23 May 2008

Personality Tests

One of the side-effects of my depression is that I have this constant need to better understand myself. I'm always trying to gauge whether my thoughts and reactions are "normal" or whether I'm in some sort of unhealthy space. I'm also very uncertain of how others see me. One result of this is that I have become completely addicted to online personality tests. I could sit and take them for hours. Blogthings has a lot of these kinds of tests and there are links to more tests at the top left and bottom right of every test and results page. At least one of the additional tests usually grabs my attention and I end up clicking through to one after another and before I know it, hours have been eaten up by my quest to have a better understanding of my place in the world.

When I was in college, a friend who was in the education department gave me the Myers-Briggs test as part of a testing methodology class that he was taking. I've since taken several abbreviated versions of the test and the results tend to vary only slightly. Sometimes I test as INFP and others I test as ENFP. I have to assume that I'm right on the I/E border and the natural variations in my answers based on whether it's a good day or a bad day end up being the deciding factor.

I was wondering, earlier today, where I'm at right now. I started a new medication today in hopes of dealing with the lethargy, cloudy-headedness, and low energy levels caused by my depression. So far, today has been encouraging. I'm not feeling hyped up or stimulated but I'm not struggling to stay awake while I try to coax Sprout into a nap so that I can go back to bed. Which isn't to say that I wouldn't love it if she'd take a nap. I might even snuggle up next to her to try to get her to doze off. Once she's asleep, though, I'm thinking that it would be nice to spend some time reading something that she didn't choose.

Here's the result of the MB knock-off test that I took this afternoon... It seems pretty accurate. I'm not agitating to get out of the house, but I'm reasonably happy to be out of bed.





You Are An INFP



The Idealist



You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.

Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.

It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.

But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop.



In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards.

You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings.



At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values.

You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.



How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual



When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

2 comments:

IMakeCuteStuff (aka Marlo M.) said...

I usually test as an ENFP...but there are days when the "I" takes over ;) BTW, did you know INFP's are only 1% of the population? (ENFP's are 10%)...pretty awesome, huh?

Anonymous said...

i followed the link to the test and I tested as an ESFP (The Performer). Perhaps I should have been an actor instead of a potter!
All the best Andi..
Anne