Enneatype 6 – Fear

If the E9 seeks to overcome the anguish of separation with oblivion or the illusion that it has never existed, the E6 has a surprising awareness of the loss and, in the face of it, reacts compulsively to defend itself from the danger irretrievably spread in the external world.

Fear passion implies a compulsive need—not determined by internal or external events— to move in the relationship and in the world always in a state of alertness. The anguish of the loss of meaning becomes a constant underlying anxiety that manages to attenuate with a net separation between good and evil. It is as if, faced with the anguish of feeling lost and fragmented, the E6 only finds relief in defending itself incessantly from danger, with the illusion that Fear will guarantee control in order to foresee where or from whom that danger will arrive. The anguish is channeled through the search for the enemy – the cause of the damage suffered – even preferring to feel guilty himself to avoid sailing in an uncontrollable ocean.

This tension implies a disconnection from one's own emotions and a paralysis of action, because since every action would be a possibility of error (guilt that deserves punishment) and every mistake would be irreversible, it is paralyzed by experimentation.

Try to foresee difficulties by using thought as a possibility to control and studying the consequentiality of causes and effects (as in a chess match). Deep down, anxiety is intimately connected with the fear of being himself the cause (guilt) of separation, of rejection, and therefore his interpersonal style and the philosophy that moves him in life are always based on an accusation and devaluation of himself, a deep rejection of himself (fixation).

During childhood, it is often observed the lack of a paternal guidance or authority (understood here as a function not necessarily identifiable with the physical father) connected with reality, irrationally punitive or emotionally dangerous, and a relationship with the father or mother lived, on the one hand, as castrating and harmful, and on the other, as a source of protection.

Like all schizoids, the E6 splits good and evil, good and bad, alternately identifying with one or the other, in a constant attempt to feel good to be safe from the danger of being punished and, therefore, be worthy of rejection; find refuge in the search for meanings and interpretations of reality, with a ruminant and labyrinthine mode of thought, thus completely losing contact with reality itself.

As far as interpersonal relationships are concerned, this attitude often focuses on the perception of the other as an eventual enemy; cultivate distrust rather than maintain contact with the difficulties or pain that the intimate relationship may entail. The accusation is his style of

contact with himself and with the world, and has the purpose of controlling where the evil is, where the enemy is, ending up later reconfirming himself as an enemy of himself.

Instinctivity must be controlled and kept at bay because surrendering would mean opening the doors to a devastating external invasion, thinks the E6: the head must always be in command of experiences.