#ti-dom

This was sorta requested by @chocolategir, sorta offered by me. I’ll be explaining the Fe grip and relating a bit of my personal experience with it.

Ti naturally opposes Fe; it is an internalized logic-based approached to life, whereas Fe... is not. Thus Ti-doms can be prone to looking down on their Fe, in a way, which is natural with inferior functions. Nobody necessarily likes their inferior function; it’s the embodiment of every area in which they are least comfortable.

You can fall into a grip by repressing your inferior function for too long or by its being triggered. The first scenario occurs most often in those who are particularly uncomfortable with the Fe and rely too heavily on their other functions. We exist with all our functions aligned as they are for a reason, and when we lean too heavily onto one side of the stack, we upset the balance of the system. We aren’t able to handle that, and our minds will attempt to correct it by throwing us into the grip of the neglected inferior function.

The first thing to do, in this situation, is admit to yourself that you’ve fallen into a grip. This is especially helpful in an Fe grip because this is a logical concession that goes against the violent emotional outburst. Then you work on engaging all your functions in a healthy way, with brain-teasers and creative output and calm introspection.

In my experience, an Fe grip can also be triggered into action. I mentioned earlier I experienced past abuse, and with any hint at yelling or emotional manipulation I can quickly fall into an Fe grip in an attempt to cope with and rectify the situation. I can either become emotionally aggressive, or insecure and needy. You can’t reason me out of the grip by referencing what set it off in the first place; the first thing to do is remove me from the situation. Then distract me. Talk with me about philosophy or have me logically approach another situation.

I’ve got pretty good at recognizing grips and their negative influence, so I don’t experience them so much anymore. The best thing to do for yourself, if you also suffered emotional trauma and grip to deal with it, is to recognize, while you’re in a healthy state of mind, that grips are bad for you and an incorrect way to cope. Practice engaging your inferior function in healthy ways. With inferior Fe, pay attention to others’ needs and emotions and find little ways to make them happy. The better you become at recognizing grips and being able to tell yourself, in the moment, that they are not healthy for you, the less likely they are to overwhelm you.