What Causes INFJ's Anxiety and Depression?
Exploring the possible causes of INFJ's anxiety and depression and sharing personal experiences.
What Causes INFJ's Anxiety and Depression?
A few days ago, in an MBTI group, I saw an INTP mentioning that they are suffering from anxiety and depression and are using meditation and traditional Chinese medicine for treatment. This made me wonder about the reasons for INFJ's anxiety and depression.
The person in question said that the cause of their anxiety and depression is living alone all the time and feeling extremely lonely. Do all INFJs think that 'loneliness' is the sole reason for INFJ's anxiety and depression?
As an ENFP, I have been living alone since leaving home. Except for living in a dormitory before 2008, I have been renting a place by myself ever since. Even my activities in online groups like QQ and the MBTI circle on Douban only started after I got in touch with MBTI in September 2018. Before that, I only used Douban to find movies and later expanded to looking for books and music. Looking back on my life after leaving home, except for the initial period of discomfort, I only felt lonely once on the subway.
My current daily life is like this: I get up in the morning and do vocal exercises (hoping to create my own music as I am best at music creation), clean my nose (due to various types of rhinitis). In the morning, I go to a small store about 100 meters away to buy groceries and cook. While cooking, cleaning my nose, and doing the dishes, I either practice singing or vocal exercises. For lunch, I watch BBC documentaries (with Chinese subtitles) or listen to TVB dramas (in Cantonese. These days I'm listening to some in Mandarin. I've been looking for the Cantonese version of the second half of 'At the Threshold of an Era' for a long time, but all the versions I found are very choppy and hard to watch). After lunch, I practice humming and diaphragm explosiveness, and then take a nap. After waking up, I practice playing the piano. At around 5 o'clock, I heat up my food. During mealtime, I do the same things as I did during lunch. After dinner, I practice playing the piano again, then practice allegro. Later, I go downstairs to clean my nose and practice singing at the same time. After washing up, I turn off my devices and go to sleep. Online, I also start to discipline myself to be concise. Once I find someone being overly persistent and feeling like it's a waste of time, I try to cut off the conversation at the source. Right now, I am typing this post while practicing trilling.
On Sundays, I occasionally go outdoors for a hike with a fellow townsman/friend who is an ISTJ.
As you can see, my life is almost like living in seclusion, but I don't feel lonely. My motivation for action comes from my pursuit of ideals and the desire to achieve financial freedom through freelancing.
Despite being extremely poor according to some people's standards (I am even poorer than a beggar), having no family fortune, and saving money by cooking mostly simple dishes like green vegetables and tofu. I am getting on in years and almost feel like I'm past my prime. Due to multiple severe cases of rhinitis that cause breathing difficulties, for the past half month, I have had to insert cotton swabs in my nostrils while sleeping. (During more severe times when I couldn't breathe at all, I woke up several times at 2 or 3 in the morning due to nasal congestion.) I grew up in an extremely patriarchal environment where I was almost always beaten and scolded throughout my growth. As a daughter, I had almost no place in the family. I only received education up to the fourth grade in primary school. But still, I am not anxious or depressed. Maybe I am an odd one out.
I can always find joy in life. Even when hiking and being extremely tired due to poor lung capacity and moving as slowly as an old lady, I can still use a sarcastic tone to amuse myself and respond to the distant 'ahhh' sounds with my own 'ahhh'.
Why did I post in this group? Well, I am looking for insights and discussions from others who might have similar experiences or different perspectives on these issues.