I can shut off my emotions.

[Abe]

I mean just what the title says.... Sort of. Here let me try to explain.
Today on my way from work I was really stressed and started thinking about everything that's going wrong in my life. As you can imagine, I started to go to a dark place and before I knew it, I started crying. (Not sobbing)
Anyway, suddenly I was just like "what the hell" and just sort of pushed all those gross emotions aside. I can't explain the feeling but it was like I had turned everything off. I think that this is the first time I have ever consciously done this. I just became numb, but also clear headed by my own will.

Of course I realize that pushing your emotions aside for too long is probably a bad idea but right now I don't care, about anything really. I 'feel' like a robot right now, and that's okay.
So anybody else out there with this "ability"?

Or maybe I'm just weird....

 

[Rome96]

I did it four years ago and have yet to turn my emotions back on again. I might once I'm not living in an environment I hate with people I loathe. Maybe we're "Vampire Diaries" vampires. Also, I don't think you can be weird on this forum.

 

[The Gopher]

How do you know you still hate them with emotions turned off.

 

[Rome96]

How do you know you still hate them with emotions turned off.

Hate is the only emotion I like, I allowed it to remain. You bastard.

 

[Etheri]

As you can imagine, I started to go to a dark place and before I knew it, I started crying. (Not sobbing)
Anyway, suddenly I was just like "what the hell" and just sort of pushed all those gross emotions aside

Going from crying to not having / feeling emotions seems quite the moodswing... if numb can be considered a mood. It was far slower to me, a development of ignoring my emotions through larger and larger extents. I ended up having them completely under control for serveral years. Then someone opened pandora's box and they came back. That passed too... And now they're around and i'm aware of them, but I can control them if I need / want to.

I did it four years ago and have yet to turn my emotions back on again

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you both?

I think it's a phase most INTPs go through. I also think that you eventually turn them back on, but they're still numbed compared to other people. (The feeley types and stuff.)

 

[Ink]

This is a defense meachanism that isn't specific to INTPs, all types can do it. Of course sometimes it's necessary but you should try to find a better way to deal with your environment (sorry if I wasn't too helpful).

 

[Abe]

I did it four years ago and have yet to turn my emotions back on again. I might once I'm not living in an environment I hate with people I loathe. Maybe we're "Vampire Diaries" vampires. Also, I don't think you can be weird on this forum.

The vampire diaries thing actually crossed my mind. Perhaps they got the idea from us INTPs

 

[Duxwing]

I have it, too, but I recognize that it's not a good defense mechanism. I instead use it to chill and calm my mind when debating and thinking.

-Duxwing

 

[Abe]

Going from crying to not having / feeling emotions seems quite the moodswing.

I don't think so. I've actually been toying with the idea for awhile, I just hadn't (until that moment) felt the need or want to test my idea of using logic to block my emotions. You see, for the past few months I have been trying to get in touch with my Fe ( mostly for my boyfriends sake) but it just became too much.

 

[Rome96]

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you both?

I think it's a phase most INTPs go through. I also think that you eventually turn them back on, but they're still numbed compared to other people. (The feeley types and stuff.)

I'm 17. I had to shut down because if I allowed myself to feel in my current situation I'd go (more) insane. I think an INTP with a better upbringing would be less likely to shut off their emotions.

 

[just george]

Yes I can. It can be a tad frightening for others

 

[Valentas]

As one man once put it: "you can either become depressed and cry or you can go shout yourself out somewhere, get up and take action to fix problems. The choice is yours."

 

[B.C.P.]

I think that INTP's who are still uncomfortable with their Fe experience this. Intense emotions are a frightening experience because we're just not used to them, so we throw ourselves into our dominant functions to escape. That returns us to being cold and placid. I can't say whether or not all INTP's actually STOP feelings those emotions, but all of us can certainly hide them.

When it comes to public outbursts (which is the situation in the OP) I can definitely see how an INTP would be able to shut off their feelings so to avoid an even more awkward experience on the bus, like being the center of attention while immersed in an overwhelming and unfamiliar emotional experience.

For me it was always funerals. Everyone else would be crying, and when I started to do the same all of my feelings would shut off. I do remember that when I started to cry I was afraid of what others would think about me. I was terribly conscious of it, in fact, so I think that public outbursts of emotion are a sort of prompt for the INTP to bottle feelings up instead of releasing them.

I'm 21, male, and still this way.

 

[Cognisant]

It's true that one can't simply turn off one's emotions but whether or not one accepts them as valid is a choice, indeed every choice we make is based upon various factors that we deem relevant of a multitude of factors which mostly aren't so there's nothing unnatural about disregarding one's emotions if they're not deemed to be congruent with the reality of one's situation, however doing so can create an introspective blind spot and y'know some problems if ignored just get worse.

