are phobia & counterphobia strategies that the same six can fall back on at different times, or are they discrete subtypes?
I've heard both stories.
the former
whatever quality a 6 have, they have the opposite in themselves, too
To get at this type’s emphasis on opposites and polarities, consider the concept in terms of 6’s relationship to 9: viewing it from the perspective of the central Enneagrammic building block — the number 3 — Type 6 is two opposing 3s, while 9 adds a third 3, the neutralizing agent, the integrative function, or (on the low side) having a dispersive role. In further contrast, looking at 6’s other first cousin, Type 3, this personality style has the single-mindedness (uni-directionality) of a single 3 — a capacity for a kind of efficient self-unity or self-hypnosis, if you will. Turning back to Type 9, we might say, purely as a conceptual device, that a Nine “was a Six in his past life”, which explains the Nine’s prime imperative to solve the opposition, apparently overly guarded against the re-emergence of his past conflicted self — the pendulum — a swaying Sword of Damocles.
In the context of understanding all the types – and understanding basic human nature – Six becomes important because it’s uniquely archetypal to the human dilemma, i.e.- this quality of bifurcating everything (into good/bad, right/wrong, true/false, real/unreal) is a universal condition; it undercuts our endeavors and thoughts, in people of all types. On one level, Type 6 is an incarnation of Superego, which is the core dynamic/engine of what keeps our fixated personalities operating. The divided self, the antagonist within, the split will, indecision, questioning. Six is the typological personification of Light and Shadow, a living incarnation of our fundamental disunity and crisis of faith, seemingly decoupled from the direct intuitive channel to Source, the plug into firsthand experience and understanding of Purpose and Meaning. Perpetually unsure whether the Universe is friend or foe.
As far as my knowledge goes, discrete subtypes. The two drives cannot oscillate since they go into two very different, psychologically ingrained directions. Switching would be betrayal which is the least thing a six would do.
I honestly dont think I fall into either phobic or counterphobic categories.
Projection is ordinary. Person A projects at person B, hoping tovalidate something about person A by the response of person B. However, person B, not wanting to be an obejct of someone elses ego and guarding against existential terror constructs a personality which protects his ego and maintain a certain sense of a robust and real self that is different and separate from person A. Sadly, this robust and real self, cut off by defenses of character from the rest of the world, is quite vulnerable and fragile given that it is imaginary and propped up through external feed back. Person B is dimly aware of this and defends against it all the more, even desperately projecting his anxieties back onto person A, with the hope of shoring up his ego with salubrious validation. All of this happens without A or B acknowledging it, of course. Because to face up to it consciously is shocking, in that this is all anybody is doing or can do and it seems absurd when you realize how pathetic it is.
Kind of a fuzzy zone between the two. I myself use phobic-ness as my general philosophy, but tactically my decision-making obviously varies based upon the situation.
While I think your quoted description is insightful in regards to the structure of enneagram, I think it works better for enneagram buffs than as a useful solo type 6 description. Otherwise it leads into the notion that 6 is this very abstract humanistic idea rather than a normal, definable enneagram type, and then you get people asking "what does type 6 even MEAN", "is this some forer effect shit", etc.Originally Posted by Ghost
Practically speaking, I don't think 6 is all that special. Yes, we tend to be vacillating, but that's because the 6 fear specifically relates to feeling like you got stranded in an desert without a compass. Yes, we tend to polarize*, but that's because what 6 is really searching for is certainty, and if something is starting to feel certain we gun for it (and then change our minds drastically once there's some sort of flaw because it's now "unreliable"). The tendencies of type 6 stem from their core fear of the unknown, and, specifically, their fear that they are incapable of dealing with the unknown properly. Subsequently they devise methods like phobia and counterphobia for being able to consistently handle the unknown without having to rely on their own judgement; phobic behavior is consistently conciliatory and counterphobic behavior is consistently contrary. Easy, just pick one to trust and you have to make fewer little decisions along the way.
*"Polarize" by Twenty One Pilots is a pretty good example 6 song for how phobia/counterphobia coexist, actually
Polarize is taking your disguisesSeparating 'em, splitting 'em up from wrong and rightIt's deciding where to die and deciding where to fight
Last edited by Stellafera; 02-22-2017 at 11:33 PM.
Makes sense to me, Sp is sort of the "holding back" instinct and with Sx you have to throw everything at the table.
For some reason the stereotypical counterphobic 6 in my head is a 6w5 Sp/Sx... I'm pretty sure I thought "how would I type all those really guarded and aggressive parts of 6 descriptions I don't relate to" and put a name on it.
I think abstractions are more helpful, but I guess it's not for everyone.
6s can have very high intuition when healthy, and "know" where to go.
6 is the hardest type to explain and for people to grasp, imo, because they can literally be anything (and also they are the opposite too), except from the integrated middle.The Primary types (3, 6, and 9) have the potential for the greatest gift from within each Center — a potentiality that, by nature, generates some degree of polarity switching between ideal/connected and disconnected from the Center’s core gift.
Sixes, for example, can be highly intuitive (a higher ‘central’ vibration of the Head Center), but they generally don’t trust their intuition, so they become disconnected from the optimal function of the Head Center… but when connected, have a unique gift there.
moralist/anti-moralist
teamplayer/soloist
phobic/counterphobic
etc
The problem when they find something to "rely on" they rely on it too much. Either too much or total skeptic.
Generally your first instinct is where the most stress, worry, and sadness and happiness come from, and the 2nd is the "pleasure" one where you don't like to make it super serious, like for example an sx dom is often "are you mine or not?" very fast, while sx 2nds can be more comfortable at seeing where it goes and enjoying the ride. It can also depend on age, of course.
This is how exclusive counterphobia's like, just one strategy with the sick spins
It seems to me that most 6's apply both phobic and counterphobic strategies at different times. One tends to predominate more though.
I'm mostly phobic 6w5 but occasionally, I will use the counterphobic strategy.
LII-Ne with strong EII tendencies, 6w7-9w1-3w4 so/sp/sx, INxP
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