Knowing the various ENFP stress triggers and how do they cope with stress helps to understand the behavioral patterns of these individuals in adverse situations in life. We will get an idea of their instant reactions and responses in a better way.
As ENFPs are naturally inclined to risk taking behavior, they thrive in challenges. If they are stuck in one place, as in rigid structures, they will feel confined, as if unable to move ahead as per their innate choices. This will result in unnecessary stress and anxiety.
These individuals are joyful and fun-loving. Too many regulations onto them means they are doubtful about their place in the social space. This can also result in stifled feelings.
In this think piece, we will discuss their varied stress triggers and subsequent coping styles.
Factors that can cause stress in ENFP personalities
ENFPs are people with an easygoing mentality. They prefer to stay flexible and spontaneous. These extroverts live life with enthusiasm. If their ideas do not match with the present situation, they may feel completely stressed out.
Envisioning future possibilities and living life with spontaneity is their motto. If you ask them to follow strict rules and live by it, they may not do it at all. ENFPs are trailblazers of novelty and innovation. They cannot follow rigid ways of doing things.
Moreover, overly structured working conditions make them feel irritated. They become hesitant in pursuing their preferred goals in life. They cannot work with boring, mundane tasks that get repeated every now and then. In such a situation, you may find them living a purposeless life.
They will show anxiety, annoyance, and anger like none other. People with an ENFP personality type feel stuck, and restless in the face of stress. They may not function in usual ways and show various signs of stress.
Sometimes, in the grip of stress, they show outbursts that depict an emotionally overwhelming behavior. They may show instant reactions such as not socializing much, or rejecting people’s ideas and trying to establish their own opinions.
They may feel trapped in anxiousness, or nervous breakdowns and start abusing or blaming others for their failure. ENFPs may also suffer from mental fatigue and tiredness under stressful conditions. They may feel drained out of their energy due to excessive stress.
If you are an ENFP, you will not mind facing failure but if people tell you that your ideas are silly and lack practicality, you will mind, feelings of being unwanted socially can hurt you in bad ways.
Negativity, pessimism irks you mentally and you cannot function as desired. In such situations, stress is inevitable and your responses will lack patience. You will act impulsively in the face of stagnation.
The 12 stress triggers
In this post, we will talk about 10 stress triggers that can affect an ENFP personality type. These triggers can upset their behavioral functioning quite easily. In the face of stress, ENFPs act weird. Their shadow functions operate making them more impulsive and anxious.
They will show lack of patience and react instantly without understanding why they are acting out in such a way.
1. Highly structured environments
If ENFPs are put in routine and schedules, they will react in weird ways. They are bubbly, full of life; thus fails to operate in situations that demand prior planning and an organized way of living.
They cannot follow strict rules and regulations, or a routine work type that is the same every day. Highly structured setups can upset their spontaneity and happy go lucky nature.
It makes them feel confined in one place that they cannot accept at all.
2. Refusal to take up challenges
If they are forced to think in only one way, and refuse to take up new challenges, they will feel frustrated and anxious in no time. ENFPs thrive in adventures and challenges. They love to explore, experiment, and innovate with new ideas and imaginations.
If others try to negate their good intentions by labeling their ideas as silly and unworthy, it can stress out an ENFP personality type pretty easily.
3. Pessimism
ENFPs have an infectious optimism. They emanate positive vibes that can bring hope in the lives of many. Thus, they become anxious and stressed out in times of hopelessness. In trying times, they try to stay hopeful. But if they get into pessimism due to many unexpected changes and challenges, they might freak out instantly.
4. Stagnation in career
This is one of the most common stress triggers that can make ENFPs suffer a lot. If they are placed in jobs that are mundane and routine and do not allow change and innovation, they will easily feel frustrated. Boredom will set in early with a lot of stuck feelings that ENFPs will not be able to endure.
If the job opportunity is lacking creativity, it makes them feel stuck in stagnation. In such times, ENFPs show signs of annoyance and frustration. Their self-confidence may suffer setbacks and they will stop functioning normally.
Since they thrive in change, they prefer challenges that test their ability to succeed in adverse situations in life. But, if they fail to prove their worth for no fault of their own, they may feel highly frustrated and irritated.