I 'feel' like a robot right now, and that's okay.

It's more than okay

 

[FuntionalUniverse]

I seem to find this quote as a constant theme through my life. It's not my quote but I associate well with the general idea.

“Isn’t it funny. I’m enjoying my hatred so much more than I ever enjoyed love. Love is temperamental. Tiring. It makes demands. Love uses you, changes its mind. But hatred, now, that’s something you can use. Sculpt. Wield. It’s hard, or soft, however you need it. Love humiliates you, but Hatred cradles you.”
— Janet Fitch, White Oleander

I never actually thought of being disconnected from my emotions as a conscious choice it's just how I've been most of my life. But yeah I do it too. I find myself being very introspective about a situation I should respond emotionally to and don't find any time to react emotionally. I'm 29 now and don't find it to be a personal problem. But I have noticed other people think I am insensitive or rude at times. I don't mind though because I know I'm not.

 

[nexion]

I am and have always been this way to an extent... I simply don't possess much affect. I have always been more or less a stoic quiet type around other people, and I don't respond strongly to emotional reactions from others one way or the other. Even then, I avoid strong public displays of emotion at whatever cost; if I am so emotionally perturbed that I can't merely hide it I will force myself away from everyone around me, find a calm and quiet place, and bask in my sorrow.

I feel this is kind of different from what the OP is saying. Shutting down one's emotional faculties is a valid defense mechanism, I suppose, but it seems kind of dangerous, like it could very easily degrade mental and physical well-being. Needless to say, I did this for several years. I am much more in tune with my emotions now, but considering my emotional health is... nonexistent, my emotions tend to manifest in strong and mostly negative waves, and it is difficult to keep them from taking control of my entire mental sphere. I get extremely attached to certain ideas very easily, so much so that all other things pale in comparison to these ideas.

Eh, maybe it is better to keep emotions turned off. Of course, I recognize these emotions, despite how foreign they seem, stem from somewhere deep in my unconscious where I hid them away, allowing my life to be led by the emptiness and false promises of reason and logic. So, do I take this, or the endless abyss of tumultuous and chaotic emotions that exist within my mind? Well, I'd say neither, but it seems this is not an option, so I'll have to settle for both, although it seems I am currently being dominated by the latter.

A friendly warning which I may or may not be right to say and which you may or may not be right to disregard: the more you bury your latent emotional energies and lose your sense of resonance to and repulsion from certain ideas (it seems I am doomed to resonate with a great many ideas which often turn out to be completely contradictory), the worse off you will be later in life.

EDIT: I mostly avoid public displays of emotion because of the assholes who think it is ok to constantly bother you with pointless questions when all you want to do is find a nice place alone and cry. Fools.

 

[Ex-User (8886)]

Sometimes I can do same things.
This really depends on your conscious.
More conscious, more control in your life.

 

[BigApplePi]

What emotions?

If they are bad, who needs them? Suppress them long enough to figure what's going on.

If they are good, why not let them run?

 

[Brontosaurie]

i can shut off your emotions too

 

[Marshall]

I doubt you have a special power to "shut off" your emotions. You probably suppressed something to the point where it broke loose, then got over it. That's just how emotions work.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I'd like to ask...is there a fear of emotions with INTPs and if so, why? Is it because you fear loss of control? If so, how do you expect to master control if you push them aside? Emotions are useful if harnessed and given a voice (along with thinking) in decisions or actions. There are situations that call for you to act on emotions and those that call you to act based on thinking. The trick is to have a solid sense of yourself, confident that you won't react but able to act. You won't get to that position if it's all or nothing.

 

[BigApplePi]

I'd like to ask...is there a fear of emotions with INTPs and if so, why? Is it because you fear loss of control? If so, how do you expect to master control if you push them aside? Emotions are useful if harnessed and given a voice (along with thinking) in decisions or actions. There are situations that call for you to act on emotions and those that call you to act based on thinking. The trick is to have a solid sense of yourself, confident that you won't react but able to act. You won't get to that position if it's all or nothing.

I will wing this response.

INTPs are thinking oriented and like it. Thinking solves problems. If one feels an emotion, what is to be done with it? Answer: think it over unless one has learned how to handle it. How do INTPs react to emotion in others? That also presents something to think about. But what is more forceful: thinking or emoting? Answer: emotions are "larger" and can be very effective. Thinking can be more accurate, but also has to cover the ground to get it right. Thinking is better at pinpointing something; emotions are better for immediate results.

What is there to fear about emotions? Answer: when things go wrong; when results are disagreeable. When an emotional situation presents itself and thinking can't handle it.

