18 Struggles Only Enneagram Type 4s Will Understand

If you are a person who’s an Enneagram Type 4, you’re driven by your desire to craft a distinct identity that reflects who you are and how you’re different from everyone, especially those who underestimate and misunderstand you.

You’re known for being contemplative, a romantic at heart, and sensitive. But when you’re at your worst, you can be nihilistic, self-loathing, and turbulent.

Because Enneagram Type 4s are innately different and are motivated by different things than their peers are, they go through life struggling to grasp an understanding of their place in the world.

If you’re an Enneagram Type 4, you can most likely relate to the following common problems:

1. If you create content, you’ll take forever to find a photo that matches your vibe and the vibe of your site.

2. You cannot focus when your surroundings are not neat or aesthetically pleasing enough. Your reasons for procrastination often involve lacking a cozy, artsy space to work in that meets your high standards.

3. You have a difficult time getting back on track after an abrupt interruption.

4. You feel like you are misunderstood but understand that labeling yourself as misunderstood is pretty self-pitying and you don’t like it. Still, you can’t help but feel that way because it’s all you’ve ever known.

5. When it comes to shopping, you are super selective about aesthetics of the products you want to buy. You view anything that doesn’t match your style as not worth buying. You often have trouble finding what you want.

6. You need people to appreciate your individuality or else you’ll just shut yourself off from the world.

7. You are easily stressed upon entering unfamiliar environments.

8. You take a long time to process your emotions and thoughts. You generally are not quick at thinking on your feet or being asked to share what you think on the spot.

9. You face mini-existential crises whenever a part of your old identity is lost and is in the process of changing into something entirely new, even when it’s good for you.

10. You sometimes can’t tell the difference between being genuinely introspective and being self-absorbed.

11. You are well-acquainted with your dark side and find it more comforting than your bright side.

12. You are an intense and passionate romantic at heart, but you have a tendency to push people away out of the fear that they’ll find you too melodramatic and broken for their liking.

13. You want to express your feelings without holding back, but when someone asks you how you feel, you get defensive and lie and pretend that everything’s fine. You don’t feel comfortable with exposing yourself, especially when it comes to saying them out loud.

14. You think too fluidly and abstractly, which doesn’t always translate into conventional standards of success.

15. You fall into cycles of nihilist thinking and can’t figure out why you go through periods where you feel like you can’t contribute anything worthwhile to the world.

16. You are still processing painful memories from the past, sometimes in unhealthy ways. You don’t think you’ll ever get over them.

17. You view the future with both apprehension and idealism. You view the present with both discontent and gratitude. You view the past with both nostalgic longing and regret.

18. You feel dissatisfied with life because you believe you haven’t proven yourself at a high standard, according to your own idealistic vision of how your best and most complete individualistic self should be.