NURS-B 253: Professionalism in Collaborative Practice

Type 2 - The Helper Personality

Donna Camacho

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Type 2 - The Helper Personality

After taking the survey, the results of the Enneagram Personality assessment concluded that I was a “Type 2 - The Helper” personality. Type 2’s are empathetic, loving, help others, take pride in being needed, and seek appreciation (Berkers). The nine levels of development for this type really breakdown the spectrum of where people may lie in terms of healthy and unhealthy behaviors which helps me see where I would place myself in this identified type. I would place myself within the healthy levels, specifically “Level 2 - The Level of Psychological Capacity”. I don’t believe I am a Level 1 because I don’t see helping others as necessarily a privilege (The Enneagram Institute). Helping others isn’t a right that people have to exercise, it’s a choice. I can definitely see myself as a Level 2 because I find I do empathize with people often, even if their lives do not affect me at all. Though I can see myself as thoughtful and considerate of the needs of others as described by Level 2, I am not very nurturing as characterized by Level 3. I can be unloving or unappreciative to the people of society some days. Levels 4-6 are average levels of development for this type and these people are codependent of others and tend to “people please” by being extremely intimate, intrusive, or seductive in their actions. They can easily wear themselves out and be possessive of others (The Enneagram Institute). Those in Level 6 are closer to the unhealthy levels of development because they are more overbearing than flattering. The unhealthy levels for The Helper personality types are those who are manipulative, domineering, and may even play victim to get sympathy and attention from others (The Enneagram Institute). I’ve never gotten to this self destructive point in my life. I can recall a few insecure times where I’ve fallen into Level 4 or 5 when dealing with intimate relationships, but I’ve never felt like someone ever owed me their love. Making others feel bad for me just doesn’t feel right. I want to be able to earn their love by being useful rather than abusive. Having this new self-awareness of my personality has impacted how I handle my interpersonal relationships such as misunderstandings with my significant other. I asked my boyfriend, Jake, to take the assessment and the results are he has a “Type 8 - The Challenger” personality. These people do not like to be told what to do and avoid being vulnerable (Berkers). Because we are long distance, communication is vital in our relationship. However, when I say something upsets me, he is unwilling to open up and just apologizes to avoid deeper discussion. He may say things like, “I’m sorry, that kind of thing just doesn’t bother me so I didn’t think it would upset you”. My type is extremely empathetic and usually consider how my actions affect others so I encouraged him to think about his own actions. He felt as though I was treating him like a child-- or essentially controlling him-- by asking him to think about his actions. I understand now that I cannot force him to be empathetic like my personality type because that is not how he is. I cannot change someone because I think my traits are better, especially The Challenger type. I had good intentions, but this was very Level 5 of me (The Enneagram Institute) because I controlled and meddled with how he should express his emotions-- even if it makes his Type 8 personality uncomfortable. My Helper type will incorporate this new awareness of personality types to figure out an effective way to talk to others about issues or problems with consideration of their fears and desires too. In relation to Jake, I could ask him open ended questions to gauge communication so he feels like he controls the conversations instead of telling him what I think is the correct thing to say or do. In the nursing profession as well, I really have to be considerate of the various personality types of my patients/coworkers so I can approach them the right way. We will now discuss further the benefits and harms of my personality type in relation to nursing.

Nursing Connection

My personality type would be a very nice fit with the nursing profession. Serving the patient and putting the patient above ourselves is of the utmost importance. Considering the various levels of development for this type, they can could be, both, beneficial and harmful to my role as a nurse. Of Assignment, a healthy Helper nurse is one who is selfless and caring and wants what is best for those around her. This is a great benefit because the patient will get great care and I will enjoy myself in the process. There can be harms however both to the patient and myself as a nurse. If I feel as though the patient is unappreciative of the work the nurse does, I may feel shameful of the work I provided and I might get too intrusive to win the love of my patient. Not getting the recognition of others will probably take a toll on me and wear me down as a Helper type. Type 2’s when they move towards stress is characterized by becoming an unhealthy and aggressive Type 8 (Drop Cap Design). The potential negative impact of this on my role as a nurse is that I may be demanding of my coworkers and I may be manipulative to the patient for them to do things my way. Steps I can take to counteract that movement are taking care of myself, acknowledge what my motivations are to help people, maintain empathy, stay humble, and allow others to help me out too (Drop Cap Design). Type 2’s when they move towards growth is characterized by becoming a more self-nurturing and emotionally aware Type 4 (The Enneagram Institute). Steps I can take to move in the direction of growth to facilitate reaching goals towards succeeding in nursing school are getting adequate rest, time management to avoid stress, set goals and understand why I want to become an RN, communicate with others to ensure they get what they need and not just what I think they need, not expect praises, and recognize other people’s version of affection and good wishes (The Enneagram Institute). Understanding and being aware of my personality type will greatly improve how I communicate with other members on the healthcare team. I will not become aggressive of manipulative, I will try to be emotionally aware of how my actions affect others. When I notice that I have become unhealthy, I will step back and get some rest and try to find my empathy again. It’s vital that I don’t expect anything from others and maintain my humility in my profession. I know that being a nurse can be rewarding, but there will be times where a patient can be mean and I just need to not be so sensitive about it. Not everyone is an empathetic Type 2 and I need to acknowledge that people show their appreciation maybe in smaller ways or with nothing at all. As long as I know my worth and don’t depend on others to feel good about myself, I will do great things.

References

Berkers, E. Enneagram Type 2 - The Helper. Retrieved from http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/type2

Berkers, E. Enneagram Type 8 - The Challenger. Retrieved from http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/type8

Drop Cap Design. Enneagram Two. Retrieved from http://dropcapdesign.com/blog/enneagram-two

The Enneagram Institute. Type Two. Retrieved from https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-2