The INFJ personality type is not usually known for being unbalanced.
They are often referred to as ‘Judgers’ because the ‘J’ in INFJ stands for Judging.
They are extremely rational decision makers. Well functioning INFJs are thought to live planned,
highly organized lives. They favor a sense of structure over mindless flexibility
and they like to orchestrate and develop procedures to efficiently manage their lives.
However not all INFJs are well functioning. Although mindlessness is usually more common
among perceiving types like INFPs, there are many INFJs who also struggle with
uncharacteristic bouts of impulsive and irrational thoughts and behaviors.
This tends to happen most when an INFJ is in a Ni-Ti Loop. An INFJs Introverted
Intuition (Ni) and Introverted Thinking (Ti) functions malfunction into a loop inside their
mind, causing their thoughts to race and become jumbled and chaotic. Essentially trapping them
in a cycle of overanalysing that leads to nowhere. This is sometimes also referred
to as analysis paralysis, and it can cause an INFJ to feel extremely detached from reality.
So lets look further at What happens when an INFJ is TRAPPED in a Ni-Ti Loop.
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So what is an Ni-Ti Loop exactly
Looping can be understood when you look at the way the INFJ brain is wired.
The MBTI Theory relies on cognitive functions to explain this. Cognition is the mental
process of acquiring information, perceiving information, making decisions, and more.
The way cognitive functions are stacked is used to determine
peoples innate preferences, and help explain their instinctive behaviors.
The MBTI established these cognitive functions to define differences in people.
The INFJ primary cognitive function stack consists of;
Dominant: Introverted Intuition (Ni) Auxiliary: Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
Tertiary: Introverted Thinking (Ti) Inferior: Extroverted Sensing (Se)
These cognitive functions are set up to work in perfect harmony with one another.
Using all four primary cognitive functions is therefore an essential part of staying mentally
healthy. Whenever an INFJ bypasses either their extroverted or introverted functions,
they run the risk of getting into a “loop”, where their mind enters an imbalanced state.
This can occur in many different ways, with different functions,
depending on the individual, situation or life experience.
However for INFJs, the most common imbalance in cognitive functions is the Ni-Ti Loop.
Instead of a healthy balance of introverted and extroverted functions, the INFJ becomes
stuck in their introverted processes, keeping them trapped within their own mind.
How do Cognitive Functions change in a Ni-Ti Loop
Well lets look at the four INFJ functions separately.
The first is Introverted Intuition (Ni). It is an INFJs most dominant function
which gives them the ability to unconsciously perceive the world, however it does not make
decisions. It offers INFJs a birds eye view of the world with numerous perspectives and ideas,
giving them the ability to ‘zoom in and out’ to try and understand how everything is connected.
Second is Extroverted feeling (Fe), which is an INFJs auxiliary function.
It is focused on externalizing values into the world outside one’s self,
and understanding the emotions and values of people outside one’s self.
It is what turns INFJs intuitive perceptions into judgments and decisions.
The third function is Introverted Thinking (Ti). It gives INFJs the ability to categorize
and organize their internal thoughts, creating a sort of intrinsic infrastructure
of analysis points and principles that can be constantly refined by new information.
The last function is Extroverted Sensing. It is an INFJs information gathering function.
It’s concerned with focusing on real world tangible data,
allowing INFJs the ability to be highly in tune with their senses
and the world around them; the objects, people and situations in their environment.
INFJs in a Ni-Ti loop bypass their Extroverted Feeling (Fe) and Extroverted Sensing function.
This means they lose the clear connection with their senses and their ability to
feel and make decisions. They no longer have any outer world balance for their intuition.
Their perceptions can become more outlandish and bizarre,
and this impersonal and impractical data is then fed into their thinking function, creating a cycle
of perception and logical analysis that can be very detached from reality. INFJs who are in
a Ni-Ti Loop are prone to becoming conspiracy theorists, harsh critics, and highly eccentric.
What causes an Ni-Ti Loop A Ni-Ti Loop is the minds protective
mechanism to defend itself from the outside world. There can therefore be many reasons for it.
INFJs who have been hurt and abused in some way, tend to more easily fall into this loop,
as their mind often needs to retreat in order to feel safe.
Similarly, INFJs who are highly sensitive, or more prone to over stimulation
may find themselves in a loop in order to avoid overwhelm.
Younger INFJs, who were sheltered or ones who haven’t had many opportunities
to interact with the outside world, are also more prone to falling into this loop. This is usually
due to not having developed the necessarily coping skills to function in an overly sensing world.
