Healthy and unhealthy behavior patterns of enneagram 9s show those subtle qualities that make them appear serene and composed in social situations. Nines are gentle and wise but under stress, they may become unhealthy as well. They will repress their feelings and may become people pleasers just to avoid conflicts and confrontations.

Sometimes, the unhealthy nine can also appear distant and elusive. They are also prone to mood swings when under stress.

Let’s analyze their behavior patterns in detail here…

Healthy and Unhealthy Behavior Patterns of Enneagram 9s

The RHETI or the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator is one of the most common personality tests available today. American authors Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson founded the Enneagram Institute in the 1990s to research the Enneagram personality types. They developed the RHETI, which is also known as the Enneagram test. This test divides people on the basis of their personality type, into nine different types. 

These are called the Enneagram personality types. All of the nine Enneagram personality types have some sort of interconnection with each other. Experts can draw these nine personality types like a map or illustration, and show these connections. In the Greek language, “Ennea” refers to the number nine. “Gramma” means something that is drawn. So, this explains where the name Enneagram comes from and what it means.

Every Enneagram personality type has one basic fear and one intrinsic motivation. Together, they control what each person likes or dislikes, and how they behave.

Individuals belonging to each Enneagram type may behave at a healthy, unhealthy, or average level. In this article, we will talk about the healthy, unhealthy, and average behavior patterns of Enneagram type 9s. But what do these levels mean? Let us find out below.

Enneagram type 9s are peace-loving and sensitive types. Their intrinsic motivation is to achieve peace and harmony. They crave not just their own peace of mind, but want the people around them to maintain harmony as well.

An Enneagram type 9’s basic fear is a fear of loss. Some of them may fear losing their material possessions, which include things they love. Some others may be afraid of losing their loved ones.

This fear and motivation together control the thoughts, behaviors, and actions of type 9s. But the level or intensity of this fear and motivation varies from person to person. This is what determines whether that person will be a healthy, unhealthy, or average Enneagram type 9.

Healthy Enneagram 9

It is safe to say that healthy Enneagram 9s are the best kind of Enneagram 9s. They possess all the ideal good qualities of a typical Enneagram type 9.

Let us take a look at some of their characteristic traits below.

  • Healthy Enneagram 9s are open-minded individuals. They can judge any situation from other people’s points of view.
  • Because they can judge any situation from a neutral point of view, this makes them a good mediators. They seem to have a natural talent for resolving internal conflicts as well as external strife between people. For their conflict resolution skills, other people often call type 9s “the peacemakers.”
  • They are optimistic individuals. They have a positive attitude toward everything. Even when they face a negative situation, they seem to look at the positive takeaways.
  • Patience is one of their strongest virtues.
  • They are emotionally stable individuals.
  • Healthy Enneagram 9s also have excellent communication skills. They are especially great listeners.
  • Healthy type 9s have a very calming and soothing presence to others. For this reason, other people also trust them with ease.
  • At their healthy level, type 9s have an altruistic side. They genuinely want to help others even if it causes inconvenience to their own needs.
  • Healthy Enneagram 9s are self-sufficient and autonomous individuals. This means that they accept themselves the way they are. They also know how to achieve and maintain their own inner peace.

Unhealthy Enneagram 9

Unhealthy Enneagram 9s are at the far opposite end of the spectrum from healthy type 9s.

Some common characteristic qualities of unhealthy type 9s include the following:

  • They seem to have repressed feelings about them.
  • Unhealthy Enneagram 9s often seem to be emotionally blunt. They do not react as much as a normal person should, in social situations. They always seem aloof, as if their mind is not in the right place.
  • They turn a blind eye to their own problems and ignore them. They hope that their problems will go away on their own.
  • These individuals seem to have unhealthy levels of self-doubt. They lack all confidence in themselves. This even affects their performance in every single task that they do.
  • They have low energy levels. They are slow and sluggish in their attitude.
  • They seem to have a low attention span.
  • Sometimes, they may be too stubborn.
  • In unhealthy Enneagram 9s, the fear of loss takes an extreme form. They often become paranoid.
  • Unhealthy type 9s always try to shut off the external world. But this can lead to extreme consequences. They may become numb and depersonalized.
  • At the most extreme level, unhealthy type 9s become disoriented and catatonic. They may even seem to distance themselves from their own self. This can also lead to personality disorders in them, such as schizoid or dependent personality disorders.

Average Enneagram 9

Average Enneagram 9s seem to lie between the healthy and unhealthy types. Their qualities are not as good as healthy type 9s. At the same time, they are not as extreme as the unhealthy types.

  • Average Enneagram type 9s want to avoid conflict at all costs. In order to do so, they may even become “people pleasers”. They have a tendency to become over-conforming to others. They will always agree with what others say. They will even suppress their own opinions about something for fear that it might lead to a conflict.
  • Because of their people-pleasing attitude, they may lose the ability to think for themselves. As a result, they may lose their creative outlet. Sometimes, they may not be able to do even simple tasks if they do not get instructions.
  • They are often emotionally blunt.
  • In their free time, they prefer to relax, rather than go out with friends or family.
  • They give off an attitude of indifference in public places. They often appear complacent, as if they do not care about anything that happens around them.
  • They have a tendency to procrastinate.
  • They sometimes have a tendency to daydream and ruminate. They may often create fantasy scenarios in their own head and like to think about them.
  • Average type 9s want to avoid conflicts at all costs. But if a conflict does arise, they become passive-aggressive about it. They hate going into a direct confrontation about the conflict. Instead, they prefer if things boil down on their own.

To Sum Up 

Overall, in this article, we have discussed the healthy, unhealthy, and average levels of Enneagram type 9s.

Enneagram 9s are at their best at the healthy level. They are capable of finding their own inner peace. At the same time, they have an altruistic side and want to help others. They are good at resolving conflicts between others. 

For this, others often call them peacemakers. Unhealthy type 9s are repressed and less confident and seem dejected at all times. 

They want to shut off the world and isolate themselves. In extreme cases, this leads to personality disorders in them. Average Enneagram 9s fall midway between the two types. They want to avoid conflicts and behave in a passive-aggressive way.