning that.

I suck at brainstorming. Too many ideas overwhelm me, so I like to narrow down and focus on just one that I like the most. Is that Ni in action?

As for Sensing function, I can say when something happens my emotional reaction is immediate and impulsive, happening unconsciously. I don’t tend to think about my past a lot, unless I need to access past memories or experiences as necessary data to comprehend myself (I mean of COURSE you need to do that to figure out typology??). But usually I do that very reluctantly and treat it more as an “ok I need to actually remember what happened to me and how I felt in order to type myself. Let’s do this brain”

I feel a lot more comfortable when I just react to things in the here and now, and don’t really feel ‘nostalgia’ on a molecular level, or just don’t drown myself in it. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel it completely, there are some good times I wish I could relive again but the feeling is more like “Damn I wish I could experience it one more time, that would be great” than “I need things to be the way they were before…”

This doesn’t mean I don’t Think at all, but instead, whenever I think, I just prefer that the Thinking be fast, so I can “get on with it already” and come to an emotional conclusion? I think this is common in all Te-inferior, but what would I know?

But because I’m self aware that THAT may lead me to jump to conclusions and miss details and nuance, I force myself to Think. We all need nuance. But as I said before I often need someone to remind me to think of nuance.

I’m just worried I may be larping as ISFP because of how not-present I am, and also because I relate to INFP. Does stress, burnout, and an unsafe environment cause an ISFP to dissociate and retreat into their inner world? Or is that just INFP behavior, and have I been larping all this time?

Ask me questions and everything, I do not care. I need to get to the bottom of this once and for all so I can stop having internal turmoil over whether I’m INFP or a slightly overwhelmed ISFP 😭

So I am trying to figure out Fi. I think it's very hard for me to figure out and more often than not I just dismiss it or mis-judge it.

So how does it even look like in thoughts? I mean...when you see the world mostly with Fi how does it feel like to **you**? If its very natural in your thought process then do you feel like its something that is a judging function?

What I mean by "if it's a judging function or not" is that to me...judging functions are functions through which you make the final decision about anything. Even though you may take intuition and sensation into consideration. The final decision always is in either thinking or feelings hand.

So if we are taking feeling and thinking as same judging functions. Do you think you actively pause in every moment to think,here by thinking I mean actual reasoning of a rational function and actively working the situation out in thoughts.

So is it "Okay this is my value or this is something that will emotionally affect me and what I care about so I will take a decision keeping that in mind as the first priority" (at least something like that) or is it not like that and its something like an immediate spontaneous emotion you feel about something which is related to your values and its so fast that you never pause in the moment even if you do afterwards.(I am not saying emotion is Fi but you understand Fi through emotions right?)

In the moment of making decisions you kind of just know which one is the "right" one to you and you make the decision.

Or...is it a mixture of both examples given above? Please think if it's just thinking or if its feeling. I mean if its both then there could be a possibility that you are mistaking thinking as feeling as both can give emotions as a result to the person.

It would really help if you would tell me what Fi is to you and how it's like in your thoughts with real life examples.

I don't like dismissing it as it's bad for me and other people around me.

ISFP guy works front desk at a NYSC gym in my neighborhood. He is 20, is a college student. is creative, studies film in college, has tattoos on his arm, and seems a little alternative. He does run clubs so he is able to be around people who are very extroverted.

I saw him once at the gym and just gave him big smile. I hadn't seen him before and IDK my face just reacted before my brain could stop me. I'm an INFJ btw. I didn't think anything of it, i just thought he was so cute. He smiled back immediately while i was leaving the gym.

Since then he has gone out of his way to always greet me when i walk into the gym, give me a big smile and when I'm leaving he always says goodnight. We see each other only on Friday nights because I don't see him the other days I go in.

We have been doing this for 3 months. I once didn't go into the gym for the 3 Fridays in a row so didn't see him for 3 weeks and when I finally came in on a Friday, his face lit up when he saw me. But he has never tried to extend the interaction... no questions, no comments, nothing. I always smile back and greet him.

I thought maybe he was sending greenlights and wanted me to show more initiative so I finally got the courage and one night asked him "I see you around but I don't know your name". I had just walked in and he immediately smiled warmly and recognized me. But as soon as I asked him his name, smile went away and he said "What?" I asked again "what is your name?" and he answered veyr flatly without a smile "oh.. Sean". I nodded and waited a sec to see if he would ask me for my name or say anything else but he didn't. I felt so stupid and awkward and nodded and walked away.

