type 5 instincts

personality structure

in many ways, the ennea type five is the classic introvert, oriented primarily to the inner world, and directed towards understanding that which they perceive. withdrawing into thinking and detaching from the body and feelings are the ways in which the type five finds safety from a world that seems too neglectful, overwhelming, or intrusive. they find security by minimizing their needs and understanding information. they see having knowledge as the most secure and satisfying form of power. in Naranjo’s description, the type five moves away from the outer to the inner and develops a sensitivity to inner experience. needing time alone to recharge, the type five withdraws periodically to a place of refuge. in the face of conflict, difficulty, or hurt feelings, the type five will see withdrawal as the best strategy.

Karen Horney describes this kind of personality as someone who favors resignation as a solution to conflict, resigning themself to settling for less, which may potentially lead to a curtailing of life and growth. with their analytical minds, type fives often possess a great deal of knowledge and are highly skilled at performing rational, objective analyses of situations and issues. this also makes them calm in crisis. when with close friends they allow for high-quality relationship. naturally austere and laconic, they are minimalist and economical in what they do, making the most of the resources they do have.

since they belong to the thinking-triad, type fives are associated with fear and concern with safety. whereas type sevens would avoid fear and anxiety, and type sixes become vigilant, suspicious, and strategic, the type five becomes introverted, walled off from others and focused on the protection and economical management of interior resources. they live in their heads more than any other enneagram type and are more comfortable with knowledge than with emotion. at the same time, they are very sensitive, despite their unsentimental approach to relationships.

type fives typically report early experiences of neglect or smothering when they needed others. the young type five learned that they cannot achieve anything by force or seduction and learned to hold emotion and resources. they resolved to protect themselves through being self-sufficient and protective of their inner resources. this defensive strategy naturally leads to acquiring habits of distance, aloofness, and interior sensitivity.

defense mechanism: isolation

isolation as a defense means isolating feeling from knowing, in dealing with anxiety and painful states of mind. feeling more comfortable with the knowledge information than with the emotional, the type five naturally isolates that which can be known and understood in order to be able to control it. defensively reducing awareness of feeling protects from the overwhelm of feeling and also allows for less need of support from others. however, isolation can also lead to an inability to feel feelings at all, especially when rationality is overvalued. type fives also have the ability to intellectualize feeling — talking about feelings without actually knowing the experience.

attention fixation

type fives focus first of all on managing inner resources and potential impingements on their privacy from the outside. this contributes to a general stance of observing rather than participating, and a focus on the mental, rather than the emotional. on the inside, type fives have a strong sense that they need to minimize their needs and are concerned with the conservation and judicious use of energy and resources. because of this they are good at knowing when another depletes their resources, and they will take steps to avoid the person. they have a love of systems of knowledge, and may become consumed by thinking about projects, hobbies, or particular areas of study that engage their interest.

type fives seem to gain a mental mastery over information on the outside, as much as protecting the inside, putting attention toward limiting intrusions and threats to inner resources and private space. they don’t like surprises, and dislike being subject to situations in which they may have to deal with the emotions or emotionality of others. type fives want to know that they have control over the boundaries that screen the other out, as they do not want to be intruded upon or invaded by others when they’d rather be alone. characteristically introverted, when type fives do interact with others, they can get a lot out of a little – they can be really present and sincerely engaged – but only on a limited basis. in addition, they can be highly selective, limiting their social interaction to people they really feel devoted to and at the same time allowing only time limits of their choosing.

emotional passion: avarice

for type fives, the central motivation of avarice is to hold onto what they have in light of an early experience of not getting much from others. not having received enough love or care or responsiveness early on, type fives naturally fear being depleted, leading to a defensive expectation of impoverishment. “by giving the little they feel is theirs, they feel that they will be left with nothing at all” (Naranjo). they are typically willing to give six of the pennies they feel are theirs, and they cannot see why the other would want to have the remaining four. behind this hoarding of time, space, and energy is a deeper fear of impending impoverishment that stems from not having gotten enough nourishment. at the same time, the type five may also be fearful of being encumbered with too many onerous commitments. they fear both not having enough and being weighed down by too much. as a result of their aloofness, others may accuse them of coldness, arrogance, and lack of feeling, but behind their aloofness is a deep fear of not having enough

while some passions motivate people to move toward others too intensely, avarice stimulates a movement away from others. avarice induces type fives to erect firm boundaries, withdraw from others, and otherwise avoid situations in which they may get depleted. the energy others use to look outside themselves is the energy with which the type five looks inside themselves.

cognitive mistake: "human contact exhausts rather than enriches"

the type five carries a sense of: “in a world that is intrusive or unresponsive, you need to have the ability to withdraw inside yourself, rake refuge in your mind, and exercise control over interactions with the outside world, otherwise, you will be completely used up.” in the same vein the following beliefs and thought patterns occupy the type five’s thinking:

these thought processes finally lead to the type five trap: their core beliefs keep the type five trapped because these self-limiting ideas sap the motivation that is needed to falsify their underlying assumption. the world does provide abundantly, especially to those who believe. if you believe that emotional contact can be supportive, it is more likely to take that form, and you are more likely to receive sustenance from others. type fives don’t easily learn that their inner resources can be renewed and refreshed, not just depleted, by social contact.

