Stress can completely deflate a person, changing one’s personality. Warm-hearted, sensitive types can become cold or aggressive, and logical and sharp individuals might find themselves become more emotional than normal. Stress does not have to be something negative however, and you can learn to thrive and manage stress in a positive way.

The first thing I’ve found is that everyone has a unique relationship to stress so first, learn what activities you most associate with stress and adult responsibilities. Talk about it with other people. They may have different experiences. Here are the cognitive functions under stress, for each of the sixteen personality types

The Cognitive Functions under Stress

INFJs and ISFJs under stress

IXFJs go into Extroverted Thinking under stress, becoming more pragmatic and more ambitious. More negatively, they tend to neglect their own needs and feelings, pushing themselves to an unhealthy degree. They may also lose touch with their deeper values. They may act in a more inauthentic way or mask or hide their feelings if they become inconvenient.

INTJs and ISTJs under stress

IXTJs become more strong in Extroverted Feeling during stress. They become overly concerned with looking good or fitting in with the group or the tribe. They can feel pressured to be liked by other people and worry they are not fitting in enough.

ENFPs and ESFPs under stress

EXFPs go into Introverted Thinking during stress, becoming more perfectionistic and coldly rational in their decision making. They may become more focused on problems and take issues more seriously than most people. They can champion problems and tend to think more critically during stress.

ENTPs and ESTPs under stress

EXTPs go into Introverted Feeling during stress, becoming more sensitive and introspective. They show character and steel themselves to do the right thing even when it comes at their own expense. But they can also feel burdened by their feelings and can feel stressed because they are not able to be the people they feel they ought to be.

INFPs and INTPs under stress

During the influence of stress, INXPs will go into Extroverted Sensing. These types will take about being present as if it is a chore or hard work. They will emphasise the importance of paying attention to life and listening intently. During stress, they may see daydreaming as a childish past-time. They may become annoyed with themselves and feel out of touch with reality. Because of this, they may push themselves to be more realistic and to let go of crazy dreams.

ISFPs and ISTPs under stress

ISXPs under stress take opportunities highly seriously. They see these as gifts and believe people should do whatever it takes to make a new possibility happen if they have the choice. They work hard to be creative and to reinvent and change themselves, seeing change as hard work, rather than something effortless or fun.

ESFJs and ESTJs under stress

Stress will cause an ESXJ to become more focused, causing them to look ahead and to reflect on the hidden nature of things. Stress can cause them to feel like they are missing something and they will therefore push themselves not to be ignorant and to listen to hidden patterns in the universe. These types see vision as hard work and will push themselves to realise an idea once they have set their mind to it.

ENFJs and ENTJs under stress

The ENXJ personality types tend to move towards Introverted Sensing during stress, becoming more self-disciplined. They will think more about the legacy they leave, taking their role and duty seriously in life. They will push themselves to live up to and honour responsibilities and commitments, but will sometimes feel like failures as these commitments can demand a lot from them.

What can you do to manage stress?

Learn to laugh and let loose in between stress and responsibilities. You need to balance your inner adult with your inner child. If you work hard, give yourself a break.

Set deadlines and timelines for yourself and recognise when you need to push yourself and when you can let go. Prioritise the most important tasks and responsibilities and let go of those that you simply do not have the time or energy for.

How does stress influence your personality type? Let me know in the comments below!