It is interesting how people have misapplied them though. But I guess that’s like everything. Trauma is a great example where there is a specific profile, a measurement framework and yet it too can be misapplied where everyone claims everything or people ignore true trauma.
In our current age of splintered reality (1 event=500 news stories), lack of modern day "mantra" which describes the overall mores or "RAISON D'ÊTRE" of our culture, and add in that medically (DSM-5), we spent a lot more time focusing on pathology than definitions of wellness, it is no wonder there is still so much confusion. There are literally hundreds of defined mental illnesses.
There are few paradigms of mental wellness or what I would call sanity.
Suicides and mass killings are increasing and are normalized. An epidemic of loneliness amongst young folks (and men in particular) is a thing. There are 110 million Americans that are described as suffering from various mental illnesses at any given moment. There are 3 million Americans that fall under the rubric of being pyschotic (1% of our population).
Personality, or what we used to call having a personality, or "he is such a colorful character" or "he is a real character", in now looked at from a lens of negativity. One theory is, it takes two people for personality to be revealed or to be formed, because it needs the context of a relationship to compare and contrast it. Babies have personalities from the gitgo and so do dogs. Isn't the real truth your personality is both your inherent sensibility and partially an ongoing choice you make as you go through life ? One is not necessarily the same at 20 as at 80.
I've always seen personality tests as an interesting first approximation to understanding another person, particularly in the workplace. Assessments like MBTI offer a shared language for understanding who someone is and how to work with them. Focusing on utility rather than pathology, we can communicate around style more effectively, and also attempt to understand who we are or who we want to be perceived as (which is an entirely different dimension of personality assessment).
It's an attempt to learn how to interact and develop team dynamics, with a closer look at who the individuals are. Ignoring personality language entirely is a missed opportunity to get slightly more accurate. It's like saying everyone on your team is a bird. Great. But with a little more communication, we start to understand whether we have a bunch of blue jays, or are we a few humming birds and an emu?
-From a proud INTJ (weak n, strong everything else)
Exactly. When I realized what being an ENTJ meant, especially vs. the Sensing type, it allowed me to realize I wasn’t crazy, I just thought differently.
Very timely essay that explains someone I'm dealing with to a T. They're actually a combination of both types. They claim, what I think would be their personality, is ADHD, trauma-informed, etc., but they also have serious cluster B behaviors, which go hand in hand. They're also vehemently against the personality profiles, yet claim every other profile out there.
What can I say? Brilliant.
It is interesting how people have misapplied them though. But I guess that’s like everything. Trauma is a great example where there is a specific profile, a measurement framework and yet it too can be misapplied where everyone claims everything or people ignore true trauma.
In our current age of splintered reality (1 event=500 news stories), lack of modern day "mantra" which describes the overall mores or "RAISON D'ÊTRE" of our culture, and add in that medically (DSM-5), we spent a lot more time focusing on pathology than definitions of wellness, it is no wonder there is still so much confusion. There are literally hundreds of defined mental illnesses.
There are few paradigms of mental wellness or what I would call sanity.
Suicides and mass killings are increasing and are normalized. An epidemic of loneliness amongst young folks (and men in particular) is a thing. There are 110 million Americans that are described as suffering from various mental illnesses at any given moment. There are 3 million Americans that fall under the rubric of being pyschotic (1% of our population).
Personality, or what we used to call having a personality, or "he is such a colorful character" or "he is a real character", in now looked at from a lens of negativity. One theory is, it takes two people for personality to be revealed or to be formed, because it needs the context of a relationship to compare and contrast it. Babies have personalities from the gitgo and so do dogs. Isn't the real truth your personality is both your inherent sensibility and partially an ongoing choice you make as you go through life ? One is not necessarily the same at 20 as at 80.
Add to all of that, the issue that no-one wants to be ‘normal’. We all want to be nuero-divergent and so that’s zero incentive to fix any of that.
yes, Michael - "Neurodivergent is a nonmedical term" - Cleveland Clinic,
as opposed to "neurotypical". Yes, we all want to be 'special', to be valued
and recognized, to feel part of one family of humans, and we seek identity
and meaning in the relationships we have. Maybe one day we will know
each other as part of the "Human Race", a class of hominoids which is desperate
to be seen by others as having 'Class', and desperate to be loved. Sadly there
are those who capitalize on people's weaknesses, and milk it for their own gain.
Toptally agree.
I've always seen personality tests as an interesting first approximation to understanding another person, particularly in the workplace. Assessments like MBTI offer a shared language for understanding who someone is and how to work with them. Focusing on utility rather than pathology, we can communicate around style more effectively, and also attempt to understand who we are or who we want to be perceived as (which is an entirely different dimension of personality assessment).
It's an attempt to learn how to interact and develop team dynamics, with a closer look at who the individuals are. Ignoring personality language entirely is a missed opportunity to get slightly more accurate. It's like saying everyone on your team is a bird. Great. But with a little more communication, we start to understand whether we have a bunch of blue jays, or are we a few humming birds and an emu?
-From a proud INTJ (weak n, strong everything else)
Exactly. When I realized what being an ENTJ meant, especially vs. the Sensing type, it allowed me to realize I wasn’t crazy, I just thought differently.
Very timely essay that explains someone I'm dealing with to a T. They're actually a combination of both types. They claim, what I think would be their personality, is ADHD, trauma-informed, etc., but they also have serious cluster B behaviors, which go hand in hand. They're also vehemently against the personality profiles, yet claim every other profile out there.
It’s absolutely frustrating. I can imagine.
The gaslighting is no joke!
I am still convinced personality will blossom only when subordinated to the call of Life Force to synthesize the binaries sympathy and cooperation!
I would agree that personality needs a higher aspiration to unlock it’s full value.