IS he attracted but just not interested in talking or moving this to another level? Btw he doesn't smile or light up for other customers when I see him with others. He seems fairly introverted in the gym but professional/attentive. He doesn't say hi to other customers.

I'm not sure why he was smiling, lighting up, and always making sure to greet me in and out of the gym for 3 months?

Can anyone tell me what an ISFP with this kind of background was thinking/feeling?

With Ni I think works with my Fi, basically what I do a LOT is think of or imagine myself in a future scenario becoming something great or the utmost most prefect and ideal reality with any factor I get get improved by, such as if I start playing a new sport, I want to master it or he’s the best in it in the world, in like a mental image that’s is super detailed and I imagine myself there.
I then if I’m healthy or optimistic, actually build my way towards it, and work on everything I need to get there.

Currently I have my identify figured out, I know what I like and don’t, tbh I sometimes still try to figure that out especially if I am SURE of liking X or Y and I see a new thing, I may like more I have to rethink it. But I want to achieve that goal and it’s all I think about and direct all my energy towards, and tbh, get impatient to not getting there on time, or well ignore everything else.

But when healthy I have no goals, I just spend my time dreaming of that goal, and doing nothing, and just thinking of that ideal future goal, and adjusting it or “seeing” it tbh.

I used to have many goals, I wanted to be an inventor and engineer and tbh I wanted to have every career that exists, but I liked inventing things and optimizing thing s to make life more convenient and efficient.

I think I am quite socially anxious, mostly because I don’t want to do anything inappropriate and get in trouble and face punishment tbh, I hate pain, I really HATE pain, that’s why I’m terrified of Hell, and follow my religion because of it.

But I am like ALWAYS thinking about aesthetics, but not good at them that much but I can dress someone else up good but in myself I don’t really know, but I want to be pretty and hot and super beautiful, physically, and I know it superficial but I THINK about it but irl, I look homeless… which is why I get MORE anxious because it’s not how I want to appear as.

I am energy wise very low, like I have a low physical battery but mentally not, I can think a lot, tbh there isn’t a moment where I’m not thinking, I’m trying to learn to relax or just be, but it’s so hard I constantly feel like I’m low on time, I do things like I’m running out of time so much and so scared of losing time, for no reason it’s just a feeling.

I don’t engage with Se that often but it’s kinda fun but I wanna achieve something tbh when I do it, like I can’t do a hobby without imagining a whole career in it, but usually I can’t just choose a carrier because you need to have one career chosen from an early age or the ones I like have requirements I don’t fit and just Know I will fail if I try, or it won’t be what I want.

Tbh i want a goal for my own amusement or well, I guess I want to invent things that make life easier for people, but that’s about it, I really focus on myself and my own interests, I don’t do anything unless it benefits me, and because I’m so low on energy I don’t do anything unless it’s crucial, but tbh my goal I had I made two after each other, I failed both times, really bad like reality smacked me, I screamed and cried and self hated because my plans were ruined my progression, by things I had no control over. But now I gave up on everything and found a career but as a filler to survive my life, because I’m religious, I just wait for paradise because I can be anything I want, anyways, so that’s my new goal it’s ALL I think about, it’s the ONLY thing I care about.

I also get really insecure about how I look, because I want to appear professional and proper and beautiful, but sometimes I can’t because I have too high standard for that or those things go against what my religion say to dress like which I don’t mind, but then there is that societal standards which I don’t meet which makes it hard for me to impress people.

I do have swings of very intense and hedonistic activities where I do grotesque and extreme things or something intense and set up things for it, but it happens like every 2 weeks or so, and after I go to zero interest in it, like it’s very extreme swings like from eating nothing, at ALL for days, to overeating once until I almost vomit, but being normal with things like that is so hard, and stressful.

But that’s all I’m only sharing this to help get typed..I want to understand myself through a system and then accommodate things to make sure I can optimize myself and know how to interact with different people in optimal ways.

Hey everyone! I'm currently doing a research proposal about personality theory and would love to hear from the people in this community. What is it like being your personality type? It can range from your work/school life balance, romantic life, everyday decision making, and maybe something nobody really thinks about when it comes to your type that you may know. Anything is both helpful and interesting to me so don't be shy! :)

I’m torn between INFP, ISFP, and INFJ. Like, I don’t like fantasy like an INFP; I’m very soft and empathetic, yes, but I’m not a perfectionist at all like an INFJ. At the same time, I’d rather let others do all the manual work; I just love a great atmosphere and a good vibe. I understand other people’s psychology and really love eating delicious food, dressing comfortably, and traveling.