type 5 shadow

fives tend to shadow some of their emotions, their need for love and relationship, the possibility of abundant resources, and their own strength, aggression, and power. type five may habitually separate themselves from their own feelings and other people, such that their potential for relationship and connection remains hidden in their shadow. while they are emotionally sensitive at a deeper level, it does not feel safe to express this, so they may stop believing in their capacity for deep feeling.

feeling safest when autonomous and self-sufficient, fives can avoid having contact with people, and limit their capacity for contact with others. they may especially fail to recognize that they have need for support, since their desire for the nourishment of a relationship remains a blind spot.

the five’s potential for having abundant energy is deeply shadowed, so it is difficult for the five to realize that they have the capacity to generate more energy, especially if they allow support and nurturance from the outside. conflict also threatens the five and they typically have the capacity to disappear, without even walking away. whilst the five can bring significant strength to bear in establishing boundaries, their sense of inner impoverishment can blind them to their healthy aggression, true strength, and personal power. Naranjo writes that fives “may suffer a great deal as a result of their incapacity to relate to others in overtly loving ways.” to others they may seem as having no interest in relationship. for the five it is a belief of not being worthy of receiving love. because their disinterest in others leads them to believe that they do not give enough or care enough. the more the five believes that they do not have the capacity for love, the more their true ability to give and receive love remain shadowed.

SP type 5 — castle

the avarice of the SP five expresses as a hiddenness or a need for sanctuary. the name castle indicates the need to be encastled, to be able to hide behind thick walls. these walls may be physical or psychological. the SP five is the clearest expression of the archetype of isolation and introversion. knowing that they have a place of safety to withdraw to, they feel less lost in the world. to them, everything that is dear has to be inside the walls, since the external world is experienced as hostile, inadequate, and brutal. they build their capacity to survive with their whole world inside the boundaries.

their capacity for hiddenness makes this five into the least expressive of the subtypes and is extended into taking covert action or acting in secret, so they do not become compromised. the most withdrawn of the fives, the SP five can get by on very little, especially when it comes to emotional support. Naranjo writes that these fives cannot ask or take and are specialists at renunciation. the SP five will avoid creating co-dependencies or expectations. they avoid conflict and will adapt to an environment to fit in so well as not to be seen. this adaptability may cause resentment as the energy expended to maintain the adaptation is felt as depletion. despite their isolation they do develop a strong attachment to a few places and people.

SO type 5 — totem

for the SO type five, avarice is connected with knowledge. this is the type five that may truly not need social relationships, as it finds the same nourishment from systems of knowledge. intuitively they grasp that everything that can be needed is reached through the mind. the SO type five is called the “totem,” because of their need for “super-ideals” or the need to relate only with those who share their intellectual values, interests and ideals. they typically do not relate to “regular” people, but “collect” the ones that share their ideals in such a way that personal boundaries remain safe. their passion is for the essential, the sublime, or the extraordinary. according to Naranjo, they look at the stars and care little about life on earth. in contrast to the SX type five, the SO is a deeply admiring person, admiring of those who do express their values and knowledge socially. the life of the mind feels more compelling than any other sphere, and those who express their knowledge at a distance are seen as being more seductive than ordinary life and people.

the SO type five is concerned with the ultimate meaning of life and is motivated by a sense of meaninglessness when meaning cannot be found. they orient themselves so much to the quintessence of life that ordinary life becomes unworthy of their interest. feeling-understanding the gap between the ordinary and the extraordinary, their longing for ultimate meaning burns. of course, this can easily lead to spiritual bypassing, which the SO type five can employ as a defense strategy, preferring not to feel. the SO type five can be mysterious and inaccessible, or fun and intellectually engaging. their need for recognition is not felt as personal, but rather an alignment with the people whom they admire.

SX type 5 — confidence (countertype)

in the SX type five, avarice is expressed as an ongoing search for a connection which will satisfy their idealized union. as much as this subtype has all the inhibitions and introversion of the other type fives, it places a special interest and value on one-to-one intimate connections. their idealism is mostly expressed in the realm of love, feeling the need to find absolute love and be absolutely loving, an experience of the divine in human relationship. the SX type five is the most emotional of the type fives. they are intense, romantic, and more emotionally sensitive. their interior is vibrant and highly romantic, though they appear reserved on the outside. Naranjo uses the composer Chopin to illustrate this character: highly emotive and expressive in his music, and yet the man remained hidden away from others in the external world. confidence is the kind of ideal that makes the SX type five very romantic and keeps them searching for unconditional love. it is also very easy for them to be disappointed, and the search is constantly frustrated by high idealism and painful disappointment. the SX type five may constantly test their partner to see whether trust is still in place. although they are also quite private, SX type fives thrive in intimate situations. they may hold onto an ideal of complete transparency with their partner, and the high ideation around trust can become painful for both. when disappointed, like other type fives, they tend to withdraw and isolate themselves. when they find themselves really “clicking” with another (felt as either a chemistry or a connection), they easily become infatuated.

summarized and adapted from Beatrice Chestnut: The Complete Enneagram