What's your (personality's) drug of choice?
There are various ways in which our personality can be classified. The most well-known of these classifications is the introversion-extroversion spectrum.
An introverted person is primarily occupied with his inner life (thoughts, dreams, theories and so on). Because he's receiving ample stimulation from within, he's not that interested in stimulation from without. Therefore he's quite satisfied smoking a joint in his room, listening to some psychill and contemplating the meaning of life. It is likely that some of you reading this fall in this category.
The extroverted person, however, is more focused on his outer life (friends, relationships and so on). He receives his stimulation from outside, and actively seeks out the company of other people. The extroverted person is therefore more inclined to go to a bar or night club and interact with others. Naturally, he tends to prefer social drugs like alcohol and stimulants.
Psychologist Carl Jung explained that the introverted and extroverted personalities can be divided further on the basis of the way they make sense of the world. One of these divisions is sensing versus intuition. The sensing type gathers information about the world through direct sensory perception. He prefers perceptions that are tangible and concrete, in other words things that he can perceive with his five senses: "facts".
The intuitive person, however, has a preference for information that is abstract and theoretical, and that can be associated with other information. The intuitive person easily recognizes patterns and has a tendency to "connect the dots". He may have flashes of insight and can come up with very interesting theories. Naturally, the intuitive person will feel much more comfortable with the effects of psychedelics like magic mushrooms or truffles than the sensing type will be.
And then there is the division between thinking and feeling. Those with a dominant thinking function tend to make decisions on the basis of reason and logic.
Those with a dominant feeling function make decisions by empathizing with the situation, considering the needs of the people involved.
The thinking person can be a great philosopher, while the feeling type is more inclined to "follow his heart". If you are a thinking person, you might prefer to read a philosophical text prior to your trip, whereas if you are a feeling type, you might prefer the empathogen MDMA (Ecstasy).
Now, it should be remembered that these are general tendencies, not black and white divisions. The thinking type certainly has feelings, and the feeling type is not incapable of deep thought. But there is generally a preference for one or the other.
Knowing your personality type can be very useful in understanding yourself and making choices that are in accordance with that type. For example, the fact that all your friends enjoy going to a psy party or festival doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you if you don't. It simply means you naturally prefer circumstances (and perhaps even friends) that are more in accordance with your personality type. This kind of information could even help you prevent a bad trip: by knowing what setting is most comfortable and enjoyable to YOU, you can avoid ending up in a situation that makes you feel anxious. For example, an extroverted, sensing, feeling type may very well enjoy a shamanic group ceremony, whereas an introverted, intuitive, thinking type would be much happier eating some mushrooms at home with one or two trusted friends, or in a quiet forest. We're all unique individuals, with unique tastes and preferences!
If you're interested in knowing your personality type, here's a useful free test:
Jung MBTI Typology Test
If you've done the test, let us know your type in the comment section below. And if you like: add your favourite drugs and your preferred setting.
