Sensing in itself is incredibly boring to most intuitives. Sensing rarely stimulates the intuitive, rather, it drains intuitives, making them feel less energy and less passion. Still, thanks to anxiety and stress, our body has built in a response that allows us to engage in sensing. Intuitives can engage in sensing because the stress or anxiety of not doing it is too high. Often, this is important. But other times, intuitives are at risk of falling in the grip of sensing. Why?
The key reason we fall in the grip of sensing is that we confuse the relief of dealing with anxiety or stress with actual stimulation. Intuitives may be confusing this anxiety, with actual stimulation. They may think that they are having fun, when in reality, they’re just happy to get rid of annoyances and problems that they would rather not have done to begin with. A lot of people act purely out of a need to manage stress or anxiety, rather than to actually engage in their passion or to explore their hobbies. Think of when you’re able to clean your house or when you free up a list of tasks, and you feel proud of doing it. Sometimes, relief over having done something may be confused with motivation. But since it’s not, it goes away quickly, leaving us the next day feeling terribly bored or demotivated.
When you’re in the grip of sensing, you are more likely to appear tense or anxious, and your overall approach to sensations is more critical and more serious than it would be for a regular sensor. Often, intuitives deal with sensing in a perfectionistic manner, having perfectionist ideals about reality or demanding a level of excellence or detail that even a sensor couldn’t live up to. To a normal sensor, sensation is about fun and about stimulation, but to an intuitive in the grip, sensing is serious business, and not something to “enjoy” or “laugh about.”
The types in the grip of sensing
INXJs under extroverted sensing tend to appear grumpy or moody, and easily irritated. For ENXPs, the grip of introverted sensing rather manifests as fear or proneness to worry and hyperconcern. There are plenty of INXJs and ENXJs that walk around angry or frenzied. Often they keep going because they’re failing to realize that they are overwhelmed by reality. They need to find a way to step out. Similarly, it’s common for many ENXPs to demand a sense of discipline and routineliness of themselves that only brings up anxiety. ENXPs in the grip of introverted sensing can appear to be incredibly fuzzy to other people. They may be making a big deal out of things that don’t have to be a big deal.
The grip of extroverted sensing is also very real for INXPs and ENXJs, who can show mixed signs of both of the above types.
Consider these common problems:
INXJs |
Avoid overwhelming yourself by setting boundaries and managing social media activity. Give yourself a minute to think before you respond to new problems to avoid stress. Take breaks and take your time to tune out when things become too much for you. |
ENXJs |
Avoid people and activities that drain you. Don’t force yourself to sit still for too long and try to give yourself time to think before you respond to new problems and issues. |
INXPs |
Like the INXJs, you should avoid overwhelm, but you may also need to lower your standards and your discipline to relieve stress on yourself. Try to find ways to not be as compulsive about time, calendars, and diet. |
ENXPs |
Try not to demand too much discipline and self-control of yourself. Don’t spend too much time trying to explain yourself to others and on activities that drain you. Don’t force yourself to sit still or to focus on one thing for too long. Give yourself breaks to explore different ideas and possibilities. |
The grip of sensing can be temporary, or it can be permanent. Perhaps the biggest issue of them all is that under the grip, we lose our sense of humor. We have less fun, and we look at it purely as work.
