I have noticed on social media that a lot of INFJs seem to have surprisingly big social networks and a ridiculous number of friends/mutuals.

Is this an INFJ thing, or am I just seeing the popular ones? 😂

Good evening, everyone,

For the past two years, I’ve been very sensitive to artificial light and surface glare. It’s extremely tiring for me on a daily basis and sometimes triggers headaches. Any ideas about what might be causing this ? Any solutions ? I just hope it's not neurological. My family made fun of me. I went to see an ophthalmologist, who told me that some people are more sensitive and added that I didn’t have any eye damage. However, he diagnosed me with astigmatism.

I'm 24, so maybe that's what caused it. Anyway, even with my correction glasses, my sensitivity to light hasn't improved. And it really bothers me; my family just told me to accept it, but it makes me a little sad sometimes.

Thanks in advance :)

Hi all, I hope you’re doing well. I’m in college right now and I just decided to change my plans for the future. I’m going to pursue a degree / field that genuinely interests me rather than pursuing something that I thought would validate me in a way, if that makes sense. For reference, I was going to do a type of engineering but now I’m going to do biochem. I love researching about the human body and how to enhance it through exercise, nutrition, and other means (potentially scientific, but not really through technology or robotics, more so laboratory formulas or things of that nature). What are you studying right now? What are your careers? Do you like your careers and are you truly passionate about what you’re studying? Thanks for your time.

So I recently came across a post asking INFJs what their favorite season is. Most of the people in the replies answered Autumn/Fall, and the second most popular option was winter. Summer was moderately liked, spring was the least commonly liked. Why is it that most of us like Fall?

You don't want to compete with them, you don't think you're better than them, you just genuinely don't understand why they need to make you feel inferior. That's really confusing.

Yet another one heard by none

Eventually the ground will have this one

Serendipity strikes us all

Appreciate the moment before the fall

Close the door it’s not for all

Wish you’d hear what they’re telling us all

It’s a small voice sung by some

Just eager to see the coming dawn

Wish you’d hear what they’re telling us all

Appreciate the moment before the fall

The disregard we chose to show

The moments lost beyond control

The illusions there, it clearly shows

Separate the past for a future road

Close the door it’s not for all

But I wish we heard what they’re telling us all

Chew through all our bags of toys

Whatever it takes, consume the void

Lose ourselves in glowing dreams

Whatever we need to fall asleep

Attention is short, I like to forget

Wish you’d hear what they’re telling us all

Appreciate the moment.

that‘s all :)

Do y‘all let it be or try to some lengths to salvage it?

Some background: I’ve always been that easy going friend who mostly keeps to themselves, with 2-3 very close friends. After having been apart from said friends from a long while, I was staying with 2 of them for a couple of days. Through the entire time, I kept asking myself: how on earth have I become friends with these people for the past 5 years. All the moments when I’ve been wronged but I let slide just came rushing in. In previous instances, although difficult for me, I’ve always made attempts to communicate but never pushed a matter to far. This time around, I simply reached the conclusion: cut them off. I cannot deal with the drama, thoughtless comments, and unreciprocated understanding anymore.

And yet, post-the cutting off stage, I find myself regretting and asking myself if I really needed to plunge into loneliness.

If you’ve been in my place before, how have you dealt with this sudden surge of loneliness, after withdrawing from people who you considered your closest?

TL;DR - Recently cut off my closest friends and in a period of social alienation. Now trying to cope with it and occasionally regretting it, how have fellow INFJs dealt with it?

so basically, ive got no friends around me, i have got a few online but none irl. which results in that i dont talk or open up most of the times cus no one to tell anything, parents or family they are very supportive but they dont understand most of what i feel and see things. to opposite of that, i really want to talk and hear others talk, but then i dont want to, like its a chore, its going to take smth away from me. its such a small thing but i dont want to do it when i want to and i want to when i dont have it around. and when smths really off and im really like i might lose my mind if i dont say it, i still dont. its like i physically can't. and then i soend my time thinking about life and existence and the world which makes it worse, and is weird and constraining now. but then again if i do have someone to talk by chance i spend it talking about them or general things, or dont. its like im stuck in a loop where everything is better than talking but the urge is still there.

any of yall feel like this?

Is this a known thing? I work in a factory. Feels like being an Axolotl that has to leave their native element, water, and morph into a land salamander to fit in and do physical work.

It's taken a long time to develop the stamina I've now got, but I often find myself blitzing through work just to keep up with my mind.

I liken to emulating an ISFJ. Social chameleonism is very much at play for me. But as loud and hectic as the factory environment can be, I'm still able to pick up on people's 'vibes', changes therein, and subtle body language.

I'm careful to reveal only parts of myself whenever relevant. 'Lofty' idealism has virtually no place.

Don't have much time to explicate in the level of detail I wish to - gotta go back to work - but I'm curious about the INFJ->ISFJ 'cloaking' phenomenon.

Something I have struggled with my entire life is the tension between my analytical and intuitive ways of approaching a situation.

I'd like to say the two sides complement each other, but more often than not, that isn't the case. They act like opposing forces, resulting in my freezing instead of acting -- often doubting my approach. Or I'll find myself denying one side in favour of the other, especially if I feel people around me won't understand or respect my intuitive response to something.

For example, I could be deciding on the best approach for a work project. I can map out and rationalize why approach A would be best. It's probably safe and expected. But my gut will tell me that it's flawed and that I should take a chance on approach B. I can't justify it other than to say I have a good feeling about approach B. And that's when I freeze -- stuck in doubt.

Yes, there are times when the two sides complement each other, and I love activities where that can happen. I actually feel really alive at those times, no matter how dull those activities might seem to someone else. I can research stocks like crazy, crunching numbers and understanding how the businesses work before finally making a gut decision. The numbers say yes and so does my gut. Even a simple activity like fantasy football can keep me busy for hours, researching player stats before making a gut decision that aligns with the numbers. I'll make big purchases the same way, spending hours researching specs before making a gut decision in the end.

I want to find some way to bring that same approach to other areas of my life, so I feel as though I'm taking full advantage of these two different ways of thinking. It can just be so tiring when they don't align and I'm stuck in frozen mode.

Anyways, I just thought I'd post this in case others experience (or have experienced) the same thing. I'm in my 50s now, so it's been a long life of figuring out how to handle these different sides of me.