Stress is the usual reaction to the pressures of daily life. It can become unhealthy when it upsets the day-to-day functioning of individuals. The same can happen to Enneagram Two personality type individuals. Thus, recognizing stress triggers of enneagram 2s can help them deal with stress triggers better. If you wish to know your type, take the free online enneagram test for determining the same.
Several factors lead to the occurrence of stress among Enneagram personality types. They are sufficient to drain out your mental and physical energies. Enneagram Twos suffer the same when they must spend some time alone. Stress also occurs when someone takes their efforts for granted and neither gives them love nor recognition.
Let us now dig deeper into the details to find out the various stress triggers of Enneagram 2. We will also briefly discuss the steps they take to cope with stressful situations.
Factors That Cause Stress in Enneagram 2
SUMMARY
The stress triggers of enneagram 2 refer to all those factors that cause tension and anxiety among these individuals while carrying out their daily responsibilities in life. They adversely impact their mental and physical well-being, hence not allowing them to lead a peaceful life.
An Enneagram 2 is a warm, generous, and empathetic individual. Their sole purpose is to serve others and make their lives better. They are selfless characters who do not pay heed to their own needs and requirements to make people smile.
These people try to liven up others’ lives with attention and appreciation. They enable them to identify the positive qualities that exist within themselves, which they failed to recognize earlier. Enneagram 2’s helpful and compassionate nature automatically attracts others toward them. Apart from these qualities, Twos are also quite approachable.
Hence, it allows their friends, relatives, or any random person to approach them for assistance. These healthy Twos are the personification of a good parent who sees their children as they are. They would carefully listen to their problems. The Two will also empathize with them to offer the right advice. It is because of the ability to put themselves in others’ shoes and see things from their perspective.
Problems arise when they turn into Unhealthy Twos. Whenever such things happen, they would slowly move toward being type 8 enneagram and pick up all those average to negative traits of 8. They tend to fall into the holes of hopelessness and criticism. These situations will constantly make them look out for the mistakes of others.
They will even look to gain complete control over relationships. These people would also remind others of all the things they have done for them to make their lives better. Stress arises when people fail to keep up with their undue expectations. Such expectations include giving them love and appreciation for whatever they do.
Several factors trigger stress in an Enneagram 2 personality type individual. Let us briefly discuss the stress triggers which create problems in their personal and professional lives –
1. Someone Taking Them for Granted
Enneagram Twos are people-pleasing individuals. They devote their time and energy to treating others with love, care, and compassion and making them happy. Moreover, twos go out of their way to help others, sacrificing their needs and demands. Unhealthy twos expect others to recognize their efforts and reciprocate similar sentiments.
When people do not live up to their expectations and start taking them for granted, it results in stress and tension among these enneagrams. Then they even start resorting to manipulative tactics for fulfilling their wishes.
2. Spending Time Alone
Enneagram Twos always love to be around people and take care of their concerns. Hence, they hate spending time alone. Loneliness puts them under extreme stress and tension. It is so because being in this state does not let them fulfill their life’s purpose of connecting with others and meeting their requirements.
They will not feel at ease and start entertaining negative thoughts. Twos will think that people do not love and care for them. Thus, they will refrain from keeping any level of association.
3. Made to Feel Unimportant and Unloved
There is an innate among Enneagram 2s to receive love and affection from others. They also think that people must make them feel important in their lives. These thoughts appear because of the amount of time and energy two invest toward improving the lives of their loved ones.
Stress occurs if people do not recognize Twos’ contribution to their lives. People make them feel as if they do not have any importance in their lives. Hence, they do not portray love and affection toward them.
4. Struggle with Saying No to Others
Enneagram Twos are always at the service of others. These people put effort into improving their lives. They do so even at the cost of their requirements and peace of mind. Their inclination toward helping others is such that they do not hesitate to say ‘yes’ to stuff, even when their hearts do not agree.
This habit of twos makes helping others truly overwhelming for them. They feel obliged to respect their sentiments and move forward to keep their request for assistance. Doing this over a period tends to put these Enneagrams under stress.
5. Withdrawal from Social Settings
We have already mentioned that Enneagram Two does not like spending time alone. They like surrounding themselves with people and helping them in all possible manners. Hence, if circumstances do not allow them to connect with others and remain at ease, they put them under stress.
When Enneagram Twos feel unwanted at gatherings and parties, it can cause a lot of tension and pressure. They start looking for answers and ways to get their life back on track.
6. Interacting with People Carrying a Practical Mindset
Twos are emotional individuals who feel for others, treating them with care and compassion. If we try to find a link between Enneagram Type 2 and Myers and Briggs personality type, we will discover that this enneagram type has connections with those who possess feeling characteristics. As a person with this Myers Briggs type treats others with compassion and looks into situations by putting themselves in others’ shoes, Type Twos also do the same.
These people always try to look at situations from others’ perspectives. They deal with people’s problems accordingly. Things go awry for Enneagram Twos when life puts them in situations where they must interact with individuals who are rational in their approach.
Then, an enneagram two feels highly stressed out dealing with this situation. The perspectives toward various aspects of life are poles apart from one another. Hence, they either try to avoid confronting such people or try coming out of those scenarios as early as possible.