Control? Seems to me either can control. Emotions can be very effective in controlling because they are forceful in presenting what is wanted. Thinking is effective if the recipient will listen to the guidance. Both can fail to control. Emotions may have the wrong value; thinking can be incomplete, erroneous or unappealing.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I will wing this response.

INTPs are thinking oriented and like it. Thinking solves problems. If one feels an emotion, what is to be done with it? Answer: think it over unless one has learned how to handle it. How do INTPs react to emotion in others? That also presents something to think about. But what is more forceful: thinking or emoting? Answer: emotions are "larger" and can be very effective. Thinking can be more accurate, but also has to cover the ground to get it right. Thinking is better at pinpointing something; emotions are better for immediate results.

What is there to fear about emotions? Answer: when things go wrong; when results are disagreeable. When an emotional situation presents itself and thinking can't handle it.

Control? Seems to me either can control. Emotions can be very effective in controlling because they are forceful in presenting what is wanted. Thinking is effective if the recipient will listen to the guidance. Both can fail to control. Emotions may have the wrong value; thinking can be incomplete, erroneous or unappealing.

So are we saying the same thing? There are situations that call for you to act on emotions and those that call you to act based on thinking.

You could be wrong in either case. Any decision you make has to be made in doubt. You can't know if your thinking based decision is any better than a feeling based decision. If both sides have the propensity to be wrong or have negative results, then wouldn't the logical INTP conclude both can and should be given weight?

 

[BigApplePi]

So are we saying the same thing? There are situations that call for you to act on emotions and those that call you to act based on thinking.

Yes. I assume we are trying to converge on expressing something useful.

You could be wrong in either case. Any decision you make has to be made in doubt. You can't know if your thinking based decision is any better than a feeling based decision. If both sides have the propensity to be wrong or have negative results, then wouldn't the logical INTP conclude both can and should be given weight?

Yes again, but what are we doing? Separating thought and feeling? May I suggest taking on some examples* to check out how the answer to this might vary? I will leave that up to you for the moment should we wish to check out the variance.

*Got one! The wife just called me from another location, upset, to tell me her TV wasn't getting all the channels. Had I changed something?, she asked. This was an emotional situation because I was being accused of something and didn't know the answer and didn't want her upset. I asked her to call repair, but she didn't want to. So I suppressed all emotion and calmly called repair myself. As of now the situation is not fixed. Pending ...

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I guess what I was saying is the ability to set aside emotion and use thinking is laudable and very useful but sometimes emotion can and should be used. In your example, you set aside feeling unjustly accused to focus on the solution and didn't compound matters by interjecting hurt feeling into the mix. But in a case where this tends to happen repeatedly (your wife making you out to be the bad guy), then voicing your emotions might be a wise course.

I think what happens for the INTP in the case where (s)he has to voice feelings, they might fear losing control and keep relegating their emotions to the back burner thereby forgoing an opportunity to master how to express feelings in a modulated fashion. Sometimes INTPs exalt their well developed ability to deny emotion to their detriment. A case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

[BigApplePi]

Interesting I can speak from a real live real-time example happening right now. Still not resolved.

I guess what I was saying is the ability to set aside emotion and use thinking is laudable and very useful but sometimes emotion can and should be used. In your example, you set aside feeling unjustly accused to focus on the solution and didn't compound matters by interjecting hurt feeling into the mix. But in a case where this tends to happen repeatedly (your wife making you out to be the bad guy), then voicing your emotions might be a wise course.

Right. I kept my head. If I had interjected hurt feelings I would have compounded the situation. I told my wife I would attempt to handle the situation remotely. I did so and later by email and phone she actually accepted my action and told me it was not my fault. Reason triumphant!

I think what happens for the INTP in the case where (s)he has to voice feelings, they might fear losing control and keep relegating their emotions to the back burner thereby forgoing an opportunity to master how to express feelings in a modulated fashion. Sometimes INTPs exalt their well developed ability to deny emotion to their detriment. A case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

In my wife's case, voicing her upset moved me into action. If she had been calm, who knows? I might have said, "Why don't you wait awhile. Maybe the problem will resolve itself."

Now I did feel the "emotion" of not wanting to pay for a broken TV service. So instead of yelling at the service people I told them not to bill me for a broken service. They said okay and would send a technician out. If I had yelled at them maybe they would have sent a technician earlier. As it is, it is Oct 3 ... a long way away. But my wife was happy with that and I'm not back to the TV location until Oct 1, so that's fine with me.

To attempt to address your statement about expressing emotion, I'm not good at it. So why should I get myself further upset when calmness has taken care of it? Only if I'm faced with an unreasonable situation I might let go just to address the very unreasonableness of the situation. Then the other party might use reason on me to calm ME down! If not, we have war.

 

[Reality is Optional]

Yes, I can shut off my emotions. I've been doing it my whole life.

