Enneagram Eight usually comes from a position of some kind of deep feeling of betrayal, or neglect or abuse -- either real or perceived, from childhood. Therefore Enneagram Eights prefer to conceal weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I rarely trust anybody enough to talk to them about my childhood experiences as they relate to enneagram, and I would more than likely never post them publicly on this forum. Eight also associates with Anger (linked to its formative experiences) which is perhaps the most physically destructive emotion. So yeah I wouldn't "want" to be an Enneagram Eight. You don't choose, though. And it's a bit frustrating when people on the internet are like, either;Originally Posted by Chae
(a) E8 is the coolest type! If you call being fucked up from things you experienced in your childhood so you find it hard to emotionally connect with the world, sure.
(b) People just want to be E8 to be cool! Yeah ok. This is the one of the most idiotic things I see parroted about on typology forums.
Just to be sure, I am not angry at you or this thread, I am only throwing out my perspective. All Enneagrams "start" from a bad position, but I think Eight is possibly the worst (or one of the worst) types to be. Could be a grass-greener problem. (!)
As for sxl/soc. I think it's a really ironic type to be because to achieve sxl/soc goals, you actually want some self-pres direction, but it's in your blindspot. And depending on the type of person you are, the sxl and soc stuff might actually interfere with one another with a poor self-pres to balance it out.
Also, mixing Eight with sxl can be dangerous. sxl is often looking for the highest intensity possible in a scenario, and if you combine this weight Eight Lust then you can come into some bad situations. I have been in some situations where I nearly died, or nearly got into some real trouble because of it. See:
Summary of SX instinct
primary concern - intense experiences, connections, and contacts, wide-ranging and exploratory, in order to find something to "complete" them inside (sky diving, deep conversations, exciting movies)
primary focus - people and attractions promising intense energy and charge
primary ambition - looking outside themselves for the person or situation that will complete them, and then obsessing over that completing element
primary stresses - lack of intense mental or emotional stimulation, lack of an intense connection or experience
coping methods (unhealthy) - scattered attention, lack of focus, sexual promiscuity, intensely avoiding intense experiences and connections with a fearful and dysfunctional attitude toward sex, intimacy, and other intense "completing" experiences, as is skewed by the secondary instinct
Lust
You have a lust for life and want to experience everything to the fullest. You believe that ‘too much of a good thing is almost enough’. Your vice is excess and going to extremes. Whatever you like, you want more of and whatever you do, you overdo at full speed. Quick to respond, you can over react and come on too strong. You can be too much, too intense, and unwilling to self-limit.
It is not hard to see how mixing these two things can be bad for you. I am recently contemplating that I might be 8w7, though (altho I am more set on 8w9.)
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