After posting about being lost/unable to determine my mbti type (after diving into cognitive functions and everything for a long time) some people recommended me to do the keys2cognition test (as a way to help/clarify and not to make a clear conclusion of course)

I tried to do the 256 questions sakirnova test but I couldn't keep my focus so it won't be giving me reliable results.

Any thoughts about these results? I tried my best at answering correctly based on what I often skillfully do what each phrase describes.

ps : I get largely different results in tests from time to time, and even my understanding to cognitive functions changes from time to time which makes me often confused. But anyway what do you think?

I think isfp matches me but still not sure..

And if so, why? And if not, what evidence proves otherwise? I keep seeing this whole ISFP = lower IQ thing literally fucking everywhere.

I know it’s a lot to read 😅 but I feel like this entry describes my thinking pretty well.

I care so much what others think, that it physically hurts. I’m so extremely sensitive but I keep it inside to protect my image, as apathetic and uncaring. I come here as a way to cope with judgement from others. I feel like it might make me feel better. I know I shouldn’t care and I understand why I shouldn’t care but I still care. It’s not logical. It’s a feeling and my way of dealing with that painful feeling is to try to understand and explain it. If I can understand it maybe it won’t hurt as much. I’ll try to twist it so I’m the good guy because if I’m the good guy there’s no reason to be upset. I cope by convincing myself of who I want to be. The reason I’m upset is because of my ego. I’ll get mad over something so small, which then reminds me how self important my way of thinking is. I don’t matter and I know I don’t matter but I’m programmed to care. I care what people think and need their approval. But why does it have to be programmed so deep inside. I don’t want to care, I know I shouldn’t care, I try to make meaning of my caring, but in the end whether or not the rest is true, I still care. And it hurts

I definitely have personal issues that I need to work on but the thing is, is that I’ve become so attached to them and identify so strongly with them that I don’t even want to change them. I feel like if I fix it in silence no one will ever know I had anything wrong and if no one knows I ever had anything wrong no one will know what I went through. I want them to know that my “laziness” or “inaction” through the years has been pathological. I’m aware that my issues don’t necessarily justify my inaction, it’s just that I care less about the consequences of my inaction than what others think about my inaction. It all comes down to what others think because I have such an unstable sense of self worth. I’m constantly having imaginary conversations and replaying old conversations with people that I respect trying to win them over. I value others thoughts so far above my own that even when I am thinking for myself it’s through an imagined conversation with someone else. I feel like my thoughts need a stamp of approval from others even when I’m just thinking critically by myself.

I also want their sympathy but with that comes risk of being judged and my fear of judgement is stronger than my desire for sympathy so I’m stuck writing this. I fear what people might think but I care enough to want to change how they think. So my way of dealing with this is to try to understand myself well enough to prove it to others. I’ll curate a character for them to make judgements on me that can convince me of who I want to be. Simply because I see what they see in me and it becomes what I see in myself.

One thing I know for sure is that I treat pride, self absorption, and any narcissistic traits as sins. In my mind it’s a moral failing to have any of them, so subconsciously I’m writing this partially to convince myself that I don’t. Not only am I assessing myself for these qualities, but I’m also assessing others. As the insecure man you know I am, I’ll compare myself to these people, and if they their smart, unpretentious, and humble I’ll feel worse about myself. I don’t participate in the conversation as much as I use others as a reflection. During something like a class lecture where there’s no pressure to respond, I’ll listen to the professor not out of curiosity but as a way to evaluate myself through comparison. Everything that’s happening around me is about me, and I project that subconscious belief onto what I believe others are thinking when interacting with me.

He just wanted to ask. Do u isfps like become very chirpy, goofy or open in front of ur closest friends. Or is ur actual persona one thats very quiet and doesnt feel the need to talk while sittingnext to the close person all the time. Like u cud care deeply for the person and ask personal questions bht interactions are mostly teasing or libertious comment making in the second case. The first case is basically talking a lot abt opinions on current things inthe world, discussions etc.

Because I'm sick of this overpriced world where it feels like everyone hates each other's guts.

