Inner Deadness and the Emotionality of the 8

What does inner deadness mean and what does it feel like?

Inner deadness is frequently talked about in the discussions of type 8s, however it is rarely described in depth, inner deadness also known as negative vitality in psychology is a certain affective state that is shared with the type 9, it is not necessarily the lack of emotion, rather it is the disconnect, the type 8 contains the typical affective range, yet what is experienced in the conscious mind is curated and limited thus explaining the disconnect. From a psychological lens, negative vitality is a base line affective state that is underactivated and depressive (non excitable). It is commonly asked if the 8 experiences emotion yet denies it, this is not necessarily correct, the disconnect in the 8 manifests a literal manifestation, a certain category of emotionality in the 8 is truly only manifested in the unconscious and does not enter awareness, this cannot be said for all 8s however, as certain individuals have more access to this line of emotionality due to a multitude of factors.

This suppressed collection of emotionality is related to a certain category of emotion, it is correlated with feelings of weakness, what is weakness? “weakness” here is best described as ANY feeling that does not facilitate the expression of aggression and volition, it is classified as “weakness”, intuitively one can understand how this broad stroke of exclusivity can deem the greater emotional range as “weak”, the neurotic categorization is so pervasive that even tertiary experiences such as creativity or curiosity is denied, solely because they do not serve the greater motivation. If creativity and curiosity are suppressed, then one could imagine that most typical affect is suppressed, due to reaction to adversity.

Understanding the full picture, one now can describe “inner deadness”, it is a diluted affective range that only allows a certain collection of emotion through yet denies the greater affective range. Inner deadness does not affect the affective aspect only, but it also affects the somatic and psychological aspect as well, in the 8 there is a certain callousness towards sensation and experience that leaves the individual overcompensating with extremes. Why is this the case? From a purely psychological standpoint one can say that this is a unique flavour of dissociation, where experiences and sensations are stunted in the protection of the psyche.

What inner deadness isn’t

What inner deadness isn't: it isn’t DEPRESSION or PSYCHOPATHY since depression is exhibited as low positive emotionality + high negative emotionality while psychopathy is the inherent absence of the affective component, 8s possess this mentioned component yet it is numbed due to adverse experience. One could from a psychological standpoint say that it is similar to the ALEXYTHEMIC nature of antisocial personality traits, meaning that it mimics the affective component or lack thereof in primary psychopathy due to environmental factors such as abuse or lack of security.

Low activation and the buried emotional range

Essentially, 8s possess something called “Low Activation”, what this is, is the a low activity in the internal emotional engine per se, their actions are not a result of emotion with the exception of anger, rather their actions are driven by a propensity for action alone, this explains the commonly referenced “action over emotion and intellect” nature of the type, to further explain, the MAIN motivator of action in the 8 is impulsive action for what it stands for, not emotive or intellectual motivators, this somatic preference in the type is exhibited due to the prior need for action in the formative years, later manifested as an overcompensatory mechanism in the later years.

Our main evidence that suggests that the individual still possesses the wider gamut of emotion in the psyche albeit the subconscious is the truth of its existence in the formative years, and the fact that some of these emotions do influence moods and expression albeit in an indirect fashion, for example, an individual might experience jealousy over their partner but won’t necessarily experience this consciously, but mainly expressed in over controlling behaviour.

Subtype manifestations of inner deadness

SP8: The SP8 perhaps exhibits the most extreme form of inner deadness, they not only have the shallowest expressions of excitability, but they also in clinical terms, exhibit a depressive affective aspect, meaning, their “activation” is even lower and less aroused, this leads to the constant search for satisfaction exhibited in the subtype. Clinically, there is a DYSTHEMIC or MANIC-DEPRESSIVE expression in the type which means that their mood is often lower than the average, resulting in a choleric-phlegmatic temperament.

Essentially, SP8s have a repressed emotional aspect so severe that it leads to maladaptive side effects such as episodic physical symptoms that can overpower the individual. In psychology this is called DISSACIATIVE SHUTDOWN and it can be seen in the physical shutdown or collapse of the individual due to powerful unconscious emotions that are consistently repressed.

SX8: The SX8 on the other hand experiences the least inner deadness of the subtypes, they have the most colorful emotional range and have access to more of the affective range, meaning, it is not uncommon for the individual to experience intense intimate emotions within their intimate relationships.

In opposition to the SP8, they exhibit a HYPOMANIC temperament, as opposed to the DYSTHEMIC or MANIC-DEPRESSIVE temperament of the SP8, in addition, they experience the most positive emotionality of all the subtypes, making them able to express joy and excitability naturally, typically, they will have a choleric-sanguine temperament.

SO8: The SO8 on the other hand exhibits the middle ground between these two subtypes, they neither exhibit a MANIC-DEPRESSIVE nor a HYPOMANIC manifestation, in fact, the SO8 exhibits the most affective stability and are the least impulsive of the subtypes, meaning that their affect while still being typical to 8s, they nonetheless express a more typical presentation that is sociable.

This subtype is unlikely to exhibit the dissociative shutdown of the SP8 since they are more expressive and are not as repressed emotionally, yet they still have a limited affective range still seen in some antisocial traits.