An Enneagram Overview

An enneagram blog dedicated to providing accurate overviews, analyses, and observations.

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Enneagram Defense Mechanisms - The Head Triad

Defense mechanisms part 2 - part 1 on the gut triad is linked here.

E5: Isolation

Isolation is a defense mechanism in which one cuts themselves off from others for periods of time. Isolation can be separated into 3 categories; physical, mental, and emotional. Physical isolation is the easiest to recognize, and is simply being alone. Mental isolation presents itself as zoning out, like their mind is elsewhere. They're physically present, but mentally occupied. Emotional isolation can be likened to emotional detachment; one will cut themself off from emotions and will refuse to get involved with others emotionally. The 5's use of isolation stem from their (often unconscious) need to avoid feeling drained. As a part of the head triad, the 5 desires security, and they feel they must be very careful with how they use what little energy they have so that they don't run out. Being present - physically, mentally, or emotionally can often feel exhausting, so they avoid it altogether. Ridding themself of "unnecessary" strain on their energy reserves leaves them free to use direct their energy towards security; though often knowing they have extra energy should they need it is also a form of security the E5 desires, which is another reason they isolate.

E6: Projection

Projection is a defense mechanism in which one will attribute emotions, motivations, attributes, or behaviors of their own that they (unconsciously) feel are unacceptable onto another entity - be it a person or a group. These may not necessarily be negative; they may be neutral, or even positive. The E6's use of projection stems from the unconscious desire to allay their internal fears and anxieties and avoid rejection. Through projecting, the 6 avoids situations they would prefer not to engage in and protects themselves from rejection. For example, they might say that they don't think the other person is ready to talk about something when in reality, they themselves are not ready to talk about it; in this instance, they fear they will be abandoned (as is the 6's basic fear) if they confront the situation, so they ascribe the hesitance to address the situation that they are feeling onto the other, which ensures they both do not have to have an unwanted conversation and are not risking being abandoned. The 6 also uses projection to justify internal fears and anxieties. They might be anxious people will betray them, so they project that anxiety onto someone in order to legitimize their fear. In this manner, they almost preempt rejection in (unconscious) hope of ensuring that they will not be as hurt by it.

E7: Rationalization

Rationalization is a defense mechanism in which one attempts to avoid the true reasons for their behavior or emotions by explaining it in a seemingly logical manner. The 7 (unconsciously) uses rationalization to avoid painful emotions. They attempt to reframe the situation positively and explain away or justify things in order to distance themself from painful feelings. This can look like minimizing the issue ("I didn't want it that badly anyways, it's no big deal") or making excuses ("it was going to end well anyways"), to name two examples. Rationalization does not necessarily have to be about one's own emotions or behavior; it can also come in the form of making excuses or trying to reframe another's actions. As a part of the head triad, the 7 desires security. They are always on the go, flitting from one thing to the next in hopes of gaining that security, using rationalization to avoid painful emotions that might bring them down.

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Enneagram Defense Mechanisms - The Gut Triad

Ah, the wonderful world of defense mechanisms. Each enneagram type as a specific defense mechanism that they will fall on most often - that is, it’s not that they use this defense mechanism exclusively, but it is their main one. I will be starting a 3-part series describing the defense mechanisms of each type.

I find it useful to define what exactly defense mechanisms are, as many simply hear the words and have a general concept of what it means based on context and such, but do not actually know the proper definition. Defense mechanisms are “mental processes our brains use (typically unconsciously) to avoid conscious conflict or anxiety” (Oxford Languages). Note how this is not inherently a negative thing. Defense mechanisms and certainly be harmful when taken too far, but they are, in fact, there to protect us. They can be both positive and negative.

Thus, without further ado, I will begin with my summary of the gut triad’s defense mechanisms. Kindly note that these are specified to the enneagram, so the definitions will mostly likely be slightly different than traditional psychology definitions.

E8: Denial

Denial is a defense mechanism in which a person refuses to recognize reality, whether that be through simply blocking it out or though refusing to perceive it at all. This stems from a person (unconsciously) deciding that they cannot face, so to speak, their inner reality, so they make use of denial to allay their anxiety. For E8s, this is perhaps more specifically described as a denial to avoid vulnerability. They will unconsciously block out or refuse to acknowledge any thoughts, emotions, needs, or actions that might be an indication of vulnerability. The E8, being in the gut triad and embracing anger, uses that energy and fuel from the anger to direct focus away from the negative, vulnerable things and instead focus it on the more instinctual side (O’Hanrahan). Because anger is fuel for action, E8s are already much more comfortable in the instinctual realm, and it will provide them with the sense of strength (or at least the image of strength) they are after.

