Personality Types - The 9 Levels
The states of personality types can be divided into nine levels, from healthy functioning, through average functioning, all the way to neurotic, pathological behaviors. The 9 levels show in detail what kind of behavior, conduct, or actions are characteristic of certain personality types, depending on the current state of the personality.
The Levels of Development
Every personality type has a characteristic structure. The analysis of each type begins with a description of healthy personality traits, followed by an average, and finally a detailed analysis of unhealthy personality traits. We call this the 9 levels, and these levels show how a person's behavior changes within a personality type as their personality develops or deteriorates. These are precise descriptions and provide a framework by which our internal development can finally be measured.
The Enneagram and personality type system is what I always sought for my question of how one's character development can be measured. Personality levels are always just snapshots, as we are constantly changing. Sometimes we get better, sometimes worse. Lack of motivation, or when we do not adhere to the rules and frameworks we set for ourselves, always deteriorates our personality, while when we genuinely invest work in ourselves, our career, our relationships, or striving to improve our environment, our personality will develop. However, moving between levels is not as simple as, say, not eating sugar for 3 days and immediately feeling within the healthy range of my personality. Even a single step up a level requires hard work. The path upwards will obviously be more difficult than downwards, but even reaching an unhealthy, truly destructive, pathological state that poses a danger to others and oneself does not happen overnight.
Perhaps it is easiest to imagine the levels of development like a color scale with white at one end and black at the other. Development always requires a series of good and conscious decisions, and efforts outside one's comfort zone. I assume I'm not saying anything new with this, and in fact, I won't be saying many new things; I will simply frame the feelings, rules, movements, pains, and insights gained from difficult moments experienced during our lives, first by describing the personality types, then by detailing the levels of personality states.
Each entry in the personality type series serves the purpose of helping everyone recognize themselves and then confront themselves. This is where self-knowledge begins, and although these posts may be necessary for the first steps of self-knowledge, everyone must then continue on their own path and decide whether they want to know the person they truly are at the end of this journey.
Level 1: The Healthy, Liberated, Happy Person
The person is internally free, conscious, and balanced. They do not operate out of fear or compulsion, but from deep self-awareness. At the first level, the strongest and purest positive qualities of the personality type emerge. In this state, the person no longer operates merely from the automatic patterns of their personality, but is capable of objectively observing their own fears, reactions, and motivations. This is what we call freedom, when we decide everything without fears, fear of retaliation, and uncertainties originating from the past. Internal stability, deep self-identity, and calmness, someone who does not constantly feel the need to prove anything to themselves or others. A person at the first level has an inspiring effect on others, because in their presence there are no games, manipulation, or compulsive ego functioning. This is the state we all pursue, where we want to arrive, because life at the first level is extremely harmonious and stable.
At level one, a person confronts and overcomes all their fears due to their inner strength, be they childhood traumas or ego development injuries. People at the first level are not free because they are independent of everyone, but because even their greatest fears no longer have a destructive effect on them; in fact, these fears stand powerless before the liberated person. Level one is the ideal state where an individual is psychologically healthiest, balanced, and truly free. This is the level of self-actualization, the pinnacle of human existence.
Level 2: Strongly Healthy
The person is still stable and conscious, but everyday personality functioning is more present. Despite this, they manage their emotions well and are capable of forming healthy relationships. They do not collapse under criticism, are not swayed by external noise, and do not become aggressive simply because something does not go according to their plans. They are flexible, amenable to reason, and capable of growth and learning. Their self-esteem is relatively stable and originates from within, making them less dependent on the approval of others. A person at level two is generally productive, creative, and capable of true intimacy because they connect through more than just roles.
Level 3: Functionally Healthy
At this level, the person still functions fundamentally well, but already identifies more strongly with the patterns of their personality type, meaning they no longer dictate the rules due to strong internal stability, but rather just follow them. At this level, they still clearly see the right path, and this is the last level where they are not yet willing to compromise and give up their principles just because there is an easier path. At level three, a stable self-image begins to form, to which they cling; for example, it becomes important for them to be seen as competent, strong, special, helpful, or successful. They are still capable of self-reflection, but in certain situations, they react automatically. Conflicts can generally be managed, but certain sensitive points already activate their defense mechanisms more easily. This is the first level where the environment can influence their functioning and decisions, but in most cases, they can still successfully manage these external factors in accordance with their value system.