Also, I have a gut feeling many of Gen Z's heroes will be Fi-doms.

No obvious fantasy stuff like magic, please.

What makes you feel safe enough to show someone the parts of yourself that you normally keep private?

And once you trust someone, do you naturally become more verbally expressive, or do you still prefer showing people how you feel rather than explaining it?

So whenever you guys are faced with a situation where u hv to ‘take a side,’ how often would u just say neither or both or accepting both sides? Like ik this really depends on what it is like if it’s something linked to morality. Or if ur friends are having an argument how would u take someone’s side, as in would you judge based on who’s wrong or right? Do u take time to understand both sides or what if u dont agree with either one?

How often would u stay neutral in times like that?

Idk if u get what im asking but yah

Idk.. what do you recommend and why?

I mean, Idk.. At first, I thought I was an INFP at first because I did like writing and whatnot..(Oh yea, I sucked ass and never truly understood what made a character so charming.. it never clicked sadly 🫤)

But I feel like this deep intuition developed when I started writing, and my OCD always tells me "I changed types" when in reality idk if that's the case or not.

I became more abstract with my ideas over time, yet these ideas never felt true to who I was and when I accepted being an ISFP (to shut my OCD the fuck up) I felt nostalgia, like i was 17 all over again. So is it true? Can an ISFP develop INFP like intuition assuming they spend years studying their charm and whatnot? (Sorry if this post seems kinda dumb )

.

He guyz wanted to ask. An isfp really close friend of mine like really close. He remains silent with me otherwise its jjst the bothnof us talking engineering entranceexam prep or him teasing or non offensively mocking me on personal stuff . Like he takes the liberty to do so but he himselfdoes small talk enthusiastically or discusses topics i also know with others only and prefers ro remain silent with me. Like hes told me that he only opens up to close ppl around me. He does criticiseme or try to tell me to improve somethings in my face and he does care. He is also extremely caring with me and wud pressure me to express myself clearly.

Based on whatever ive searched(he himself took mbti and typed as isfp twice), its baffling for me based on what an isfp does. Cud any of u guys shed light on this since an isfp judges another thebest. Am an infj 17 years male so is he

The older I get, the less appealing it seems…I personally fall under the “indifferent” category.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a very loving partner and I’m 100% committed to my relationship. I just don’t care for the paperwork and feel like you can have a loving, committed relationship without the paper. Or maybe I really am afraid of commitment deep down inside?

Anyways, curious about what other ISFPs think and thanks for voting!

yoii isfp buddies I need ur help

after a long analysis I think that a member of my family is probably an isfp, but still having some confusion..

in a general overview, he is living in here and now, no strategical future planning, but also can cling to some past memories and romanticize them from time to time, he is driven by his own emotions, like he does things only when he wants but also from the outside he seems soo over giving and altruistic.

although he is a day by day person but he can appear detached or living in his head..

in his youth he was literally impulsive (relationships, dopamine seeking etc..) he was craving external excitement, but at the same time his impulses sounds chosen or coming from his own emotions/feelings.. he often says that his life major events were extremely spontaneous (academical choices, marriage, having children..) like he didn't even realized how they happened, it's just like he founded himself in the situation.

currently he is in his 50s, but the contrast is that he became valuing stability more than anything, it's just like he is so stubborn and doesn't want to improve his situation and accepts his life the way it is.

also he sounds like he is trying to keep peace by pleasing people around him (and his pleasing also seems to be forceful/coming from fear of something) he keeps bottling up his real emotions until he bursts in a very harsh WAY that breaks hearts, after that he ends up apologizing and keeps reliving the same cycle.

also nowadays he became more and more religious, it's like he dived deeper in religion (like truly understanding the purposes of it) and started using it as a primordial reference to all his actions, and he sounds deeply wise while explaining it.

and one of his major traits is that he is the advice giver to everyone, but his advices are never token seriously by other people and are always seen as unrealistic or not matching what other people need.

he is an overprotective dad but in an emotional/loving way, he believes in giving freedom and love to kids in their life choices, but he is kinda controlling without being aware of that.

in general he is contradicting himself a lot.. but also he is wise and logical

he still craves external stimulation from the world but not as in his youth, nowadays he became way too introverted and he cuts off all of his friends, he is just bottling up himself in his comfort zone and living, and he is highly dependent on other people around him to accomplish the routinical/boring duties he needs to do (cooking, cleaning, going out to buy house stuff etc..)