E9: Narcotization

Narcotization is a defense mechanism in which a person numbs themself to avoid conflict, discomfort, or anxiety. Because the E9 ignores or represses anger, they makes use of this defense mechanism to keep the peace and not “rock the boat”. Anger leads to action, and action can very well lead to disharmony. The 9, of course, wants to avoid this (hence they ignore their anger). They avoid feeling or facing this conflict, discomfort, or anxiety by narcotizing. When narcotizing, they will take part in mundane activities, keeping themself busy so as to avoid the cause or source of their anxiety; they find comfort in the habit. This may look like engaging in physical activities such as exercise or chores, or it may be things like watching tv, talking, sleeping, or even repetitive thinking. They might also use drugs or alcohol in order to numb themself. It could also be likened to “going through the motions”, distracting themself or remaining preoccupied. The idea of narcotization is to, in a sense, be able to “shut off their brain” (not in such a way that they are unintelligent) and engage in a habitual going through the motions so that they can avoid the pain or discomfort.

E1: Reaction Formation

Reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which a person represses their true feelings, beliefs, etc, and acts on the opposite of said feelings, beliefs, etc. This stems from the person deciding (often unconsciously) that “this feeling is bad”, and so they overcompensate, so to speak, going in the exact opposite direction and doing the opposite thing. The E1, as a gut type and one that has a push-pull relationship within their group, divides things into “good” or “bad”, generally based on a gut instinct. An instinctual “that’s reprehensible and disgusting and absolutely not”, or “this is what must be done”. It’s almost a sense of duty, in a manner of speaking. Now, then, it tracks that when the 1 encounters something that falls into the “reprehensible” category, they would have a rather violent (violent being a manner of speech) against it. Take anger, for example. Suppose a 1 has decided that anger is “bad”; thus, whenever they feel angry, the reaction formation will kick in and go “absolutely not, that is wrong and you don’t do that” and the 1 will likely become hyper-compliant or agreeable or the like. The 1 very much divides things into “good” and “bad”.

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Questions, comments, and observations are welcome.

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An Updated Enneagram Theory: Disintegrating Through Fixes

About a month ago, I released a theory I had come to hypothesizing that one could disintegrate through their fixes. Now that I have had more time to observe and research this, I would like to make a few updates.

Update 1: You do not have to disintegrate chronologically. For instances, a 531 might disintegrate through their 1 fix before their 3 fix, or their 3 before their 5. They do not necessarily go through the 5 to the 3 to the 1.

Update 2: It is not a buildup of stress that cause the disintegration to the fixes - that is, it’s not that the stress became so much for the core type that it begun disintegrating through the fix as well to manage the stress. Rather, it appears that if a particular fix is stressed (i.e. threatening the 3’s image or the 1’s sense of right), then that fix will begin to disintegrate. Disintegration happens individually and independently of your other fixes/core.

Update 3: You do not have to be disintegrating through your core to disintegrate through a fix. As noted above, the disintegration through a fix (as with any disintegration, be it fix or your actual core) is caused when the core desire of that type is stressed. 5s wish to be competent, so when their competency is threatened, they begin to disintegrate. Please note that this “core desire” jargon is a vastly, vastly oversimplified way of phrasing things to the point that if you are not very well versed in the enneagram, it can cause fundamental misunderstandings of not the type and the enneagram. I would recommend my in-depth enneagram analysis on the 5 (linked here) to further understand the type and its “core desire”.

In conclusion: When a type’s core desire becomes stressed, be it their core or a fix, that type will disintegrate.

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As always, questions, comments, and observations are welcome.

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Disintegrating Through Your Fixes: A Theory on Tritypes - An Enneagram Essay

Updated version here.

The theory is simple: Humans, when stressed enough, will disintegrate through their fixes in addition to disintegrating through their core type. 

The event that led to this theory was a post I made a month or two ago in which I described a time in which I was so incredibly stressed that I disintegrated. However, another poster noted that this seemed much more like the disintegration of a 3 as opposed to a 5; and they were right. As such, I researched as much as I could on the differences between the 3 and 5 and consulted others proficient in enneagram. Through my research and their wisdom, I discovered that I have been in a prolonged disintegration to the 7 and never realized it, as that has become my “normal” - but that’s a story for another day. However, despite the evidence of me being a 5 clearly laid out, I couldn’t just brush off the fact that I had disintegrated to a 3. Thus, after more research, my theory came to life.

