Cognitive Dissonance

Introduction to the Loop & Grip

Have you ever noticed that so many of us tend to fall into these negative ruts? All of a sudden you aren’t really being yourself, whether you are acting out of stress or anger, consumed with fear, or that you just don’t care anymore, what’s important is that something happened, and often we aren’t even sure what. But there’s a change. You’re not thinking the way you usually do, you’re not acting the way you’d like, and before you know it, you get used to it. It feels hopeless, like who you used to be and who you truly are, was just a lie, something fake, and that this state of constant suffering is just who you actually are, and who you will be forever.
And so you, and others around you, accept that this is simply how life is, how it’s meant to be, and you remain jaded, bitter, angry and afraid, forever.

But what if that’s not the case? What if there’s a proper explanation to what’s happening? It’s easy to point fingers and blame outside factors, such as your job or school being too difficult, your relationships are failing, the people around you are evil and horrible, but rarely do people look inwards to understand what’s truly creating all of this discord.

To find the genuine answers that will allow you to grow, find peace, and continue being the best version of yourself and a positive influence on the world, you must look at where things went wrong within your own mind, and that means taking a look at your cognitive functions. We were all born with a set of cognitive functions that make up the “why” and “how” we think, operating in a balanced pattern of introversion and extroversion.

As young children for a time we only have our single primary function, it’s what we’ve always had, our strong suit, but that’s not enough to create a proper identity, once the second auxiliary function begins to develop, it is revealed “who” you truly are. As we grow and develop, the last two weaker functions begin to emerge and develop as well, and here is where the problems begin to manifest.
The first two functions are naturally opposites of the last two functions, but they’re all equally important and must work together to operate optimally. However, as young developing individuals these two weaker functions present big glaring weak spots. They’re fragile, we don’t really know how to use them properly, so at the first sign of trouble they begin to falter, and slowly our weaknesses begin to control us.

I’m talking about the Loop and the Grip. These aren’t the only culprits that are dragging us down and making life difficult, but they’re the easiest to identify and deal with, so.. what are they?

In short, the Loop happens when you’re being pushed to your limits, and in your attempts to use your third function, you push too far and the regular pattern is broken. Suddenly you’re not using your second function when you should, but rather your third instead, forcing you into a loop of your primary and tertiary functions. This is immediately problematic because you’ll lose either all of your extroversion or all of your introversion. The lack of either is going to cause problems one way or another and when you’re stuck in the Loop, it’s only going to get worse and worse.
Without your second function giving you a different side to a perspective or action, you quickly get stuck in a rut of inherently negative thought and action.

The Grip is a bit more complicated. Being solely focused on your fourth and weakest function, which is naturally the opposite of your primary function, you are within the clutches of the Grip when you become so stressed that all you’re capable of doing is using your last function as a desperate coping mechanism. It could manifest as an impulsive distraction, a wild rampaging tantrum, obsessing over past failures or the distant future.. It’s nothing like who you usually are at all, and to make matters worse that single function that’s controlling you is still very immature and undeveloped, so whatever you’re doing with it, it can’t be good.

So join me here, where I will describe the specifics of how the Loop and the Grip influence and affect everyone, and what can be done to remedy them. In time I will go deeper into detail concerning more complex issues, such as the different core fears that all individuals have, that you might not even be aware of, and other hidden forces wreaking havoc within you.

Together, we will make sense of the chaos within your mind.
-Empathine