Introduction
The safety arrow (direction of integration) and stress arrow (direction of disintegration) are usually described as follows: a type in stress mostly takes the negative aspects of the stress arrow, while in safety or growth, he takes the positive aspects of the safety arrow. This idea is overall correct but I will do a slightly different presentation.
The arrows (safety and stress) and the core type form a stable structure. There is a flow of energy and ego defences in the safety > core > stress direction. In stress, the three points get stressed.
The stress arrow
In safety, we tend to discard the stress arrow. It is not neutral, it is instead an active avoidance to get trapped into it. Avoiding it requires tension and thoughts like if we were resisting to be pushed into a room we don’t want to enter.
Under stress, the doors open. We start to use some ego defences from it in a quite immature way. We can look at two examples (things are simplified because each type is too complex to be summarized in a few lines).
7 > 1
A 7 has a rather anti-1 mindset. He tends to consider that, as adults, we are appropriate when we are responsive to life. He dislikes questioning his own appropriateness. Censorship and “holier than thou” are revolting. Superego and inner critic feel like a stressful noise he would like to get rid of. It is a mix of 7 and 1. Where a core 1 would see a struggle for better and a legitimate condemnation of what is bad, a 7 perceives it as comparing one’s adequacy to others’. Under stress, the arrow becomes more judgmental and openly critical.
There is a wide range of possibilities. The 7 > 1 arrow always channels authority through criticism. It can be immoralism as a criticism of hypocrisy, it can encouragement at action to not let the most unacceptable wrongdoings unpunished, it can be a more 8-like “laying trips”.
Examples of mature 7s:
- Rowan Atkinson: On free speech
- Conscious TV : 7 panel (discussing type 1 starts at 46:00)
9 > 6
A 9 has a “6 is a dead end” kind of mindset. More self-reflective than a 6, he tends to see his doubts and sense of emergency as unsolvable. This is a mix of 9 and 6, hesitation is experienced as much as the believer / doubter dichotomy as an exploration of the future. A 9 rarely sees doubting someone’s take as a productive direction because it can be too stressful. Internally conflicted, he defaults to the conclusion that he cannot know. In stress, he finally allows emergency, often with a great confusion.
There is a wide range of possibilities. Some 9s are more active in emergency, some 9w1s combine the 1ish and 6ish energies (Cartesian-like), some keep their skepticism to themselves.
The safety arrow
The safety arrow is the most powerful, stable and dangerous connection. It is the direction of high energy. We feel aligned with it to a large degree. The conflict with the core type is something we dynamically try to resolve because we cannot live without it. It appears as a condition to get in touch with our life force. In stress, it becomes more intense and neurotic. We partly lose awareness of it but it still rules the game.
7 > 1
A 1 is not only playful and enthusiastic (even joyful) like a 7 but also open to discussing authority and strategy in the most rational and funny way. While the present is far from satisfying to him, he has a rather positive perpective about the future if he feels involved in the change. It justifies his struggle. He is far less “streetwise” and practical than a 7 but he can be ok and amused by a small change and quite proud of his contribution. He can joke about being Machiavelian.
In stress, a sense of indirection and not knowing where to go invades the psyche, and a 1 starts to imagine unrealistic plans. The future seems to need anticipation and control. Most often, nothing of his anticipation turns out to be a reality. He becomes increasingly anxious.
1 > 4
A 4 is morally principled and a natural crusader like a 1, especially in everything that sounds like a lost cause. It challenges his sublimation. The sense of being different emphasises special aspects of perfection that other people would consider as too disruptive. Not as self-controlled and responsible as a 1, he has a similar analytic eye for what is wrong. He thinks in black and white like a 1, but can take the limits of people’s flawed nature into account, allow some difference without too much of a harsh critic. Failing and error is painful, but it is (almost) acceptable.
In stress, the fight against what is wrong becomes a justification for one’s specialness and existential drama, envy gets energized by a more acceptable (but temperamental) self-righteous critic aimed at a supposed better. While he feels guilty, it becomes nearly impossible to say sorry because he is “right”.
Notes
I tend to describe the safety arrow as very present. I wonder if it is always the case.
It sounds clearer in 4s and 8s because the corresponding safety arrows 1 and 2 are clear. Indeed, types 1 and 2 are emitters and simple to get. For 1s, the underlying 7 is rather obvious as well.
When it comes to 6s and 9s, seeing the safety arrow is difficult. 6s can have a strange way to say “it’s my fault” with a big playful smile and become a bit sticky or mergy like a 9 when fearing abandonment. 6s have a self-denying diplomatic approach when confronted to a force stronger than them.
For 9s, it is not always clear, but when they start to achieve (for something they really care about and is recognized by someone else), they can have a great energy. It is possible that the daydreaming of 9s could be related to type 3. Whether a sense of worthlessness of 9s comes from type 3 or type 9 itself is hard to know.
For 7s, I don’t see it clearly. I see “something” but I fail to capture type 5 well enough. Maybe the clearest marker of the underlying 5 is a natural capability to pickup useful and revealing information in a social context (and possibly use it to cut the ground under someone’s foot). As for the more alienated and “paranoid” aspects of type 5, they are still unclear to me.
Enneagram Elements 