How Each Enneagram Type Reacts in a Crisis
Have you ever wondered how you would react in a crisis? When it comes to emergencies, we can all react with a sense of panic or composure, regardless of our Enneagram type. That said, certain types are more likely to appear in charge, while others are more likely to be in a supporting role. What is your typical response to an emergency? Does it match what’s in this article? Let’s find out!
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Enneagram One in a Crisis
Regimented and responsible, you despise unexpected crises. That said, you’re determined to put on a brave face during an emergency. Staying objective, rational, and level-headed will be your number one goal. You’ll strive to keep an eye on the facts right in front of you and you’ll avoid developing worst-case scenarios in your mind. While you might be freaking out internally, you’ll try not to show it externally. However, you may get critical and lash out at anyone who you feel is responsible for the crisis.
“Anything practical or technical I can handle pretty calmly and directly. If there’s repeat issues I can get a bit angry and frustrated.” – Christian Rivera, Enneagram 1 and INTP type expert
Healthy Ones in an emergency: Calm, in charge, practical, responsible, factual.
Unhealthy Ones in an emergency: Critical, angry, casting blame on others for the problem.
Enneagram Two in a Crisis
You’ll be checking on everyone involved and making sure they’re okay. If someone you love is in danger then you’re going to do whatever you possibly can to help. The challenge for you will be to notice your own needs in an emergency and not immediately jump into action for others. You don’t want to burn out or wind up in peril because you didn’t realize you were in need of assistance but ignored it.
Healthy Twos in an emergency: Responsible, considerate, comforting, knows who to reach out to for guidance.
Unhealthy Twos in an emergency: Controlling, feeding into the drama, trying to rescue people who don’t want to be rescued.
Enneagram Three in a Crisis
When there’s a job to be done, you jump into action right away – emergencies are no exception. While you might be feeling frantic (especially if you’re a self-preservation Three), you’ll try to focus on the most efficient way to solve the problem in front of you. Appearing competent and unphased is important to you; showing vulnerability would be a major no-no for your type. You usually have a few shortcuts stored away in your mind for emergency situations (phone numbers, emergency resources, tools, etc,.)
“I always have a few emergency preparedness tools or lessons at the ready, but I’m not someone with an underground bunker or anything. I stay calm and try to come up with quick fixes most of the time. I don’t have a problem taking charge and usually I don’t feel the actual fear of the situation till after it has blown over.” – Melissa, an Enneagram 3 Type
Healthy Threes in an emergency: Encouraging, competent, efficient, proactive.
Unhealthy Threes in an emergency: Competitive about being in charge, bragging, unwilling to admit when they don’t know what they’re doing.
Enneagram Four in a Crisis
You get quiet, tense, and nervous. You’re not usually caught off guard by something going wrong, but you may find yourself getting emotional as the weight of what’s happening builds up a sense of panic or grief inside you. You’ll try to reach out to others who are struggling and make sure people are emotionally in a safe place or you’ll try to pull yourself together and take control of the situation or figure out who to call for help.
“I’ll start panicking and think about all the possible scenarios in which I could die while being stuck there, basically my mind turns into a survival horror movie script, haha.” – @TheRealSixTuber, an Enneagram 4 Type
Healthy Fours in an emergency: Empathetic, insightful, focused, innovative, creatively solving problems.
Unhealthy Fours in an emergency: Complaining, hypersensitive, self-absorbed, frozen.
Enneagram Five in a Crisis
You get quiet and cool-headed. More than anything, you want to take stock of the situation and find effective solutions. To do this, you calm down your mind and shut out all unnecessary distractions. In this quiet, undistracted phase, you focus on the problems, the details, and the most logical options at your disposal. You’re often the perfect person to have around during an emergency because rather than freaking out or running away, you’ll hyper-focus on the facts and your extensive knowledge base in order to find effective ways to troubleshoot.
“I’m calm and collected. I somehow know what to do right away to stabilize the situation and then think through everything that needs to be done.” – @Sunray1999, Enneagram 5 Twitter User
Healthy Fives in an emergency: Calm, collected, knowledgeable, effective, practical.
Unhealthy Fives in an emergency: Stubborn, unwilling to take direction or listen to other perspectives, critical, distant.
