In a fast-paced modern life, stress follows like a shadow, and it is crucial to understand how to deal with it. As a popular personality analysis tool, MBTI personality type can provide us with a unique perspective for interpreting stress sources and coping strategies. Don’t know your MBTI type yet? Take the free MBTI personality test provided by PsycTest now to start this journey of stress and personality exploration.
What exactly is stress, is defined from a physiological point of view, as “the body’s specific response to stimulation (such as fear or pain) that can disrupt or interfere with normal physiological balance.” The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) believes that ‘when work requirements do not match employees’ abilities or resources, harmful physical and emotional reactions will occur, which is stress.’ Stress has an important impact on our lives and physical and mental health. So what are the differences between people with different MBTI personality types?
Stress sources and stress manifestations of each MBTI personality type
ISTJ (Logistics Teacher Personality)
- Steam source: Challenge its bottom line thinking, disorder, breaking the rules, broad information without details, being urged, personal needs are ignored, logical decisions are neglected, and established rules are ignored.
- Stress manifestations: They prefer introverted realism, and under pressure, they may be overly entangled with unimportant information or become too dogmatic.
ISFJ (Guardian Personality)
- Steam sources: Daily help is not recognized, procrastinated and temporary changes, workplace conflicts, insufficient ability of others to affect work, insufficient preparation time, repeated mistakes from others, neglected rules, and indifferent to your own feelings.
- Supervision performance: Also dominated by introverted realism, there will be similar behaviors to ISTJs under pressure, such as being entangled with irrelevant information and being too dogmatic.
INFJ (Encourager Personality)
- Stress source: The effort to ‘make a change’ is not recognized, short-sighted or indecisive, misunderstood, forced to manage time, negative attitudes of others, inflexible work environment, things are out of order, ideas are suffered criticize.
- Stealing manifestations: Introverted intuition is preferred. Under pressure, you may force the data to conform to your own pattern or actual meaning, or choose to retreat to your inner world.
INTJ (Architectual Character)
- Stress sources: People with a messy work environment, micro-managed, no goals, lack of initiative, limited time to change plans, talk about emotions, have questions about abilities, are rejected in logical decisions, and blindly follow rules.
- Stress performance: Similar to INFJ, under pressure, there will be a manifestation of forced data to adapt to your own mode or inner withdrawal.
ISTP (Connoisseur Personality)
- Stress source: Forced to participate in outgoing activities, emotional out of control, reality is ignored, lack of independence, unable to logically evaluate situations, forced to make decisions, bottom-line thinking is challenged, problem analysis is denied, chatting.
- Stealing of stress: Mainly introverted thinking, you may be overly focused and ignore the outside world or alienate from others under pressure.
ISFP (explorer personality)
- Stress source: The environment in which personal values are ignored, too many things happen at the same time, the actual situation is ignored, time pressure, feelings are denied, not understood, and procedures are restricted by freedom.
- Stress manifestations: Introverted emotions are preferred, and under pressure, they may ‘save’ people who have not asked for help, or become overly sensitive and self-isolated.
INFP (mediation personality)
- Stress source: Others or jobs hinder personality development, time management requirements, monotonous work, others’ negative attitudes, critical responses or blatant disrespect, thoughts being denied, urged, and unclear expectations.
- Stress performance: Similar to ISFP, under pressure, there will be situations where you try to ‘save’ others, or isolate yourself due to excessive sensitivity.
INTP (Logist Personality)
- Stress sources: Problem analysis is denied, socialized, abilities are questioned, noise and other disturbances, communicates with people who don’t listen to themselves and needs to be repeated, follow strict guidelines, excessive outgoing activities, become the focus, others do not Understand your own thoughts and cannot find logic in the situation.
- Stealing of stress: Mainly introverted thinking, you will be overly focused under pressure, or be disconnected from others.
ESTP (Entrepreneurial personality)
- Steam source: Bottom line thinking is challenged, inefficient, actual situation is ignored, isolated, efforts are not achieved, required to make plans, make decisions quickly, and problem analysis is denied.
- Supervision: Mainly outward realism, you may speak or act without thinking under pressure, and act bluntly or even stiffly.
ESFP (Performer Personality)
- Stress sources: Daily help is not recognized, forced to make decisions, feelings are denied, goals are unclear, too much abstract information, being bound by routines, virtual training, unable to change commitments, too detailed plans.
- Supervision manifestations: Similar to ESTP, under pressure, there will be situations where people speak and do things without thinking, and their words and behaviors are stiff.
ENFP (Election-type personality)
- Stress sources: Sacrifice of creativity for organization, excessive detail, endless details, lack of enthusiasm, spreadsheets and procedures, micromanagement and distrust, long-term planning, forced to make decisions when not ready, Rules override relationships and overcommit.
- Stealing performance: Mainly outward intuition, you may change for novelty under pressure, or you may not make decisions because of too many choices.
ENTP (Debate Personality)
- Stress: Being asked to do something not stimulating or boring, focusing on personal issues, problem analysis is negated, isolated, ability is not respected, too many details and deadlines, inefficiency, and thoughts are neglected.
- Pressure performance: Similar to ENFP, under pressure, there will be situations where novel changes are pursued, or there will be too many choices and cannot make a decision.