As far as tritype logic goes, nobody is fully within one center of intelligence; this is why the tritype theory exists. The tritype has one type for each center of intelligence, which describes how we deal with each respective center’s emotion. For example, you’ll also see in the Harmonic triads that each group has its own respective way of dealing with failure and disappointment. When one coping mechanism isn’t working, the mind moves to the next coping mechanism. If you are a 214, for instance, you would first go to Positive Outlook. If that doesn’t work, you would then add on Competency, and if that doesn’t work, add on Reactive.

Thus, it seems that if you are so incredibly stressed that you’ve already  disintegrated through your core type (possibly for an extended period of time?), then you will move to your first fix and also disintegrate through that in hopes of handling or alleviating the stress. This seems to explain a lot of other conundrums, as I have seen acquaintances of mine whose type both they and I were entirely confident in seem to disintegrate to a type that didn’t align with theirs. These acquaintances were undeniably type X, but for them to disintegrate to type B when type Y disintegrates to type B baffled me. As I look back, though, I realize each acquaintance had type Y as their first fix (to be clear, type Y is simply a placeholder and means different types for different acquaintances). 

Although I have never seen anyone disintegrate through their second fix, it would theoretically be possible. They would most likely have to be under a crippling amount of stress for a very extended period of time.

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As I come to understand disintegrating through your fix better, I will update this theory. However, due to the nature of the conditions needed to observe this theory in action, it might take more time than I would prefer. I can’t, of course, only observe one person; I must observe multiple people to solidify an hypotheses, and the acquaintances mentioned above are thankfully out of such stress and disintegration.

As always, comments, observations, and questions are welcome.

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My Experience with Disintegration as an E5 - A Personal Enneagram Essay

I would like to note that this disintegration is NOT that of a 5 to a 7 - it is that of a 3 to a 9. I am leaving the post as-is because there is an excellent breakdown of the post in the reblogs. However, due to this revelation, I did quite a bit of research into 3s, as well as 3s vs 5s, in order to either confirm I was a 3 or dispel the possibility. This led me to a theory I will most likely be sharing eventually, after much more research and refinement.

As an E5, I was always a bit lost at the descriptions of my disintegration. Descriptions like the one below:

“When you disintegrate to Seven, you try to compensate for feeling disconnected and detached. You suddenly throw yourself into activity, doing whatever you can to distract yourself from anxiety and disconnection. You crave stimulation and look for it through activity and indulgence. This can show up in binge-watching movies, drinking or eating excessively, impulsively spending your money on a vacation, etc, (Storm).”

never seemed to fit. Impulsively spending my money? Drinking? Craving stimulation? That hadn’t really happened to me before. And then I slipped into a particular bad bout of disintegration and finally made the connection.

It actually took me quite a while to realize what I was doing was disintegrating. Every now and then, I would have what I would call (for lack of a better phrase) "philosophical episodes". I would become unusually detached and apathetic, asking myself "what's the point?" What's the point of anything? Why do I try so hard? Why do I put so much effort in? Effort into school, into relationships - what for when I could just stop and not. Who cares what grade I make? I might as well fail. We're all going to die anyway, so who cares?

Despite the overwhelming numbness, the disintegration to 7 seemed much more subtle for me - if you could call the above-mentioned thoughts "subtle". For me, the impulsivity never registers as spending excessive amounts of money or abusing substances or the like. It's more of an impulsive urge to just give up - and apathy to everything I care about (you will never catch me saying "who care what grade I make" outside of disintegration). However, I know that I can't give up no matter how much I'd like to, so the impulsivity never comes to fruition. Eventually I come out of it - it usually takes a night. Going to bed, waking up, and it's gone. But it's an experience almost uncomfortably devoid of emotion; an unsettling but almost relieving numbness.

If you're wondering about whether you might be a 5 or not, I sincerely hope this helps you decide. The disintegration to 7 isn't always a loud, excessive event. It can be much more subtle and under the radar, something that never even manifests itself outside of your mind. Identifying that you are disintegrating can be half the battle; once you know what the problem is, you can then take steps to deal with it in a healthy manner.