5. Criticism and judgments
ENFPs are fun loving and joyous people. They never engage in small talk, criticisms, and backbiting sprees. Thus, they expect the same from others as well. But, if by chance, they are rebuked, criticized, or judged by others; they may feel stressed out.
People with ENFP personalities cannot tolerate evaluations that are meant to threaten their self-esteem. These open minded individuals prefer constructive criticism that leads to growth, not the ones that are meant to insult or humiliate them.
These individuals are sensitive to critical evaluations. They hate being told that they are not good enough. If at all they face such a crisis, they may internalize their feelings completely and behave in odd ways that do not represent their true nature.
6. Last minute rush
ENFPs love to do their task slowly and steadily. They usually prefer an easygoing lifestyle that is free from unnecessary worries and stress. These individuals feel the heat of the moment if they are forced to do a project hurriedly.
They cannot withstand the last hour adrenaline rush that comes with such an incident. If you tell them to do things too fast, they will feel anxious and may make many mistakes that are not expected from them. At the same time, they cannot take decisions hurriedly or make a choice in a rush. This can make them feel irritated very fast.
7. Mundane tasks
If you expect an ENFP to do the same repetitive task every day, you are highly mistaken. They cannot do stuff that is mundane and uninteresting. Try out by telling an ENFP to organize their study desk or to clean the wardrobe mess, and see the results.
You will find them avoiding such tasks altogether. ENFPs cannot do things that are boring. They thrive in activities that test their ability to take up challenges every day. They will be under stress if asked to do the same work day in and out.
8. Unfulfilled life goals and aspirations
ENFPs have a long to-do list with them. They will start many projects at a time out of their abundant creative energy, but may leave things halfway. They can get caught in the rut of procrastination. Sometimes, this can result in extreme anxiety.
When they find that they are unable to reach their life goals or fulfill their varied aspirations as per plans, they will feel stressed out. ENFPs will lose confidence and may start to question their abilities as well.
9. Lack of freedom in workplaces
ENFPs cannot tolerate micromanaging. Being an extrovert, they prefer autonomy and independence in their working style, but if they find themselves stuck in too much workplace interference, they may feel stressed out quickly. If their colleagues and managers dismiss their creative ideas, they may not feel great about it.
ENFPs will behave in nervous ways and cannot perform as per company policies. You may also find them putting their resignation letter on the table.
10. Interpersonal conflicts in close relationships
People with ENFP personality types are sensitive and caring about their intimate relationships. They cannot handle conflicts with family members and friends.
This is highly stressful for them because they never feel great when squabbling and disagreements get into intimate bonding. They may feel unhappy, isolated, and guilty in such situations.
Their motto is to keep their friends and family happy and blissful. Thus, any stressful trigger in such a relationship can make them overthink and feel anxious very fast.
11. Overthinking
ENTJs crave knowledge. They overthink when issues arise for which they do not have an answer. They question everything that is unknown. In their quest to gather more information, they beat along the bush trying to find answers. They may get stressed out if their overthinking appears futile and they do not know the real reason behind what is happening.
12. Overextending themselves to serve others
ENFPs are sensitive and kind people. They empathize with those who are going through stressful times in life. Thus, ENFPs may come out of their comfort zones to support others.
This overextension can bring stress in ENFPs life. It can make them emotionally overwhelmed when too many expectations arise from them and they cannot handle it properly. They may give too much to others and end up feeling drained and exhausted from within.
10 ways to cope with stress in ENFP Personalities
ENFPs handle stress in ways that help them to restore their cheerful and happy nature. Under stress, they may seem to break down and do odd things. Their friendly nature can become irritable. Frequent mood swings can occur that may leave them feeling totally drained out.
Sometimes, they notice the effects of stress much later than it actually took a grip over them. Thus, they feel fatigued and tired. They try out various coping skills that enable them to overcome the worries and restore bliss deep inside.
1. Attend to your needs and interests
In the grip of stress, ENFPs may feel confined or locked in an inner world of sadness and may not know how to overcome the issues in life. This can lead to physical issues as well. They may lose appetite, or not sleep well due to overthinking.