INFJs caught in a Ni-Ti loop can logically justify nearly any action they take,
and this can lead to many uncharacteristic behaviors and habits such as;
Lack of empathy and concern for others. INFJs can come off as extremely cold and heartless
when in a loop. This is because they stop taking into account their extroverted feeling function
when making judgements. They start to examine things from an irrational and subjective
perspective, which can be very detached from reality. It is a defense mechanism when they
feel particularly powerless to the outside world. Retreating into a loop protects them
from having to make feeling judgments that could result in having to tell an uncomfortable truth,
feel negative emotions or hurt someone they love. From a detached perspective, they can rationalize
their judgements in a non personal way, which is why it can usually come off as cold and heartless.
1.Irrational thoughts and behaviors INFJs in a Loop use their thinking
function disproportionately. This can cause them to ruminate on their thoughts,
particularly the negative ones. They can start to over analyse everything in their lives, including
their interactions with people. Without the use of their Extroverted Feeling (Fe) function,
it can be difficult for them to read the feelings of others correctly. They begin
to perceive things in their relationships that aren’t real and then ruminate over them.
For example: They might imagine their partner or friend as appearing harsh
(even though in reality this isn’t the case). They will then start thinking
Did I do something wrong? Did they stop liking me? Why are they being like this? What does it mean?
These often inaccurate interpretations will cause them to micro analyse their relationship,
reading way more into things that just aren’t there.
This can cause them to overreact and lash out or completely withdraw. In either case,
its likely to cause significant damage to their relationships,
especially because neither they, nor the people in their lives will understand the disconnect.
Isolation from the outside world
As an Introverted Intuitive type, INFJs are more naturally drawn to solitude, and quiet.
None of that is necessarily a bad thing in moderation, but it can be taken too far. INFJs in
a loop tend to become solitary hermits, retreating into permanent reflection and circular analysis.
This need for absolute isolation is usually triggered when they have been
betrayed or let down, one too many times. The ideals and values they greatly treasure
have been proved wrong or overturned in a significant way and so they become resolved
to the futility of the outside world. They can feel at incredible loss and so they retreat.
By withdrawing in this way, they might not realize it, but what they are doing is trying to insulate
their ideals and values from further damage. They stop reaching out to the people in their lives,
not because they're the ones that wronged them, but because the feeling to retreat
and preserve the world view that makes up who they are, needs to be protected.
Their thinking function will then seek to rationalize from this place of protection.
However some things like, why people hurt or disappoint us, can’t always be rationalized, no
matter how hard or long we try. Therefore the more time that passes in this ruminating isolation,
the more detached and at a loss from reality one can become.
Inability to make decision and take action
INFJs in a loop can really struggle to make decisions. Being stuck in their internal functions
means there will be endless things for them to consider, and too many perspectives to look at.
This preoccupation with their internal functions can therefore prevent them from taking action.
For example; Simple things like going out could take them to such exhaustive lengths
of planning that in the end, they resign themselves to not going at all.
Analyzing and planning can be good, but not so much when it comes to deciding
unimportant things such as where to eat, what to wear, and how to go somewhere.
In a loop INFJs healthy tendencies for perfectionism will go into overdrive and
extend to all aspect of their life. This can really prevent them from accomplishing things
and completing normal day to day projects and tasks.
Lost in a fantasy INFJs are natural idealist
and daydreamers. This can be an extraordinary gift as it allows them to think outside the box.
INFJs are usually incredibly creative people due to this.
However when in a loop they lose touch with the external functions that keep
them tethered to the real world. Going inward all the time will more easily disconnect them
from their immediate surroundings. They will acknowledge their ‘real life’ less
and less as they disappear more into their elaborate rich fantasy lives.
Here they can create full-fledged interactions,
conversations and events that haven’t happened and eventually they can start to question,
which world is more real? For an INFJ in a loop, the answer is not as clear-cut as it seems.
This has by no means been an exhaustive list of what can happen in a Ni-Ti loop.
However if you’re INFJ who has resonated, or who feels out of sorts in general,
there is a likelihood an imbalance in cognitive functions is to blame.
The longer an INFJ stays in the Ni-Ti loop,
the harder it can become to hop out of it. But all is not lost. Just like a muscle,
the more we use a function, the stronger it becomes. INFJs need to start consciously
exercising their weaker extroverted feeling (Fe) function in order to re-balance their
mental processes. This will likely help bring them back to conscious awareness.
If you want a video with more details on some tips to get out of an Ni-Ti loop,
please leave a like and let us know in the comments!