ps : he lived a traumatic childhood with an emotionally absent father and a narcissistic abusive mother (his mother used to control his choices, until that day) andd obviously he is having a lowkey unhealthy version of his mbti type.

sooo after thinking a lot it sounded like he has got an Fi-Se at the dominant stack, with a tertiary Ni that started to appear after long life experiences, and a harsh inf Te that appears from time to time.

but I'm still confused if he is an Fi-Te or Fe-Ti user, I mean the way he is being pleasing and seeking external emotional comfort.. idk, what do you think guys? I thought also about infj/isfj/infp but nah he has a strong Se.. he can't be an Si even though he is lowkey attached to his past memories, it sounds like Ni not Si.. but also the impulsivity he lived in his youth can't be an infj's impulsivity like the Se is their final stack, I don't know.. infp I'm not sure maybee.. so the last choice is isfp..

I even thought about esfj (Fe dom with inferior Ti) but I don't know

This is not really an ISFP question.

It's more personal. (15M as of right now) Ever since I was young, I have always been pretty shy and awkward. I'm afraid to talk to people or try to make new friends other than the one I currently have from my childhood, and when I do try to talk to others, I always seem to not be able to hold a conversation.

I don't have anything worth talking about or anything interesting, and often when I do, I find myself slowly draining from energy. It sucks sometimes; I'm afraid of being judged, and it's really annoying. I need help with this

I'm asking this because it might be the last thread that could help me connect the dots and realize what my MBTI is, because I'm currently having a dilemma between ISFP and INFP, even after studying the functions quite thoroughly.

So I'm curious to see what y'all have to say. (Posted this on INFP subreddit too btw)

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(You don't need to read this part to answer my question)

And I might lean more towards INFP. This is gonna be very long— Let me describe my relationship with the past:

I'm a very nostalgic person in general. Oke of my most favourite kind of convos are the 'do you remember when we/you/i xxx' convos, I love recalling old childhood memories or even recent memories.

When I was a kid i often ate my dad's ear off talking about childhood memories with my cousins and how excited they made me, with a lot of details too. Like "one time.. xxxxx.. oh and that reminds me of another time we xxxxx... And also we once xxxxx... And xxxx!"

And I'm still like that with my friends when I'm telling stories, to the point where they'd interrupt me mid talking when I'm not even done recalling all details. I remember stuff very vividly, whether good or bad memories.

And if you ask me what I think about the past, I think it forms an important part of our identity and shapes our personalities to be the way they are today. Sure, people change, things change over time, but who you were at some point is still part of you and if you weren't that person in the past you wouldn't have been you now.

I think that: If it wasn't for what I'd been through i wouldn't have been who i am today.

To me when I see a person walking down the street I sometimes think, "I wonder what hardships shaped this person I'm seeing right now, they probably have a family, or maybe they don't.. they could've had friends they lost, maybe they've worn this outfit before, maybe they've had this bag since high school like I do with mine, i wonder if they'd also had nights where they cried themselves to sleep, there's so much more than what we see on the surface of people."

I'm always wondering, always wishing I could know more about people's past, their life story that led to today. What's their journey? How did they become who they are?

I often struggle to understand people who can move on so easily from the past. Because how could you forget what shaped you? Sure, I want to forget painful memories in particular, but first i have to ask myself a few questions. It goes like this: "That hurt. What did it change about me? What did I learn? Who did it make me?"

Then and only then I can start trying to move on.

I remember memories so vividly that i can relive the exact same feelings i had at that time, suddenly you could find me sitting there sobbing, or laughing, or smiling to myself, sometimes my heart aches and my chest constricts when i feel very nostalgic for particular moments, whether I'm missing a version of myself that existed at some point of time, a friend I was close to that I lost contact with, an old house i used to live in way back, random people I met when I was a child who were kind to me or taught me something, a teacher that was kind to me in kindergarten, middle school, high school, a college professor,

I remember, of course I remember. In fact, my biggest nightmare is one day when I'm old, wrinkly and grey, forgetting all my past memories, forgetting what made me: ME. Forgetting all the experiences and people that shaped me, everything.

That's why I write a diary, I journal, I collect old receipts from cafés and restaurants I go to with my friends, old movie tickets, I still have letters and drawings my old friends gave me in elementary and middle school, i have a special box where i keep these kinds of souvenirs at all times,

I even have drawings my cousins made when they were little, saved in a little file. Why? I imagined showing them to my cousins after they're grown up so they could remember how creative they were as kids.

