Inferior Fe in Relation to Social Anxiety

In the past, I’ve put significant effort into explaining inferior Fe in a personalized way, which isn’t exactly an easy or natural thing for me. However, I did realize at a certain point that sometimes inferior Fe gets generally confused with social anxiety. (A lot of people can relate to some general insecurities that inferior Fe users attribute to their Fe.) Recently, someone suggested that I write this so I think I’m going to give it a shot, and actually start from a more technical standpoint and work outwards to potential external manifestations. So, let’s start with some cursory information.

Who has inferior Fe?

Fe is a cognitive function found in the TPs and FJs. The ones who specifically have Fe in the inferior (or fourth position) are the INTPs and ISTPs. This article applies specifically to those two types.

What is Fe?

It’s critical before I go forward that you understand what Fe, or Extraverted Feeling, actually is. Extraverted Feeling is an extraverted judging function that focuses on the external emotional environment. As such, Fe is responsible for creating (and enforcing) social rules designed to promote harmony and unity. Think of it like social order.

What does “inferior” mean?

It’s important to recognize that not all function placements are created equal. Fe in the dominant position does not manifest the same way as it would in the auxiliary, or in the tertiary, or in the inferior. Placement tells a very specific story. An ISTP can’t prove their Fe use by relating to all the Fe-related attributes found in an ENFJ or ESFJ. For an inferior Fe user, the range of use for their Fe will be limited and weak. Perhaps that’ll change as they grow, age and mature, but early on, Fe will absolutely be a weak point for them, and likely a source of insecurity.

Inferior Fe vs. Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is extremely common. Every personality type can suffer from social anxiety, even the extraverts. Therefore, inferior Fe cannot be all about social anxiety… if there are 14 other personality types who can suffer from the same thing. In fact, inferior Fe does not guarantee someone will even have social anxiety. However, with that being said, I think inferior Fe users are prone to having a very specific type of social anxiety, or perhaps more accurately, very specific social insecurities that can often result in social anxiety. This is ultimately due to what Fe is naturally focused on or centered around: social order and emotional harmony.

Inferior Fe in Relation to Social Anxiety

Since inferior Fe is a weakness for the INTPs and ISTPs it often brings about a hyper awareness of Fe, but not in a good way. The problem is (speaking from a personal standpoint) that Fe seems to be everywhere. Social rules exist in every society, social gathering, and etc. It can’t be helped (because it is necessary), and it can’t be escaped. The IXTPs tend to notice this ever-present Fe, and when they’re not suppressing their inferior Fe, it can become a source of stress for multiple reasons.

Fe rules are often vague, unclear, or unspoken. It’s as if people are expected to already know how to act, or to just be able to follow along if they don’t. This is why Fe can be a source of stress for those with a weak extraverted judging function. Extraverted judging orients us to the external system of organization around us, the hierarchy or the structure. Even some Te users seem to pick up on these social rules somewhat naturally, because they can at least appreciate the physical order that social rules can often bring about. However, the FPs and TPs tend to struggle more. For the FPs, the struggle usually lies in their desire to express their individuality. However, even though IXTPs are identity dominants like the IXFPs, the specific problem that IXTPs have does not lie in their need to express their identity, because they typically don’t care about that.

Ti identity, while always prioritized, is often undefined by the user. (See Do Ti Users Lack Identity?) I know that feels like a contradiction, but true Ti users often understand this concept. Ti users usually do not struggle with the idea of suppressing small pieces of themselves in an attempt to get along in the social world. They are okay with being a chameleon to a certain degree if it will allow them to fly under the radar and not make any waves. While they typically won’t act in a way that contradicts their internal principles or logic, they may hold back their thoughts or obvious stumbling blocks when around others for the sake of avoiding undesirable, messy emotional situations. Think of it like avoiding problematic subjects, deflecting when asked certain questions, avoiding deep or lengthy conversations, and etc. In a sense, it’s finding a way to mask your identity without being untrue to it or acting in a way that contradicts who you are.

So, a resulting problem, dilemma or source of stress can be this: How do I follow the rules if I’m not even sure what they are?

ISTPs and INTPs tend to fall prey to accidentally saying or doing the wrong thing and feeling instant regret as their hyper-awareness of the reactions of others informs them that they just screwed up. A culmination of these reactions can cause them to second guess themselves on the little, insignificant things, like what exactly does this dress code mean? What’s the appropriate thing for me to say right now? What level of emotion do I need to summon right now (if possible) to not make this person upset with me? Am I even capable of summoning that emotional response? Ultimately, whether they realize it or not, inferior Fe users desire clear and simplistic social rules so they not only know exactly how to act in an acceptable manner but are also capable of doing so. Speaking as an ISTP, this all can be incredibly frustrating, which often makes me rely on close family or friends to decipher the social code for me in advance.

