What personality types do when stressed

What each of the MBTI personality types do when they’re stressed

5 min. read

Most of us are pretty good at dealing with the normal day-to-day stressors of life.

Things like getting to work on time, driving in traffic, meal planning, running important errands . . . the list goes on. But there are also times when the stress just gets to you. In my own life, I tend to be pretty sensitive and empathetic in general. But when I start to get stressed, those two qualities escalate in a way that doesn’t always serve me (and the people around me) very well. For example, I often become hypersensitive and feel overwhelmed by other people’s emotions and triggers.

For a long time, I wondered why this happened. Things got a lot clearer when I learned about how much personality type impacts stress, behavior, and everything in between. The insights I gained from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI) assessment helped me recognize that we all have a part of our personality that gets exaggerated when we’re stressed. It’s why I, as someone who has preferences for the INFP personality type, become overly sensitive and kind of melodramatic when I’m stressed.

In the context of MBTI personality type, the strongest and most developed part of our personality is called our favorite function. When we’re stressed out, our favorite function goes into overdrive because it’s what feels most comfortable to us. It’s like our security blanket. (To be clear, we’re not talking about chronic or extreme stress here. That affects our personality in ever bigger ways. We’ll cover that in the next post, “In the grip.”)

In honor of Stress Awareness Month, here are some stress triggers for each of the 16 MBTI personality types – and how they act when they start to get stressed:

ISTJ and ISFJ personality types

ISTJ stress triggers:

• Being rushed
• Mess or disorder
• Sudden changes in plans
• Information that’s too broad

ISFJ stress triggers:

• Lack of appreciation
• Too little time to prepare
• When others dismiss their feelings
• Procrastination and last-minute changes

The favorite function of ISTJ and ISFJ personality types is called introverted Sensing. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Withdraw from others
• Obsess about minute, trivial details
• Be unable to make decisions or take action
• Fixate on one “right” fact or way to do something

INFJ and INTJ personality types

INFJ stress triggers:

• Forced time management
• Lack of appreciation for making a difference
• When their suggestions are met with criticism
• Others’ short-sightedness about the bigger picture

INTJ stress triggers:

• Mindless rule-followers
• Disorganized environments
• Lack of initiative or inability to set goals
• Too much emphasis or discussion on feelings

The favorite function of INFJ and INTJ personality types is called introverted Intuition. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Resist asking for help
• Force data to fit their patterns
• Have unrealistic expectations for what needs to happen
• Become overly complex and believe everything is connected

ISFP and INFP personality types

ISFP stress triggers:

• Being rushed
• Too much happening at once
• Disregard of their practical realities
• Environments that neglect their personal values

INFP stress triggers:

• Disharmony
• Forced urgency
• Unclear expectations from others
• When their values are ignored or challenged

The favorite function of ISFP and INFP personality types is called introverted Feeling. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Isolate themselves
• Become hypersensitive
• Appear self-important and dramatic
• Feel as though they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders

ISTP and INTP personality types

ISTP stress triggers:

• Small talk
• Inefficiency
• Lack of independence
• When others dismiss their analysis of a problem

INTP stress triggers:

• Noise and interruptions
• Strict rules and limitations
• When they have to repeat themselves
• Challenges to their competence or logic

The favorite function of ISTP and INTP personality types is called introverted Thinking. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Get lost in concentration
• Become completely detached
• Obsessively search for the truth about everything
• Have tunnel vision for their own logic and way of thinking

ESTP and ESFP personality types

ESTP stress triggers:

• Isolation
• Commitments and routine
• When decisions have to be made quickly
• When goals aren’t reached, despite their efforts

ESFP stress triggers:

• Routine
• Lack of appreciation
• Too much data or details
• Uncertainty about their own purpose

The favorite function of ESTP and ESFP personality types is called extraverted Sensing. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Become hyperactive
• Disrupt others with their chatter
• Get nitpicky – every little detail seems to matter
• Speak bluntly, with little consideration for others

ENFP and ENTP personality types

ENFP stress triggers:

• Lack of enthusiasm
• Micromanagement and distrust
• Forced decisions or long-term plans
• Organization at the expense of creativity

ENTP stress triggers:

• Inefficiency
• Mundane tasks
• When their ideas get shut down
• Too much focus on personal issues

The favorite function of ENFP and ENTP personality types is called extraverted Intuition. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Act frantic or out of control
• Want change for the sake of change
• Be overly convinced about the links between things
• Appear indecisive or unable to prioritize because they’re swamped with options

ESFJ and ENFJ personality types

ESFJ stress triggers:

• Isolation
• When others are treated poorly
• Lack of appreciation or emotional support
• Uncertainty despite established procedures

ENFJ stress triggers:

• Seclusion
• Short-sightedness
• Excessive criticism
• Unaccommodating people or environments

The favorite function of ESFJ and ENFJ personality types is called extraverted Feeling. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Appear scatterbrained
• Become prying and intrusive
• Ignore issues for the sake of superficial harmony
• Are insistent that they know what’s best for others

ESTJ and ENTJ personality types

ESTJ stress triggers:

• Unproductiveness
• Uncertainty and constant change
• Disregard of their rules and regulations
• Challenges to their bottom-line approach

ENTJ stress triggers:

• Inefficiency
• Lack of control
• Disorganized people or environments
• Challenges to their competence or logic

The favorite function of ESTJ and ENTJ personality types is called extraverted Thinking. When they start to get stressed, both types tend to:

• Become detached and cold
• Oversimplify details and directions
• Want everything to be overtly rational
• Interrupt and critique others’ lack of logic

Want to download your MBTI stress head to remind you what your common stress triggers are? Download your MBTI stressors.