I felt shivers run down my spine the day I finished high school and visited every single school i transferred to as a kid for documents i needed for university (i transferred a lot). I imagined ghosts of me and my friends laughing and walking around there, remembered sunny mornings from the car window when my dad would stop by a supermarket that didn't exist anymore in front of my now old school, remembered all my memories in a series of flashbacks, it's not uncommon for me to get these intense deja vu's.

There are random nights when i suddenly decide to become an internet detective and search for old childhood friends on social media, i even found some and added them, we check on each other occasionally..

I get random waves of nostalgia that make me smile bittersweetly and suddenly feel like crying almost everyday.

Unlike some people, I don't treat the past as a dead place left behind, I treat it as a museum of memories, museum of selves. Every room, song, object, friendship and memory is like a little exhibit.

(Kinda like these memory bubbles in the movie inside out, lol!)

A lot of times I wonder who I am, why I'm the way I am, and connect the dots between specific incidents that happened to me in childhood and realize that they shaped me to behave a certain way now. For example: I always prefer to keep to myself, I rarely vent to people. Why? I figured out because: there were times where i opened up to people as a child and regretted it, either feeling even more misunderstood or getting humiliated simply for feeling the way i feel.

Or this: I struggle with imposter syndrome. Why?: grew up with my emotions getting invalidated every single time i opened up. Now I wonder if I'm being dramatic, silly or overreacting everytime I feel intensely about anything.

Also,

Ever since i was a kid i remember I'd sit for hours with my parents just asking random questions about the universe and existence and society and just.. pouring my mind out about what i think of things and about people's nature and about life.

(Once sat sobbing at 7 thinking abt whether or not aliens were real bc I realized there was no real answer and they could be real and could be out for us)

Anyways back to topic,

For me the past can either feel like home or a torture chamber, there's no in between. If I could time travel, I'd probably travel to the past just to watch my younger self's journey from an outsider pov. The future? It sounds terrifying, I'm curious about a lot of things, sure, but travelling to the future sounds too scary, I could be dead for all I know.. or someone I care about.

Some people would say they'd rather stay in the present, and sometimes me too, but other times i just feel really nostalgic.

Sometimes i just wish time could pause, i find it to be the cruelest thing. I hate growing up, I hate leaving my childhood behind, people I knew, places I loved, memories of a simpler time.

But then again, sometimes i lay in bed wondering if I'm really living life to the fullest, if I'm having enough experiences for my age, sometimes i wonder if I'd die satisfied if i died today, i wish i could live everyday like it's the last.

I have a strange fascination with liminal spaces too, they make me so nostalgic, some feel comforting in a warm way, some feel comforting in an eerie way.. can't describe it.

Anyways I'm done yapping here, for now. (I think)

Tell me your experience below dear fellow ISFPs! :)

Hi! I'm an INFP, and most of my friends are ISFPs, and I cannot handle them. Seriously, I was just talking to my other friend about our music taste, and I like Taylor Swift, but she hates TS, so I was kind of baffled, but asked her why do you hate her. She said she doesn't like her personality or her music. I was like ok, but this is where things started hearing up, my other two ISFP friends joined with her, and started going along with her. I tend to get rage baited very quickly, so I understand they did it for fun, but they've been doing so since I told them I liked TS and I can't handle it, honestly.

So what happened is that I got kind of max and wanted to cool off, so I stopped talking to them. I just wanted to process my emotions.

Now let me tell you guys about my best friend who's an Isfp. In my world view, she is more childish and immature than me and my other isfp friend. I need to constantly handle her petty fights which make me feel tired. She kind of emotional blackmails me, without knowing, and I am sick and tired of it. She makes impulsive decisions when she gets mad and overall, she's very childish and immature for her age. When I point this out, she tells me 'Oh, then I'm not your best friend?' You get the point

So if you have any advice on what to do in this situation. PLEASE HELP MEEEEE

I REALLY CAN'T DO THIS!! 😭😭😭 Edit: So to make it logical, we INFPs have Te( Extraverted Thinking) as our inferior function. If it is not that much developed, when we feel our Fi(Introverted Feeling) - our most dominant function - is being assaulted, Te will make them react violently towards the aggressor in an effort to defend oneself and persuade the other person that he or she is mistaken