Level 4: Upper Average State.
The first level of average functioning, where a person increasingly operates from habits, past experiences, repetitions, and learned reactions. At this stage of life, the person makes reflexive rather than conscious decisions. At the fourth level, the primary fears and desires of the personality type begin to dominate, and anxiety appears, albeit almost imperceptibly. Maintaining one's self-image becomes extremely important, leading to a need for validation and behavior driven by a desired life rather than actual reality. The person expends a lot of energy convincing themselves and others of who they "are," what they represent, and what they believe in. The depth of self-reflection decreases, not meaning it's absent, but they are far less able to see themselves clearly than even at level three functioning. More internal tension emerges, but this is often rationalized or hidden even from themselves. Recurring conflict patterns may appear in relationships, and problems that can no longer be resolved emerge. At Level 4, these problems are only just appearing and do not yet have a dominant impact on quality of life. At the upper average level, a person can still live a full and happy life, but to a much lesser extent than in the healthy range.
Level 5: Middle Average State
Internal insecurity intensifies. A person's self-esteem becomes increasingly dependent on external circumstances such as recognition, success, attention, control, or emotional security. Consequently, people at the fifth level become more sensitive to criticism, rejection, or failure. Anxiety, overreactions, impulsive decisions, or increased defensiveness become more pronounced. The individual becomes less able to objectively perceive their own functioning, because protecting the ego becomes more important than recognizing the truth. Participation in petty games begins, and the ability to apologize diminishes; simultaneously, something not present before emerges: the shirking of responsibility and a general decrease in the capacity for taking responsibility and admitting our mistakes. A significant portion of society lives their lives in this fifth-level state.
Level 6: Lower Average State
Here, the personality significantly narrows, the person becomes more rigid in thinking and emotional functioning. They find it harder to accept other perspectives, are very difficult to convince of anything, and cognitive dissonance appears, meaning the re-framing of reality begins. Reality is no longer the guide, but the protection of the world in our heads and its defense at all costs. Information and facts at level six arrive through a strong filter and will only be accepted if they fit the world we created to protect ourselves due to an already flawed functioning. A person at level six tends to repeatedly create the same conflicts, and fears fundamentally begin to determine the individual's decisions. Increased desire for control, passive aggression, manipulation, emotional dependence, or excessive isolation may appear, in different forms depending on the type. The person often doesn't understand why their relationships are deteriorating or why the same problems keep recurring in their life. Emotional eating appears, and the view that anything bad in our life is not our fault, we are not to blame. After level five, level six is where most people live their lives.
Level 7: Unhealthy State
The personality's defensive system begins to unravel, and emotional reactions become more intense and distorted. The person increasingly interprets reality based on their fears, and paranoia and compulsiveness appear. Excessive suspicion, extreme emotional fluctuations, self-justification, or blaming others can be common. Self-reflection is minimized because the person almost completely identifies with their own distorted viewpoint. Serious games and destructive dynamics appear in relationships, and projection becomes part of daily functioning. In this state, emotional reactions can be very strong, and the person may perceive even minor things as threats. An innocent remark is taken as an attack, a distance as rejection, and criticism is experienced almost as a devastating event. At the seventh level, a person's relationships become unstable because they try to regulate their internal insecurity on others; moreover, they constantly seek reassurance, try to control others, or manipulate emotionally. They generate dramatic situations to elicit attention and reactions. Often, they do not do this out of conscious malice, but because they feel profoundly empty, abandoned, or worthless inside.
One of the most difficult parts of this state is that the person often fails to recognize their own functioning. They feel the problem is external. The partner, family, society, colleagues, enemies who want to destroy them, while they genuinely do everything they can. The distance between reality and the world in their head starts to become very large. So large that it takes more and more effort for the individual to create a reality that can still be at least a justifiable reality in their head. The personality is on the verge of collapse at this point, but it does not yet happen at this level.