 

[Cherry Cola]

You can shut of your emotions temporarily in the right situation is what I think ya'll can do :P

 

[B.C.P.]

Sometimes INTPs exalt their well developed ability to deny emotion to their detriment. A case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Well said.

Thinking is more comfortable of the two, NOT always as effective.

BAP's logical solution got the result he wanted. I would venture to say in his situation that to use emotion to resolve the situation wouldn't have resolved the situation at all - it would have just injected unimportant subjective facts into an objective event that needed to be resolved.

Thinking prevailed.

If he were having, say, marital issues that would be a situation that needed more emotional application than the previous situation. Reason, depending on who his wife is, would make him seem apathetic while emotion would express his valuation of the marriage.

An INTP should know how to use both, and far too often we go with our preferred method of problem-solving (thinking), when we have ample opportunities to develop our experience with feelings.

But to be honest, making my feelings known (especially if they are affectionate) is as awkward as what I imagine public masturbation would be like.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

But to be honest, making my feelings known (especially if they are affectionate) is as awkward as what I imagine public masturbation would be like.

Ha! Some would find that irresistible and adorable (the awkward expression of affection, not masturbating in public...that's creepy)

 

[B.C.P.]

Is it though? What if the masturbator was blind-folded so that they had no "sexual victim"? It was just errant public masturbation?

Haha, maybe this is a seed for a new thread?

 

[Polaris]

In more dangerous/life-threatening situations where I have been required to act quickly, emotions have seemed to automatically vanish.

It's like the brain switches into complete analytical mode and processes at ten times the speed of what is normal.

I find this very interesting.

The reactions have usually manifested as nightmares/compulsive imagery/thinking afterwards. This is not so great...

 

[sonofo]

I can and have shut down my emotions at times, leaving just a fain trace of hate and disgust for a non rational world. If this is done for extended lengths of time (months or years) it can lead to uncontrollable uprisings of emotions, and is not recommended.

Keeping emotions under control is an entirely different matter, and is advantageous in most situations. Let the emotions set the destination, use thinking to get there.

Shutting down emotions for short durations of time (hours or days) until a resolution can be found is generally a good idea.

Just some observations that have helped me, your mileage may vary.

 

[Brontosaurie]

errant public masturbation

grindcore album title

 

[Jennywocky]

I mean just what the title says.... Sort of. Here let me try to explain.
Today on my way from work I was really stressed and started thinking about everything that's going wrong in my life. As you can imagine, I started to go to a dark place and before I knew it, I started crying. (Not sobbing)
Anyway, suddenly I was just like "what the hell" and just sort of pushed all those gross emotions aside. I can't explain the feeling but it was like I had turned everything off. I think that this is the first time I have ever consciously done this. I just became numb, but also clear headed by my own will.

When I read this, I was like, "Well... uh... yeah. Just turn them off." It was bizarre for me to hear of this as a new experience for someone. Then I started wondering whether my life was just all mucked up to start with.

My dad was an alcoholic and my life growing up emotionally horrendous. I actively remember an altercation with my dad when I was in seventh grade, because I'd cry when I got angry, and I hated the confusion in his face when I'd get angry and tear... and I remember actively turning it off for good. I did not cry for years after, I had the walls in place, except in very rare and on very private occasions.

Yes, there was a lot of clarity from not having the motions there; but I had to dismantle those walls later in life so that I could cry in positive ways and feel positive things. Kind of hard to have deep relationships when the emotions are locked up so tight.

 

[Grayman]

This is a defense meachanism that isn't specific to INTPs, all types can do it. Of course sometimes it's necessary but you should try to find a better way to deal with your environment (sorry if I wasn't too helpful).

I think they handle it differently. I also think that INTP's are much more suseptable or capable depending how you look at it.


@OP

I have done this alot. If you do this too long, it would be equivalent to Schizoid. Eventually it leads to depression in the sense that everything loses meaning and you find no joy in life.

On a short term basis it is good. For example I tend to evaluate the situation before I allow myself to feel so that I can always calmly react. In some situations this is bad. Someone died and I shut it all down, it resulted in me hurting people in time they needed me to mourn with them. I did not care about the death because I did not want to care, but they needed me to care. After all that I decided that feelings are essential for proper communication, self motivation, and to give purpose and meaning to life. There is a time that it is needed and there is a time it is not.

 

[ActiveMind]

I like to think of this behavior as if you can just turn off your Kirk/McCoy and turn on your Spock. It definitely helps where emotion would be less desirable and logic prevails, but can look like a 'non-human, green-blooded sunnuvabitch' to those who don't understand. Also, like Vulcans, the behavior can also take hold over a person where they learn to not emote or use the behavior in in favor of emotions because it works for them.