The first step is to take enough self-care, so that the physical impact of stress can be lessened to a great extent. Moreover, these individuals shuffle from one work to another. They forget to stay aware of their needs and do self-care that was needed.
Thus, learning to meet one’s needs before taking care of others is equally important for an ENFP. They should relax and take things easy and spend some quality downtime to feel refreshed all over again.
2. Learn to say ‘no’ whenever needed
ENFPs should learn to say ‘no’ to others as well. They are so generous that they overextend themselves to meet others’ needs to support them to overcome their life issues. This needs to be stopped. ENFPs should learn to say ‘no’ to requests for help if they think that it’s not possible; otherwise they will keep building up more pressure on themselves.
3. Check in with your thoughts and feelings
In times of stress, ENFPs can become over critical, choosy, and behave in unusual ways that are not their type at all. If they behave in such ways, it’s time to analyze how stress has affected them, and what impact it has on their physical well-being and mental health.
It is better to slow down and take a pause, so that you can feel at ease with the situation. It is also advisable for an ENFP not to take hasty decisions while they are in the grip of stress.
4. Get some exclusive ‘me time’
This stress buster can help an ENFP unwind and spend some quality time with ‘self. They can plan an outing with friends or family, or go for a solo traveling to rejuvenate their lost spirit.
Moreover, when ENFPs get out of the constant social stimulation, they will feel in control of themselves. They will be able to sort out their innermost feelings by using introverted feelings, (Fi).
This acts as an auxiliary function in their functional stack and helps ENFPs to attend to stimuli that are important and discard, ignore, or avoid all others that are unnecessary nas causes a lot of emotional stress.
5. Exercise
Exercise and regular outdoor activities such as cycling, swimming, playing football or basketball are recommended for an ENFP. These lively sports help to divert their attention to resolve life issues rather than only ruminating about them.
ENFPs can take some actionable steps to overcome the anxiety they are going through. Exercise helps to release stress busting hormones like endorphins and regulates our inner cycle to maintain a balance between stress and coping.
6. Meditate
Yoga and meditation can do wonders when it comes to exclusive coping styles for an ENFP. It clears the mind, restores emotional balance, and helps to reduce stress. Meditation is a powerful tool to maintain calmness deep inside.
It improves the focus of the person, re-connects them to the innermost selves, so that they can identify the stress triggers easily, overcome them, and restore deeper peace in them.
7. Try to get organized
ENFPs are always busy doing so many things at a time. So, they mess up and cannot finish tasks on time. To reduce the impact of workload on them, they will have to learn to do things in a methodical and systematic manner. Try to become organized, follow a definite routine so that you can finish off with all the desired tasks on time.
8. Stop being too emotional
ENFPs are ruled by their hearts. Thus, they experience more stress than any other typical extrovert types. They should stop taking things too personally, and say ‘no’ whenever they think that it’s becoming too much now.
Another advice for an ENFP is, they should stop thinking too much about others’ emotional woes and concerns. People have talents to resolve their own life issues, so there is no need for an ENFP to overwhelm them by getting too busy with others’ affairs.
9. Have a logical self-talk
ENFPs can use extraverted thinking as a relief function to overcome stress. They need to have some quality alone time, analyze those issues that are causing the stress, and find out a logical solution on the way.
10. Learn to spend quality time with mundane tasks
ENFPs can reduce the intensity of their stressed out feeling to a great extent if they know how to find happiness in doing mundane tasks.
These tasks are a part of being human, and no one can avoid them altogether. So, the trick lies in loving them, adjusting to the same routine once in a while, so that overwhelming feelings do take a toll on their mental health.
To Sum Up
We all have unique ways to deal with stress and anxiety and ENFPs are no different. They have many stress triggers that can damage their fun-loving and joyful nature but not in a permanent way.
These individuals are resilient and can fight adversities with patience and perseverance. They may feel jittery and irritable but these are all momentary reactions to stress.
They have the power to withstand any sorts of mental pressure and turn challenges into areas of strengths. ENFPs are free spirits who prefer to thrive in happiness ever after, so they will come back stronger after the storm of ‘mental stress’ has passed away.
