Mental Health

[beta_zoid]

What influence does mental illness if any have on personality? say someone suffering from depression would display some characteristics of a feeling personality-..or someone that is bipolar and doesnt know it may seem to show characterisics of an artisian-taking risks, ect

Comments

[m_danson]

The only poll I've seen comparing mbti type and mental illness (specifically mood disorders) was an email poll on McManWeb. Link to Informal Poll results on McManWeb In general, the respondents to that poll tended to be introverted and mostly idealists. Some respondents also indicated that they went from extraverted to intraverted as they became depressed.

As for stress, I've seen a few suggestions that high stress results in the expression of one's shadow type. I think this is the opposite to your regular type, (ie INTJ => ESFP) however I am not certain. A quick search found this Bibliography of MBTI Stress Research. I didn't look at it in detail but it looked interesting.

[bronxelf_ag001]

Anecdotally, no.

I was diagnosed with Bipolar type 2 long before it became trendy (18 years ago.) I am drug resistant to the point of pharmaceuticals not being anything more than a waste of time. I still test out the same, no matter what. I'm an INTJ no matter how I'm feeling.

[m_danson]

Bipolar II and INTJ as well. I seek out people more when I'm hypomanic but I've never tested as an extravert.

[siderea]

What influence does mental illness if any have on personality?

In my wholly anecdotal evidence, mood disorders don't seem to change Types. Schizophrenia and related illnesses do something weird to Type and I haven't quite figured it out (I can see where Jung thought that psychotics had undifferentiated functions.)

Or if someone is under high amounts of stress, wouldnt that change the results of the test?

Your test results are not your Type! There are only a zillion things, including stress, which can make your test results come out wonky. That doesn't mean your Type changed, it means some external force made your results skew. It's only a self-report test; it can't figure out the truth of what you're like despite whatever momentary preoccupations you may be possessed by.

[eternitat]

I did test F during my severe depression years. But I knew I was a T. The depression was triggered by a broken heart- although that incident was the straw that broke the camel's back and not the lone sole cause.

[gaijin_chan]

"...I have a friend who is a bit like me, and in the past he tested as an NF, he recently took the test a few times and came up as a Guardian but I think it may be because he is in a highly stressful job right now and is also having some emotional/mental issues..."

I've read a few places that Extraverted types tended to test out differently according to their environment, EXF's particularly. Don't know if that applies.

I am under high amounts of stress right now, and what I like about the MBTI is that it describes so accurately where my stress-points are, and how I'm going to deal with them. I'm an INTP, and when feelings sandbag me, they're immature, unprocessed, and overwhelming, not the sort of nuanced things that would hit a Feeler.