7. Confronting Criticism from Others
Enneagram Twos have the habit of going out of their way to offer help and make others’ lives beautiful. Healthy twos do everything selflessly. The scenario is different for those who are unhealthy. They always expect people to recognize and appreciate their efforts.
They may not receive such kind of conduct from people. Twos might face those who will judge and criticize them for poking their nose in others’ affairs. It will disappoint them and feel offended by all those criticisms.
8. Rejection from Job Interviews
Enneagram 2 personalities love working in those professions that enable them to connect with people. Then, they can use compassion to serve their needs. It becomes a cause for their motivation in the professional world.
Twos come under stress when they face rejections in those job opportunities. This person cannot accept that they will miss out on their chance to work in an organization, which would make them focus on others’ welfare.
How Will Enneagram 2 Cope with Stress?
When Enneagram 2 faces stressful situations, they tend to show specific characteristics. They move away from the usual traits in their personality. It gives others the impression that they are just a shadow of their true self.
Enneagram 2s, when at their best, will always devote time and energy to fulfilling the responsibilities of other individuals. They are emotional and treat people with love, care, and compassion. Their sole purpose is to live for others’ welfare; Hence, they do not mind sacrificing their needs to serve people’s requirements.
Even though healthy Enneagram Twos selflessly offer their helping hand, the unhealthy version of this personality type will expect others to recognize and appreciate their efforts. Twos even expect people would reciprocate similar feelings and help them through difficult times. If things do not go as per their expectations, they start feeling unloved and hence suffer from stress.
These people expect something in return for the help they do to others. Twos’ stress level increases when certain situations force them to spend time with those who take a rational approach toward life. They even hate remaining secluded from society.
Despite all these, there are different ways through which Enneagram Twos can easily cope with stressful scenarios. Gradually, they can restore their peace of mind.
Let us now discuss some of the self-help strategies that can help an Enneagram Two manage stress and restore their true nature –
1. Set a Healthy Boundary
Enneagram Twos do not think twice before helping people in distress. In the process of doing so, these individuals tend to ignore their needs and requirements. Thus, they start putting themselves under immense mental and physical pressure to keep others’ demands.
Twos can take care of this problem by creating healthy boundaries. It will enable people to get subtle messages regarding the extent of help they can expect from Twos. Thus, they can lead a peaceful life without any undue pressure.
2. Talk to Trustworthy People
When Enneagram Two goes through tough times in their life, which puts them under stress and tension, they must identify people around them they can trust and reach out to them for proper advice.
They can remind their Enneagram 2 companions that they must not worry too much about what others think of them. Those individuals would also tell people with this personality type about the presence of special people, who form an integral part of life. They love them just the way they are. This realization must be sufficient to lead their life peacefully.
3. Love Themselves More
Lack of confidence in their abilities is one of the main reasons why Enneagram Twos look for validation from others concerning their work and overall approach in life. It is not the right attitude to have in life.
They must realize they are worthy of love, respect, and appreciation for whatever they do. There is no need to expect reassurance from others to have confirmed they are doing things correctly. Hence, Twos must focus on loving themselves more. It is because of the love and compassion they portray while dealing with others.
4. Boldly Face Up to Criticisms
An Enneagram Two person does not like when someone else judges their actions and criticizes them for undertaking those in life. They need not bypass such individuals. Twos must put up a brave face in front of them.
It is necessary that they see any criticism as an opportunity to fine-tune their talents and skills. Doing so would invariably help them become better and thus improve their lifestyle. Hence, Twos need to accept everything constructively. These people must focus on whatever positives they can take out of them.
5. Focus on Exploring the Creative Side of this Personality
Another effective strategy that Enneagram Two can implement for dealing with stress is to explore the creative side of their personality. They can have several modes of self-expression. These individuals may not realize them all by themselves, but people close to them can help unlock them on their behalf.
Those include writing, drawing, playing a musical instrument, singing, and several other creative pursuits. These things can divert Twos’ minds. They can let those individuals focus on productive activities, which will significantly manage to de-stress them.
6. Taking Care of Oneself is Not Being Selfish
Enneagram 2s must realize that they have every right to invest time to take care of themselves. They can do whatever makes them happy. These things do not mean that they are being selfish. It is perfectly alright to think of one’s welfare.
Moreover, every individual in this world has the right to find time for relaxation and follow their passions. It helps to maintain the right balance in one’s life. The same applies to Enneagram Twos, which can positively impact their attempt to release stress.
7. Ignore Non-Essential Commitments
One of the most critical steps that an Enneagram 2 personality individual must adopt is to concentrate on those responsibilities that require immediate attention. They should ignore all other non-essential commitments.
It will help keep their mind away from all the unnecessary clutter. Hence, enneagram twos will manage to focus on better things. Doing this would go a long way toward keeping them stress-free. Thus, it will automatically lead to an increase in their productivity.
To Sum Up
In this article, we have discussed various kinds of stress triggers for Enneagram 2s. It has also talked of different ways to tackle stress. They can help them come out of difficult situations, and find mental peace.
Twos must make sure that they give due importance to their essential requirements in life. They must set healthy boundaries while helping others so that people do not take their compassion and helpful attitude for granted.
Enneagram Type Twos should reach out to trusted people around them and share their concerns. Those people can come up with tips that could help Enneagram 2s get rid of stress and attain peace.
