An Introduction to the Loop & Grip
Have you ever noticed how easily we fall into negative ruts?
You’re not sure when it began- only that something broke, and it feels hopeless, like who you used to be and who you truly are.. was just a lie.
And so, you and many others resign yourself to the “reality” that this is just what life is.
Bitterness, resentment, emptiness.
Worse still, you’re starting to believe that this is simply who you are “supposed” to be.
But what if that’s not the case?
What if the chaos inside you isn’t the truth of you- but a symptom? A message? A malfunction?
It’s easy to point fingers at everything outside ourselves; school and work, partners and family, even society itself.
But few ever stop to genuinely look inward.
What if the answer lives in your mind’s structure- specifically, in the cognitive functions that form the foundation of your thought?
Cognitive Growth & the Pattern of Four
To truly grow, you must understand the patterns within your own mind.
Each of us is born with a delicate pattern of 8 cognitive functions:
- The Hero/Primary function, strong and confident from early childhood
- The Parent/Auxiliary function, a supporting force that rounds out who you truly are
- The Child/Tertiary functions, slower to development but eager to balance the Parent
- The Anima & Animus/Inferior functions, the weakest & slowest to develop, a source of insecurity
These first four make up the conscious half of your pattern, and must operate in harmony- two opposing pairs, balancing inner and outer worlds.
But as we all know, growth is characterized by turmoil & discomfort- to become one must burn, and under that stress sometimes deep cracks appear.
And over time, our mind begins to twist against itself.
The Loop
The Loop occurs when your psyche becomes off balance, typically due to a pressure to be more than you are, resulting in a break in the natural pattern. Instead of cycling smoothly between your four functions, an intrinsic push to overuse the Child causes you to bypass the Parent, and loop between the Hero and Child.
The end result?
You lose access to an entire mode of perception. With the pattern naturally cycling always been introversion & extroversion, one of them vanishes, and you’re left stuck- spinning in your own personal echo chamber.
You overthink, overact, overstimulate, withdraw, spiral.
And worst of all?
You might not even realize it’s happening.
The Grip
The Grip is different. More “aggressive”, more desperate.
This is what happens when the Anima/Animus function- your weakest, most immature element and the opposite of the Hero- grips you.
Usually it is in moments of emotional exhaustion or existential crisis, when the stress and pressure wears you down. In its clutches, you begin acting in ways that are unrecognizable to who you normally are, as a desperate coping mechanism-
Impulsive distraction from the future.
A wild rampaging tantrum.
Obsession over past failures or the distant future.
And because this function is so undeveloped, it’s never equipped to guide you. It can only blindly lash out.
Understanding the Loop and the Grip won’t solve everything.
But it’s a start. These are not the only mental & spiritual snares that haunt us—but they are the most common. The most visible. And the most fixable.
In the coming explorations, I’ll break down the specific patterns of each personality type, how the Loop and the Grip manifest differently for different minds. And what can be done to overcome them.
From there, we’ll descend further.
Into the core fears.
Into the inner myths that rule you.
Together, we will make sense of the chaos within your mind.
-Empathine
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You are a very capable individual!