Level 8: Severely Unhealthy State
In this state, personality distortions already take extreme forms. Fears and compulsions dominate the entire functioning of the individual's mind. The person loses a part of their sense of reality and becomes completely captive to their own inner world. At this level, there is no longer any reality, because at this point, almost no element of reality and real-world events supports the distorted world that the individual has already constructed in their mind. There is no reality, no time, no facts. Manipulation becomes an integral part of everyday life, emotional and psychological abuse appear without guilt, as well as self-destructive functioning. The person is often no longer capable of maintaining even average-level relationships. Level eight is the state of personality disintegration and severe distortion. Here, a person's functioning is almost entirely driven by fear, compulsion for control, paranoia, distorted emotional reactions, and deep internal instability. Level eight does not simply overreact to the world, but projects its own inner chaos onto everything and everyone.
Their thinking becomes severely distorted. Rationality is increasingly replaced by emotional distortion and projection. They project their own aggression, envy, fears, or destructive intentions onto others. They are convinced that others mean them harm, while in reality, they themselves become increasingly destructive. Their relationships at this level are extremely toxic and damaging. The person wants to exert intense control over others. They manipulate, intimidate, emotionally punish, play games, and produce extreme reactions. Love and hate constantly alternate within them. One moment they cling to someone, the next they want to cause total destruction to that person.
Anger becomes uncontrollable, the person gives explosive reactions. Vengeance drives them, and they are incapable of letting go of grievances. Even a small conflict turns into total war. They transform their inner pain into aggression. In this state, emotional cruelty also appears. The person may consciously try to inflict pain on others because deep down they themselves are profoundly wounded and fragmented. Their environment often fears them or completely distances themselves from them at this stage. The person becomes unpredictable. Their relationships are full of drama, conflict, threats, emotional instability, and destruction. Close people become emotionally exhausted by them. This state already reflects deep psychological damage. Here, the personality's functioning is not only dysfunctional but actively destructive to themselves and others. At Level 8, the personality completely falls apart.
Level 9: Pathological Unhealthy State
Level nine is a state of complete personality collapse and a level from which one cannot return even with intensive therapy. Here, the person completely loses connection with themselves, others, and in many cases, reality. The personality's defense mechanisms take extreme forms, and overall functioning becomes deeply destructive, chaotic, or completely fragmented. The inner emptiness becomes unbearable. This leads to extreme behaviors: complete loss of control, self-destruction, aggression, dangerous impulses, or total emotional breakdown. Relationships at this level are already severely damaging or completely dysfunctional. The person brings intense emotional chaos into every relationship. Manipulation, threats, emotional terror, and complete unpredictability appear. Close people often fear them, flee from them, or completely cut off contact. Extreme self-justification appears. The person sees themselves as a victim or an absolute possessor of truth. They blame others for all problems. Responsibility is completely eliminated. They completely rewrite reality to maintain their distorted self-image. In this state, self-destruction also reaches an extreme level. The person destroys their relationships, work, life, future, and often their own physical and mental state. Their decisions become increasingly dangerous, impulsive, and irrational.
Level nine is not simply a severe personality disorder functioning, but a deep collapse of the psychic structure. Here, a person's inner world disintegrates to such an extent that their functioning becomes dangerous for themselves and others. The destruction of the personality state ends here; the individual ceases to be human. The personality irrevocably and irreversibly collapses.
Summary
This is a general description of the personality levels, which will appear differently for the 9 personality types. The difference will be that each of the nine personality types distorts differently when their personality deteriorates, and their values will be different when their personality develops.
As I mentioned, this journey around our personality types will be difficult and burdensome, at least it was for me when I processed the inner workings of our personalities. Not necessarily for myself, although it was difficult in some places for that reason too, but because I was able to subsequently identify countless behaviors and states in people who were or are still close to me. I think of them with regret, sometimes helplessness, and I have come to realize by now that what they did, they did not do because they were bad people, but because who knows what severe traumas they had to go through as children, or at any time in life, and ended up in the state they did. This is not an absolution but an understanding. When we understand ourselves, when we understand the functioning of our world, many things fall into place. I, personally, no longer blame anyone, and no matter what harm anyone does to me, I am no longer angry with anyone because we cannot know what past, what childhood, what events are behind people, and what painful processes our movements, words, or actions can trigger in others without our intention to hurt them.
We live in a chaotic jungle, an opaque world with millions upon millions of variable factors, where ultimately all we want is to know who we are and where we are going. I don't have the answers to either, but this personality type series will bring you a little closer to finding them.
