You might know an INFJ if you are around someone sensitive and easily stressed out or gets anxious and upset from a minor disagreement that causes the person to withdraw or a social interaction that gives them anxiety. The question you might wonder is, are INFJs sensitive and easily overwhelmed?
An INFJ is sensitive and can be easily overwhelmed in certain situations. They are highly intuitive and feel deeply for people they care about. INFJs are introverts and require their solitude to function. Social interactions and overstimulation can cause them to become highly overwhelmed.
If there’s an INFJ in your life and you are concerned about their sensitivity or reaction, it might be good to know what triggers them and why that happens. Sensitivity and overwhelm are positive and negative emotions for INFJ depending on the circumstance. Here are some interesting details below.
Are INFJs Sensitive People?
INFJs have a world of sensitivity, which is not always as bad as the world perceives it. Psychologist Elaine Aaron explains sensitivity as the depth of processing overstimulation, emotional responsivity, and sensitivity to subtleties. These characteristics are described here:
Depth of Processing: sensitive people like INFJs process information more deeply. Their brain takes information received consciously and subconsciously and processes it to reveal deeper meanings using a lot of reflective time. That is why INFJs need excessive alone, quiet time. They need to process and reflect on their thoughts.
Overstimulation: INFJs sensitivity allows them to absorb more information than most people. That causes sensory overload, and they become highly stressed out, especially in crowds where there are crowds, noise, and others’ emotions. INFJs are introverts and prefer solitude; therefore get anxious with overstimulation.
Emotional Responsivity: INFJs sensitivity causes them to react more intensely to people and situations, whether it may be negative or positive. They are also highly empathetic and deeply feel what others are feeling. INFJs become highly responsive to emotional circumstances.
Sensitivity to Subtleties: Sensitivity in INFJs also leads to more awareness of their surroundings and any slight changes. Body language, peoples’ moods, temperature, movement, light changes, etc., can cause an INFJ to be highly conscious of their environment.
Do INFJs Get Easily Overwhelmed?
INFJs get easily overwhelmed because they hold a high level of sensitivity in their personality. An INFJ will have observed ideas in their minds for a long time before bringing them to the surface and sharing those thoughts with others. They are super passionate about everything they do and put all their love and energy into it. When people counteract this idea, it can feel like a personal attack and cause the INFJ to become overwhelmed and anxious.
INFJs are incredibly caring and kindhearted individuals that need those feelings to be reciprocated. If they are met with invalidation and criticism, they feel let down and will be overwhelmed with sadness and disappointment. They often tend to withdraw and go into a shell when that happens.
Trying to conflict with an INFJ will cause them to feel suffocated and exhausted. They will have difficulty defending themselves because there is a pool of feelings, opinions, and points they can meet you with to stand up for themselves. It can be very overwhelming to take that route because, at the same time, they do not want to hurt or offend anyone. Again, they will withdraw into their shell.
Sensitivity And Overwhelm In INFJs
INFJs are easily misunderstood. Only a handful of the population can relate to them. Things often feel stressful to cope with in the highly extroverted world. Here is what sensitivity looks like for an INFJ:
- INFJS always feel different from others, and they know that people also notice they are different. They are often criticized for that, making them feel down and creating low self-esteem.
- INFJs are sometimes people pleasers because they don’t want to disappoint others. They are highly empathetic and take on other people’s emotions. They are also very aware of other people’s moods but don’t share their own. They feel responsible for solving everyone’s problems, resulting in them feeling exhausted.
- INFJs find it difficult to be under pressure. It makes them anxious and stressed if they know they have limited time to complete a task or if someone is watching them. They will retreat if they don’t have the time and space to withdraw and process information.
- Sensitivity in INFJs also means they appreciate arts and the finer things in life like books, flowers, and music. Certain movies and food move them and recognize things others might not notice. Alternatively, they also dislike violence, so movies that portray cruelty can immensely upset them.
- Strong smells, scratchy textures, bright flicking lights, and loud noises can genuinely bother an INFJ. They can’t handle these situations and will avoid them at all costs. It often results in people thinking they are overreacting, which will make them feel more misunderstood and upset.
- INFJs feel very overwhelmed, drained, and overstimulated with other people. Social interactions are exhausting for them, and they need to take breaks often to be alone and have privacy to process their emotions and have quiet time.
How Can An INFJ Reduce Overwhelm?
If you are an INFJ or have one in your life, you don’t have to feel helpless. There are ways you can support yourself or others in the situation.
- Be accepting. Sensitivity is not a disorder that requires fixing. It is how people absorb information, and it is part of their personality. Accepting people the way they are can be incredibly uplifting.
- Be empathetic to yourself and other INFJs. Take in your emotions and be respectful of any thoughts that come up. INFJs are very private, so sharing feelings is a big step and should be taken seriously.
- INFJs are strong and confident, loving people that enjoy solitude. That does not make them shy, rude, or insecure. Avoid labels for INFJs, and don’t take it personally if they want to be alone and choose to recharge instead of interacting.
- Avoid resorting to stereotypes, especially when the INFJ is a male. The world we live in doesn’t accept men being sensitive and having deep feelings. Be compassionate and empathetic to all INFJs.
- INFJs feel more overwhelmed when judging them or invalidating their experience and feelings. Judgmental statements result in them feeling like you want to change them. That makes them feel bad about themselves and creates low self-esteem. Try to accept and understand them for who they are.
Conclusion
As Intuitive introverts, INFJs are highly sensitive and can feel easily overwhelmed in situations out of their comfort zones or in overstimulating environments. They need to feel respected, validated, and accepted for who they are.
