Can I Find My MBTI Type If I Am Depressed?

Yes, you can find your MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) type even if you are feeling depressed. However, it is crucial to keep a few important things in mind to ensure the results are as accurate as possible.

Understanding the Challenge of Mood

Your current emotional state, especially if you are feeling depressed, may influence how you answer the questions on the MBTI assessment. Depression can affect your perceptions, preferences, and responses, which might lead to results that do not fully represent your usual personality traits. This can create a skewed understanding of your MBTI type, as your mood can color your thoughts and interpretations.

Self-Reflection and Context

Given the impact of depression on your mental state, it is essential to take the time to reflect on your personality outside of your current feelings. Consider how you typically behave and think in different situations, especially when you are not feeling depressed. This self-reflection can provide a clearer picture of your true personality traits.

Professional Guidance and Interpretation

If possible, it might be beneficial to take the assessment with the help of a mental health professional or a certified MBTI practitioner. They can offer context and help interpret the results more reliably. A professional can also help ensure that you are in the right mental state to provide the most honest and accurate answers.

Waiting for Better Days

If your depression is significant, it might be beneficial to wait until you are feeling better to take the assessment. This can help ensure that the results more accurately reflect your true personality. Taking the test when you are in a better mental state can provide a more reliable measure of your MBTI type.

Personal Experience: A Journey Through Depression

My personal experience with taking an MBTI test during a period of depression illustrates the challenges of obtaining accurate results during such times.

Initial Depression and MBTI

The first time I took an MBTI test in 2017, I was going through a big period of depression. Depression during that time was like a good friend, an inseparable companion.

During that initial assessment, I was an ESTP. However, a year later, after I was starting to feel better, I took the test again. This time, I was an INTJ. By the time I was almost done with depression, I took four different MBTI tests, and all of them showed INTP as my type.

Based on my experience, I have concluded that depression can cause a bias in your answers. Since the MBTI is a forced-answer test, how you feel on a particular day, at a specific time, can impact your results. This is one of the reasons why they typically suggest you go with your first impulse. It is also why MBTI states that 10 to 25 percent of people will have a one-letter variation between testing instances.

Given the nature of a self-assessment, if you are deeply unhappy or suffering from severe depression, it can bias the result. Emotions and mental state significantly influence how you perceive and interpret the questions, leading to potentially inaccurate results.

Conclusion

While it is possible to take the MBTI assessment while feeling depressed, it is essential to be mindful of how your mood might skew your answers. Consider factors such as self-reflection, professional guidance, and waiting until you are in a better mental state to get the most accurate representation of your MBTI type.

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MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) Depression Self-assessment