Enneagram Six in a Crisis
Your type tends to react one of two ways during a crisis: Either you have spent so long considering worst-case scenarios that you already have a plan, or you go into panic mode, looking for solutions everywhere. Often, Sixes feel they’ve envisioned every scenario so they already have solutions stored up in their mind. But if an emergency is something you weren’t expecting and hadn’t already imagined, you tend to panic, feel scattered, and start making phone calls or rapidly Googling questions in order to find help from trusted resources. Many Sixes report that they spend so much time worrying and catastrophizing that when a crisis actually does hit they have dozens of solutions at the ready.
“If I am dealing with something completely unfamiliar, I might panic for an instant while I figure out the best course of action, but then I throw myself into it. I think I usually do okay in emergencies because I go into crisis mode and block out everything else.” – Joanna, INFJ and Enneagram 6, @MsWired on Twitter
Healthy Sixes in an emergency: Brave, detail-oriented, supportive, encouraging, protective of others.
Unhealthy Sixes in an emergency: Panicky, frantic, scattered, nervously seeking someone else’s authority.
Enneagram Seven in a Crisis
Emergencies don’t typically phase you as much as they do other types in the Enneagram. One Seven I spoke with said that time seems to slow down for them and they hyper-focus on the facts and details of the situation in order to resolve it as quickly as possible. Another Seven also mentioned the phenomena of time “slowing down.” Because you like surprises and spontaneity, crises don’t feel as catastrophic to you as they do to many others. You can usually rig up a solution quickly. That said, if you’re at an unhealthy level of maturity, you may find yourself winding up in crisis situations frequently because you have a habit of procrastinating your way into them!
Healthy Sevens in an emergency: Creative, confident, productive, efficient, encouraging.
Unhealthy Sevens in an emergency: Distracted, angry, panicky, impulsive and ineffective.
Enneagram Eight in a Crisis
You’re someone who knows how to get results quickly, and you’re never prouder than when you’ve handled an emergency with steely resolve and courage. You’re not afraid to take risks or make sacrifices in order to get the best possible solution to a problem. While you might get angry and confrontational with people who are getting in the way or being slow during a crisis, at the end of the day you’re usually someone who can find a solution rapidly.
“I talk sh*t and then I take care of it. There’s no problems, only solutions.” – @xstarchaser, an Enneagram 8 Twitter User
Healthy Eights in an emergency: Protective, confident, authoritative, energetic, logical.
Unhealthy Eights in an emergency: Overly controlling, insensitive, self-centered, aggressive, needing to be in charge.
Enneagram Nine in a Crisis
You typically stay calm in an emergency situation; you know that freaking out will only make things worse and rattle your focus. That said, if you’ve been experiencing ongoing, chronic stress, you may blow up in an uncharacteristic manner. If things are really spiraling out of control, you’ll take the lead, otherwise you’ll try to support and help whoever is already managing the situation. There are times when you can find yourself zoning out in an emergency if it’s of a personal nature and direct conflict might be involved. You usually need a few moments to think things through and gather your courage when an emergency strikes. But you’re not usually someone who is screaming, shouting, or causing a bunch of hysteria.
“I often freeze for a few moments, then either frantically spring into action (especially if I have a quick-fix handy) or start rapidly thinking up the best course of action. I’ve gotten a lot better at resting the urge to just check out and hope someone else handles it.” – @MarathonMatson, an Enneagram 9 Twitter User
Healthy Nines in an emergency: Focused, calm, helpful, responsive.
Unhealthy Nines in an emergency: Frozen, unsteady, spaced-out, possibly apathetic.
What Are Your Thoughts?
Did you enjoy this article? Do you agree or disagree with the perspectives here? Let us know in the comments!
Find out more about your personality type in our eBooks, Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type, The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic, The INTJ – Understanding the Strategist, and The INFP – Understanding the Dreamer. You can also connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!
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Retry later
I’m a 9 and have been a first responder my whole life…even as a kid when my parents would hurt themselves, I took charge. After getting paid as an ED nurse for most of my life, and an on-call natural disaster nurse, along w helping the DOH during COVID as well as on the floor, I am more than ready to leave it in the capable hands of younger 9s to continue the work. Love this synopsis and think it’s highly accurate. Thanks Susan!