By Lindsey P. Brackett @LindsBrac
While we may have finished our series on typing your characters with the Enneagram, this ancient tool for understanding yourself and others still has plenty of information worth examining. Especially with the trying times in which we all now find ourselves, recognizing points of stress for yourself, your family and friends, and your fictional characters may help.
This is a quick overview of the different types and what they may look like under stress (or quarantine). All enneagram types have a number they move toward in health and a number they move toward in stress. This is what makes the tool such a wonderfully complex and rich analysis of our actions and reactions. Remember, the core of the enneagram is the underlying motivation for each number—which I’ve designated with the common names for each number.
Type One: Perfectionist
- Sense of autonomy: I am the only one who can fix this.
- Disintegrate into unhealthy Type 4 and become moody.
- Tips: watch a funny television show or listen to a fun podcast (I recommend The Popcast with Knox and Jamie); reflect on your feelings; take frequent breaks and reassess.
Type Two: Giver
- Sense of worry for everyone is overwhelming.
- Disintegrate into unhealthy Type 8 and try to control others’ situations.
- Tips: find a creative release for your frustration; take time off to focus on yourself (bubble bath, long walk, turn off your phone).
Type Three: Achiever
- First they move away from stress and into action.
- Then disintegration into unhealthy Type 9 happens and work stops, leading to further stress of undone tasks.
- Tips: start a gratitude journal; plant a garden or buy/nurture houseplants as a reminder that sometimes, good things take awhile. (We upped our plant game recently. Follow me on Pinterest to see what we’re doing.)
Type Four: Individualist
- Begin to lose sense of self and become sad/overwhelmed. Meltdowns galore.
- Disintegrate into unhealthy 2 and seek to fill void by serving others.
- Tips: get outside into nature; share your story with others in a variety of mediums; listen/read others’ stories and reflect. (This might explain why I’m currently reading The Glass Castle, not exactly escapist reading for a quarantine.)
Type Five: Investigator
- Isolation and withdrawal take precedence in order to stockpile information.
- Disintegration into Type 7 leads to unhealthy habits that help shut down thinking mode.
- Tips: reconnect with others through activity; prioritize your healthy with food choices and exercise. (My CFO husband has a stressful job right now. He’s been doing yoga on Amazon Prime.)
Type Six: Loyalist
- At first, sixes will look toward others to calm ever-present anxiety.
- Disintegration into unhealthy Type 3 leads to competitive and artificial means to convince everyone you are fine.
- Tips: pause what you are doing; name your feelings to a trusted friend; journal your worries and leave them on the page.
Type Seven: Enthusiast
- Distraction is how Sevens cope with stress.
- Disintegrating into unhealthy Type 1, they become more rigid and angry that the world is so unfulfilling.
- Tips: break your goals into small steps; use your positive energy as a boost for yourself and others to finish tasks; get an accountability partner to stay on track.
Type Eight: Challenger
- Become even more assertive, problem-solving for everyone and everything.
- Disintegrate into unhealthy Type 5 and isolate to protect selves and inner circle.
- Tips: start an exercise routine that channels your energy; give yourself space and time to process your feelings.
Type Nine: Peacemaker
- Have more difficulty than usual making decisions and become apathetic toward everything.
- Disintegrate into unhealthy, suspicious 6, sure that everyone has an ulterior (negative) motive and agenda.
- Tips: take some solitude on a long walk; consider a social media/news detox to shut down the constant stream of information.
Sources:
5 Stress-Busting Tips for Each Enneagram Type
Enneagram Types Under Quarantine with Leeann and Michelle
Lindsey P. Brackett writes southern fiction infused with her rural Georgia upbringing and Lowcountry roots. Her debut novel, Still Waters, released in 2017 and was named the 2018 Selah Book of the Year. Her latest novel, The Bridge Between, released in 2019. Recently she launched the podcast, A Rough Draft Life, with novelist Kristi Ann Hunter. Someday she hopes to balance motherhood and writing full-time. Until then, she’s very grateful for her public school system.
Connect with Lindsey and get her free novella, Magnolia Mistletoe with newsletter signup at lindseypbrackett.com or on Instagram @lindseypbrackett.
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