Enneagram Type 7 - Enthusiast/Entertaining Optimist

Enneagram Type 7's are known as the Enthusiast or the Entertaining Optimist. Always looking for the next great adventure, type 7's are fun loving and full of energy.

Enneagram Type 7 in Pregnancy and Birth

They are optimistic about the future and positive about their past in general (even if it means downplaying what they feel about a negative situation). They may find themselves having a hard time committing and following through, but they are always up for something new!

A Type 7 is confident, outgoing, positive and fun. The life of the party and the center of attention are both roles they actively pursue. They enjoy sharing their personal stories (and may have a tendency to enhance the story beyond reality). Type 7's can come across self-centered and impulsive since they don't want to miss out on anything!

At the core, a type seven believe that they can avoid pain (emotional or otherwise) if they stay busy and enjoy new experiences frequently. They deeply fear being bored, missing out on something fun, and ultimately being trapped in their pain and discomfort. The longing of a type 7 is to be satisfied, content, and fulfilled, but because they feel this is risky, they are always looking for that PERFECT THING to make them feel this way.

The Childhood message of the type 7 was that they could not trust anyone for anything. They were left alone to figure things out and thus may have gone overboard in their pursuit of pleasure and distraction from pain.

• The type 7 receives information as facts. They they can analyze and plan based on the facts they know, but a type 7 can also move to their emotions rather quickly as they understand how these facts may affect their feelings.

• The type 7's can come across as energetic and unmoving. When threatened, rather than being in the moment with the feelings, they would rather move on to the next thing, the next experience, the next distraction or indulgence. Type 7's have a hard time sitting still and and harder time following through. If something else is going on, they'd rather be starting that than finishing what they are currently doing.

• The conflict style of the type 7 is "positive" as they will downplay how upset they are and be quick to apologize even when they aren't sincere simply to shut down the conflict and avoid any emotional pain. The issues don't go away because the root issue is rarely realized or dealt with and this can lead to resentment and bitterness.

• Enneagram 7's hold to high ideals, and these ideas being rarely achieved results in frustration, disappointment, and longing. They have high expectations of their experiences, and when these experiences fall short, type 7's may quickly move on to the next thing that promises to fill that void.

  
  

A type 7 in growth moves toward the high side of a type 5 becoming more curious about their own emotions and experiences. They are willing to slow down, commit, and dig deeper rather than just broader. When stressed, a type 7 moves toward the bottom side of the type 1 - becoming critical of themselves and others and judgmental and blaming of their pain on everyone else, never willing to take ownership of their own faults.

The Core Question of the type 7 is: "What else? What more?" They are always looking to fill that void and avoid their sense of pain.

As an enneagram type 7, pregnancy is an adventure waiting to happen, and birth being full of the unknown may seem more intriguing than fear-inducing. But being wired to avoid pain and difficulty, a type 7 may find herself willing to try anything to decrease pregnancy symptoms and make sure her birth will be as painless as possible.

If things get challenging in pregnancy or the labor and birth process, an enneagram type 7 will attempt to distract themselves by pursuing the next thing (pregnancy related or not) and have a hard time simply being present in the moment. This can make meeting the core needs of their bodies difficult, if not impossible.

A truth to hold to is that joy and delight can be found in any given moment if the type 7 can simply slow down enough to be present. This can be challenging as they might harbor fear over the pain or difficulties they are facing.

The needs of the enneagram type 7 are to feel understood in their desires to avoid pain and difficulty and to be validated in these longings. They will then feel empowered by being fully informed of all their options for labor and birth and knowing they will be able to decide what they need when they need it. The type 7 also needs to understand that pain does not have to equal suffering. They can be present with their body during labor and embrace the sensations as powerful and effective if they can remove themselves from the fear of the discomfort or lack of control. Encourage the type 7's in your life to slow down long enough to find something to be grateful for in the moment. For it's with being fully present, fully alive that they can find the satisfaction and joy their hearts desperately desire.

Are you a type 7? How did your personality effect your birth experience?