ESTJ (Commander-type personality)
- Steam sources: established rules are ignored, logical decisions are denied, working with unorganized people, inefficiency and indecision, lack of control, inability to fulfill commitments, bottom-line thinking is challenged, and constantly changing.
- Stealing of stress: Mainly outward thinking, you will insist on being rational in everything under pressure, or oversimplifying the problem for clarity and oversimplification.
ESFJ (Consul-type personality)
- Stress source: established rules are ignored, disrupted harmony, lack of emotional support, established procedures are challenged, unintentional harm to others, daily help is not recognized, feelings are denied, isolated, rules and regulations.
- Stress manifestations: Mainly outward emotions, you may be excessively interfering with others or distracted under stress.
ENFJ (protagonist personality)
- Stress: Working in an uncooperative environment, procrastinating, no time to brainstorm, isolating from the world, over-criticism, disapproving, feeling denial, harmony destroyed, short-sighted, unexpected changes.
- Stress manifestations: Similar to ESFJ, there will be situations where people are interfered with or are not focused under pressure.
ENTJ (Commander-type personality)
- Stress source: Misinformation, inefficiency, indecision, ability to be challenged, lack of control, inability to make decisions, logical decisions being denied, lonely, others ignore established guidelines, and unorganized.
- Supervision: Mainly focused on outward thinking, you will stick to all rationality under pressure, or oversimplify problems.
If you want to have a deeper understanding of these personality types, MBTI Advanced Personality Profile is a good choice. It interprets personality types more thoroughly and can help you better understand yourself and others.
Decompression methods for each MBTI personality type
ISTJ and ISFJ
After understanding the signs of stress, you can spend some time alone, appreciate the details around you, and recall positive results from previous stressful situations.
INFJ and INTJ
Make sure to arrange some rest time, recharge yourself and regain your energy.
ISTP and INTP
Take the time to readjust your state, try to psychologically detach from the current situation, and look at the problem from a different perspective.
ISFP and INFP
Depending on your own needs, spend enough time alone and focus on positive aspects rather than negative things.
ESTP and ESFP
Don’t forget to ask others for help when you feel stressed, even if it’s just a little comfort.
ENFP and ENTP
Pay attention to physical needs, such as doing exercise, and remember to say ’no’ at the right time.
ESTJ and ENTJ
Relieve stress by having physical activities or talking to people close to you.
ESFJ and ENFJ
Communicate with outsiders and discuss while taking the time to refocus your values.
PsycTest official website (psychtest.cn) provides rich psychological testing and interpretation resources, which can further assist you in exploring the relationship between personality and stress.
Related Readings: Responses and Behavioral Performance of Different MBTI Types in Extreme Stress Dilemma
In addition, you can also use the free online tool provided by PsycTest to learn how you can deal with stress:
- PSS Skoda Pressure Perception Scale Test
-Psychological stress test - Mental stress test
-Life Event Stress Scale Test - Assessment of stress and resilience for professional managers
Through these tests, you can have a clearer understanding of your stress response patterns and find relief strategies that suit you, helping you to be more relaxed when facing challenges.
Identify the stress in your own life. Are you ready to take action to relieve yourself? You might as well write down the last 4-5 experiences of feeling stressed and then answer the following questions for each stressor:
- Is the stressor you can control (such as inadequate preparation for exams or speeches) or uncontrollable (such as a quarrel between roommates or children)?
- If someone else is involved, have you told them about your stressful feelings (because sometimes things that you feel stressed may not have any effect on others)?
- What could you do to relieve stress in the circumstances? For example, call or send messages to people who care about you, write a diary to record your feelings and experiences, leave the situation at that time, go out for a walk or get close to nature, meditate, do things that will divert yourself, such as playing electronic games, etc.
General stress relief method In addition to the above-mentioned stress relief methods for different MBTI personality types, there are some stress relief methods that are almost suitable for everyone:
A good way to get exercised to cope with stress is to get up and move. Whether it’s going out for a quick walk, doing a few Japanese worship styles that speed up your heart, or doing jumping exercises or sit-ups, these can promote blood circulation and help you calm down. ‘Exercise can relax muscles that become tight and stiff due to stress, and can immediately deliver oxygen to the brain, vital organs and muscles and produce endorphins,’ said Katherine Hall, CEO of the Stress Institute at Atlanta, Georgia. Soothe your body and mind.”
For self-inspection of stress, someone suggests conduct self-inspection of stress to determine your own level of stress. For example, do your shoulders thrust to the ears? Will body posture hurt the back? Are you pacing or shaking your legs? Are breathing shallow and rapid? Pay attention to these stress symptoms and then actively try to eliminate them (such as letting go and relaxing your shoulders, sitting upright) can relieve stress immediately. Speaking of breathing…
Breathing exercises Find a quiet place and spend five minutes slowing down your breath. Inhale deeply with your nose, count to three, and then slowly exhale with your mouth. Or try what stress expert Wendy Duncan calls “heart coherence” breathing. First, place your left hand above your heart and imagine breathing through your heart. Inhale with four counts, and then exhale with four counts. Then imagine the feeling of love, joy or compassion emanating from you like a beam of light.
By understanding the relationship between MBTI personality type and stress, we can cope with stress in life more in a targeted manner and maintain physical and mental health. Come to PsycTest and explore your personal secrets and stress relief methods.
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