Inner worlds
Behavioural similarities exist between all types, extending beyond singular type or triadic grouping. This makes typing through evaluating behaviour often an erroneous process. What types share in common is their view of the world and subsequently, their inner world. If we were somehow able to see the internal workings of people, type differentiation would be a lot clearer. Below are some descriptions of inner worlds common to each type (I’m not going to lie, extroverted types spend a lot of their time avoiding their inner worlds, so this was definitely harder to determine). I’m going to mix this up and start with Type 6 - The Inner Council We all have our inner voice (probably reading this page right now), our conscience, our gut feeling, all of which helps us in making decisions. In the inner world of Type 6s, all of these aspects of themselves form an internal council, responsible for the processing of decision making. The problem is, often there are conflicts between these aspects of the council, they disagree on courses of action. It’s this instability which leads to the Type 6s yearning for security and stability, to keep the inner council calm. Type 7 - The Inner Horror The Type 7 fixation specifically works around the avoidance of the inner world. This is because deep within their internal worlds exist a build-up of anxiety, emotional tension and pressure. Whilst other types may face these pressures, Type 7 will avoid it, leaving it to grow. This is why they often have problems with encountering boredom, as boredom promotes introspection and an encounter to the anxiety they seek to escape. Type 8 - The Inner Child Behind the tough exterior and dominating stature of Type 8 lies a soft and sensitive interior (cliche, I know). I’ve called this the inner child, but really this is just a sensitive emotional world. For the Type 8 however, this is their point of weakness as to leave themselves vulnerable at any point would affect them greatly if they were hurt. Thus, they strive to protect their inner child from any harm, coating themselves in a dominating exterior and challenging potential harm they may face. Type 9 - The Inner Sanctum As a Withdrawn type, the internal world is of great importance to Type 9. Here is where the inner peace they desire exists, a sort of fantasy world of daydreams where they can escape to when reality becomes difficult. The only problem is, due to receptivity of Type 9, any anger or conflict they engage with will disrupt the serenity of the sanctum, causing an internal turmoil. It is this avoidance that can be attributed to the Type 9 fixation on their own narcotization of anger and conflict-avoidance. Type 1 - The Inner Critic It’s as simple as it sounds: that voice in your head that tell you you’re not good enough. Type 1 is constantly being governed by the inner critique on their actions, their behaviours, their interactions. The only way the critic can be silenced is by being perfect in all aspects. Perfection cannot be criticised as it is without error. Unfortunately, it’s also humanely impossible to achieve. This constant evaluation also makes Type 1 very sensitive to receiving criticism, as they already are dealing with a lot of their own. Type 2 - The Inner Mother Again, the title is not literally what it sounds like. What Type 2 has internally is an externally focused emotional world. What lies within them is an eye for seeing those who need help, assistance or nurturing. Validation is found by attending to others and satisfying the internal message that your own goodness is based on being good to others. Conversely, not helping people leaves the internal world unsatisfied, resulting in the Type 2 focusing on always having someone to help. Type 3 - The Inner Mirror Probably the most externally focused type, Type 3 focuses on building its on image up because when it does introspect it comes in contact with an inner mirror. In other words, the presentation and value of external image becomes the intrinsic sense of self-worth. Which then leads Type 3 to focus upon bettering themselves externally to receive validation and build themselves up internally. This can lead to self-deception of self, of what truly is them and what is merely their illusion of who they are. Type 4 - The Inner Cave Although Type 4 is a highly imaginative type similar to the other Withdrawn types, what identifies them is their inner cave, a deep emotional world. They often equate this to a void, a feeling of loss or that something is missing from them, that others have. Depending on their wing, Type 4 will either avoid these feelings or delve deep into the cave. Often, in order to project or respond to these feelings, Type 4 will use artistry and symbolism, expressing their inner cave into their outside reality. Type 5 - The Inner Workshop The last Withdrawn type is most known for their daydreaming and withdrawal. But by no means is this a passive activity. Type 5 is extremely active within their own minds, constructing fantasy worlds, categorizing, processing observations. This preoccupation with constant stimulation of the mind is driven by the fear of emptiness, of being without knowledge and vulnerable to reality. They need their time by themselves to prepare their inner workshop to be active whilst they leave it temporarily to enter into the external world. Knowing the inner worlds of the types makes it a lot clearer when determining your own type. As well as this, these internal behaviours directly relate to the types own basic fears and desires. Understanding and exploring inner worlds helps further our understanding of the enneagram and of each other.
