Understanding your teenager’s personality type can drastically help in reducing arguments and reaching a higher level of cohesion. Whether it’s through a clear understanding of enfp-t meaning, with enough understanding and open communication, your teenager should feel comfortable enough expressing their valid concerns and anxieties with you.
Identity Loss
If it’s been a while since you were a teenager, it’s easy to forget about the volatility that surrounds that period of growth and time. As the brain develops into early adolescence, any parental figure can really start to feel the strain.
Part of this means you need to know the difference between normal personality types and more dangerous, underlying personality disorders. Here’s a 3-step programme for understanding more about your teenager’s worldview and personality.
Value Their Strengths
Different personality types will have their own strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, publicly acknowledging your teenager’s strengths is a fantastic form of support, and can help you bond immensely.
Certain strengths lean toward different personality types. Those that are charitable and original tend to be the idealist personality type. These include ENJF, ENFP, INFJ and INFP. These individuals are communicative and idealistic.
On the other hand, rationalist personality types can be excellent with money and rational decision-making. These people are structured and independent. This could clash with more Artisan types (such as ISFP), who are free-spirited extroverts.
Know Their Weaknesses
Each broad personality type will have their weaknesses as well. For example, guardian personality types – the people that prioritise cooperation and creativity – often have a tendency to take criticism personally.
Although they might try to hide it, people with this personality type are deeply sensitive to others’ opinions, and they can feel deeply wounded if someone doesn’t appreciate, approve of, or agree with them. Once you know how your teen responds to criticism, you’ve gained a significant step in understanding their worldview. Now, you know whether to approach criticism from a proactive or emotive standpoint.
If, however, your teenager is a proud owner of a more rational personality type, then the emotional side of things will be far harder to get in touch with. This is hard even for adults with rational mindsets, but teenagers – faced with the possibility of social judgement, ridicule and anxiety – can sometimes find this particularly difficult.
In these situations, it’s important to own up to your own vulnerabilities before asking your teenager to open up themselves. And delicate conversations should be breached in as calm and collected an environment as possible. If you know from past experience that you’re liable to fly off the handle at any perceived slight, then be aware that your teen will pick up on this energy.
You’re likely to experience emotional distancing with any teenager, but certain personality types will be more or less willing to broach those conversations with you. Knowing how different personality types tick – and, even more importantly, knowing how to converse with them – is the key to supporting your teen as they grow into adulthood.