Unfortunately, when an ISTP or INTP gets stressed or tired of dealing with it all, a natural reaction is to just shut off or suppress Fe entirely. When living in that state, they will not care what you think, how you react, or if they’re being compliant. They will likely be abrasive, sharp, and excessively stubborn, if they even give you the opportunity to interact with them. (Because, chances are, if given the option, they will avoid people entirely and become isolated hermits or extreme loners.) In other words, the social world is the problem so let’s just avoid everyone. People are stupid and unnecessary.

Now, do you remember how I said that inferior Fe can become a source of stress for multiple reasons? Well here’s the other source of stress: inferior Fe causes a detachment from feelings or emotions. IXTPs tend to suffer from emotional delays, and generally lack confidence in the validity of their emotional world. They don’t always know what they’re feeling in the moment, and they generally don’t like to dwell on their emotions. To some people, they may appear to be somewhat disassociated from themselves because of this. Unfortunately, preferring to remain detached from one’s own emotions can lead to a struggle to connect with others, since relationships often demand some level of emotional commitment. Since IXTPs struggle with this, they can begin to view relationships (unless purely surface level) as a source of stress. How do I connect with others if I can’t even understand what I’m feeling? How am I supposed to share feelings that I have no confidence in and are probably invalid anyway? Is it possible to form a deep connection without having to open up emotionally? Is this level of discomfort worth the effort or the risk? Subsequently, this can make inferior Fe users very slow to trust others and form deep bonds, while also making them very quick to check out of a relationship if it becomes too demanding.

Higher Fe users may also not always feel closely connected to their own emotions, but this is partially due to being overly influenced by the emotions of others. Things are a bit different for inferior Fe. Inferior Fe users are not only disconnected from their own emotions, but also to some degree, from the emotions of others due to generally devaluing their feeling function. They can struggle to understand the emotions in others, or emotions in general. As mentioned earlier, they may be sensitive to the emotional reactions of others, especially when noticing that they’ve done something wrong. Those who haven’t suppressed the function may also sense the emotional atmosphere to some degree, feeling disharmony, negativity, sadness, etc. However, they tend to have no clue how to respond to the emotions if they can identify them. They learn how to mirror basic reactions, but usually they’re at a loss as to how to really respond to another person’s emotions. This can increase the stress brought on by a Fe-heavy environment. What’s not only in accordance with the current social rules, but also emotionally appropriate? How do you need me to respond to this? I really don’t want to mess this up.

All of this relationship stress can lead IXTPs to avoid (or fail at) forming close connections. When that happens, they will usually either proclaim that they don’t need friends, or try to content themselves with purely surface-level friends, ultimately falling into a pattern of keeping all their friendships at a distance.

Will an IXTP always suffer from social anxiety?

No. I’m describing imbalances in this article, so be aware of that. I’m just trying to help you understand the reasoning behind the social anxiety that an IXTP might have. An IXTP is capable of learning the basic rules of their culture and existing within them, but this should have at one point been a source of stress for them. Even when generally socially competent or confident, they may still actively choose to avoid scenarios that are overly formal or come with unknown social implications as a way to avoid putting themselves in a situation which might poke at their inferior Fe insecurities. Although, another way an IXTP can avoid social anxiety is by deciding that they don’t care and completely shutting off that aspect of their inferior Fe. If they choose to react this way, they will have no emotional stake in any negative ripples they make in their social environment, so they won’t care what happens. As mentioned earlier, this will result in a critical and impersonal individual who will likely cause some form of disharmony wherever they go.

With that being said, an IXTP may enjoy causing negative ripples in their social environment from time to time. Of course, when they’re doing it on purpose, it will likely not cause them any kind of anxiety. That is another aspect of low Fe. Sometimes it causes the user to reflexively fight back against the social order for some reason, whether that be for something as frivolous as entertainment or for something more noble like defending a friend.

In Conclusion…

I tried to approach this article with the goal of explaining the various rebound effects that inferior Fe can cause a person to fall prey to. Over the years, it’s been way too easy to generally refer to inferior Fe as social anxiety, even though in reality, I know that’s far too simplistic of an explanation. For a while now, I’ve been struggling to figure out how to describe it in a more accurate or precise way. I hope this article achieved that, and that you found some value in reading it. You’re welcome to share any of your own experiences or provide general input!