8 Tips For an INTP With no Friends

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INTPs are often misunderstood for their complex personality type.

They are introverted thinkers, perceiving and internalizing information thoroughly before they offer anything to the world around them, and because they tend to rely on logic so much, INTPs often struggle to understand emotions and social cues.

That’s why in this article we’ll be covering why INTPs struggle to make friends and how to go about making them help better navigate the social world around you, here are 8

Do INTPs Need Friends?

Although introverted, INTPs do want to engage in social activities from time to time, even though it may not seem like do.

Because INTPs are generally not good at understanding social dynamics, they can appear self-centered and lazy to others who don’t understand their introverted nature.

INTPs are much more interested in exploring ideas and possibilities than in maintaining social status. but that doesn’t mean they don’t need or want friends.

They’re independent but they’re not loners or asocial.

They want to have friends but the pressure of maintaining a social status isn’t as important to INTPs, and they may avoid situations where this is expected of them.

Why Do INTPs Have no Friends?

INTP’s dominant function, Introverted thinking can cause them to have a hard time understanding emotions, and this can make socializing, and maintaining friendships extremely difficult.

This may cause INTPs to feel like they can’t relate to their friends or that they’re inferior to their social group.

People also tend to mistake INTPs as being cold hearted and arrogant because of their falsely apparent lack of empathy so they may decide they’re not worth the effort to try and be friends with them

These misconceptions, combined with INTP’s lack of emotional intelligence can cause INTPs to have a harder time making friends.

8 Tips on How to Make Friends as an INTP

  1. Don’t put pressure on yourself to act like someone you’re not

INTPs are naturally introverted thinkers, so forcing yourself to be an extrovert is only going to make the situation awkward for everyone involved.

You don’t have to be loud, charismatic and full of energy just to impress others.

Instead, focus on finding friends who appreciate your introverted nature and want to spend time with you for that.

It takes time for people to get to know you and understand who you are, so don’t get discouraged if your first few friendships don’t work out.

  1. Be proactive and join social groups

It can be hard to approach people and start a conversation, but the best way to connect with others is by joining a group of like-minded people.

You don’t even need to be all that social, just show up and be yourself, the other people in the group might just do most of the talking.

  1. Think about what you have to offer

INTPs have a knack for finding connections between ideas as well as evaluating data and information objectively.

Think about how you can use these skills in order to connect with your potential friends.

That might mean that you’ll share your knowledge about certain topics, but it could also mean that you’ll create a project together to learn more about each other.

  1. Don’t be afraid to take initiative and ask people out

Just because you’re introverted doesn’t mean that you have to sit back and wait for people to reach out first.

If there’s someone around you who’s interesting and you’d like to get to know them better, don’t be afraid to reach out and start a conversation.

  1. Stay positive

It’s easy to forget that personality types are just a part of who you are, and that your personality can develop a lot throughout your lifetime.

Everyone has insecurities and times when they feel insecure about themselves, but at the same time, no one is perfect and we all make mistakes.

Focus on your positive qualities and the things that make you unique, and don’t pay too much attention to your negative qualities.

  1. Ask People How They’re Feeling

If you have a hard time understanding people’s feelings or emotions, you can make a conscious effort to ask people how they feel about certain things.

For example, instead of asking someone “What do you think of this(topic)”, you could ask them “How does this (topic) make you feel?”

It may seem a little silly at first, but you’ll be surprised at how much easier it becomes to connect with other people when you ask them about their feelings.

  1. Take the time to explain how you think and why

INTPs can be a little hard to get along with, mainly because they tend to say things that feel like they “pop out of nowhere”.

Don’t get discouraged if people don’t seem to understand you or agree with what you say; it takes time to build a friendship so give the people you meet a chance.

When you find yourself in a situation where you need help with something, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

People will appreciate the fact that you trust them enough to ask, and they’ll connect with you more when they realize that you trust them.

  1. Be yourself and don’t try to please everyone

INTPs are logical people, who work well with facts and ideas.

They can sometimes come off as harsh or insensitive because they tend to say things that are true, even if they’re hurtful.

When this happens, don’t beat yourself up; just apologize and try to be less critical in the future.

Part of having friends is not thinking that you always have to be right, and know when to say ‘sorry’.

Everyone makes mistakes or says the wrong thing sometimes, and people will appreciate your honesty when you say that you were wrong.

Just be yourself and you’ll attract the right people.

FAQs

What is INTP?

INTP stands for Introversion, Intuition, Thinking, and Perception.

They are one of the 8 introverted personality types and they’re known for being deep thinkers who have great analytical abilities, but they also have a tendency to overcomplicate things. They’re generally intelligent, have a quirky sense of humor, and often struggle with making friends.

How about an INTP-INTP Friendship?

I would recommend people to not base friendships on their personality types.

I believe that the most important thing is having compatible values and similar lifestyles.

But for the purpose of answering this question, I know a few INTPs who have great friendships with other INTPs and that’s because they share the same hobbies and interests.

INTP Vs. INTJ

INTPs are generally intelligent, creative, and they like to focus on theories; whereas INTJ’s tend to be more simple-minded, practical, and they focus more on ‘what works.

I already covered some examples to understand the INTP Vs. INTJ comparison so make sure to check them out if you’re interested.

INTP Vs. INFP?

The major difference between these types is that INTPs use introverted thinking while INFPs prefer introverted feeling as their primary function.

The INFP’s main goal is to understand themselves, people, through their own feelings. but the INTP’s main goal is to understand ideas and concepts.

INFPs tend to be more imaginative, creative, and even a little bit romantic; whereas INTPs tend to be logical, analytical, and practical.

But both personality types can be very intelligent and they’re good at finding things out for themselves.

I also covered some examples to understand the INTP Vs. INFP comparison in this article.

CONCLUSION

Did you find this article helpful? If you want to support our mission to create awareness for personality types, consider sharing this article with your friends and leave us some feedback!

And if you’re interested in knowing more about INTPs check out my other articles about this personality type.


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Sarra is a behavioral science student and HS science teacher ( also a cat mom! ) who obsesses over typing people but can't seem to type her own self. Let's just say that for the time being, she's a cross between an INFJ and INFP!

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