L'Ennéagramme

Type 5

It seems strange that such a reserved youngster as me has such a public job; it seems strange that such a modest youngster should relate so many things in books. Patrick Poivre d’Arvor

The first impulse of a Type 5 person is to seek to preserve his privacy. Solitude and introversion do not weigh heavily on him. He needs a place of refuge and ideas where he can recharge his batteries and think entirely undisturbed. In his secret garden, he can cultivate his inner world. And there are so many things that deserve thought.

I am a rather distant mother. I had many problems with my children when they were small because they needed so much contact and they needed me to be there. But as for me me, I needed space, I needed room to breathe.

My dream holiday would be a holiday in the mountains , living in a simple shepherd’s hut. I would spend my time walking in the mountains or staying quietly at home.

I like peace, the silence of the night and this blank page, where I can shape another world. Then writing becomes, effectively, a form of compensation. And a way of looking after one's own existence a little, as long as it is in an authentic way. Patrick Poivre d’Arvor

In his relationships as in life, Type 5 hates intrusions and being pressured into a crowd. He seeks to preserve his independence and not to expend his energy on what he perceives as trivialities: superficial conversations, pointless needs ... Deep down, he seeks to protect himself from any form of invasion.

One of the things that annoy me the most is people who appear to be completely happy talking about something when in fact they know no more about the subject than I do. These people take up lots of room and make lots of noise, but it’s just superficial. You want to undermine it.

Type 5 can therefore be caught in a contradiction between his desire for in-depth contact and the need to preserve his privacy, between “staying withdrawn” and “taking the first step”.

When I enter a room, the first thing I will do is scan the room to see if there is someone I know and with whom I can make contact fairly easily; if I see that this person is already talking to other people, I will not feel totally at ease. Otherwise, I will stay withdrawn, observe people who come in, people who go out, what is going on, and wait for someone to approach me.

If he feels secure and his independence is preserved, he can choose to put effort into the outside world in a more assertive way.

I learned to be more engaged with others, to assume my rightful place, to be present in a more assertive way. It took me years to reach that point. I take more part in groups and I take pleasure in doing so.