People with INFPs usually present a pleasant and calm face to the world. They are mostly peaceful, tranquil and people having simple desires in life.

These are the people who cherish people mostly and internally feel their life intensely.

People with INFP usually have deep feelings of love and caring for their partner in a relationship, the intensity of these feelings are much stronger than other types.

They are mostly reserved in expressing these feelings openly and keep their deepest caring and love for the selected few who are close to them without expressing their innermost feelings much. In this article we will discuss INFP relationships. 

 INFP relationships with others are generally supportive, nurturing and laid-back in their relationships that they cherish.

As their personality is dominated by introverted feelings, they are usually in-tune and sensitive towards other people’s feelings and show genuine caring and concern towards them.

In the beginning of a relationship they are cautious and are usually slow to trust someone but as time goes on and trust develops they are the most loyal and committed in the relationship.

These people are intense individuals who value authenticity and depth in their relationships with their strong inner core values and always hold the people who accept INFPs perspectives in high regards.

Unless and until one of their ruling principles is violated, INFPs are congenial and adaptable.

But once their principle has been violated upon they become harsh and rigid in such a situation and stop adapting to the situation becoming starch defenders of their principles. 

Before discussing INFP relationships as lovers or parents, we will first discuss INFP strengths and weaknesses.

INFP Strengths

When in a relationship, most of the people with INFPs personality will show the following strengths in a relationship:

• Warmly caring and concerned 
• Perceptive and sensitive about feelings
• Committed and loyal
• Deep capacity for caring and love
• Try to meet the needs of other
• Always look for “win-win” situations
• Encouraging, supportive and nurturing
• Appreciate and recognize the need for space
• Express themselves well
• Diverse and flexible 

INFP Weaknesses

Some of the weaknesses exhibited by INFPs in a relationship are:

• Might be a little reserved and shy
• Will like to have their own space
• Don’t like conflict
• Dislike of criticism
• Strong need for positive affirmation and praise 
• Might react emotionally during stressful situations
• Difficulty in leaving a bad relationship
• Difficulty in punishing or scolding others
• Might be reserved in expressing of feelings
• Tendency to be a perfectionist might results in ignoring other’s efforts
• Trying to do everything themselves and blame themselves for problems

INFP Relationship as Lovers

INFP relationships with lovers are tremendously committed and loyal towards their partner in their relationship.

As their personality is dominated by the preference of feelings, warm feelings and harmony are the central part of an INFPs personality and is expressed fully in their relationships.

They have an urge to be in a loyal and committed relationship and if they are not only in one they will keep looking for one or create one in their own minds. 

Their tendency to be perfectionist in most cases might backfire on them as it will result in them fantasizing about an idealistic and more perfect relationship.

This can also result in them creating qualities in their partner which are actually not present.

Most of the people with INFPs are usually faced with the problem of keeping real life separate from their idealistic views of life and because of that sometimes face problems with their close relationships and feel unsettled with themselves.

However, as INFPs have a dislike of conflict and deep feelings of caring and love of their partner, this keeps them committed and loyal to their partner in spite of all these problems.

INFPs’ tendency to hold their mates on a pedestal does not turn into negative things in their relationships unlike in the cases with other personality types.

INFPs are not only committed fully to their ideas but also constantly work hard to help their partners up on that pedestal.

This pursuit gives way to a strong affectionate, proud and affirming attitude towards their partners which can help them stand the test of time. 

INFPs are good at performing administrative matters such as house cleaning and bill paying but are not naturally interested in them.

They can be great with money managing jobs when they really go for it. Sexually speaking INFPs are slow to open up at the start towards their partners. But once a level of trust is established, they will see this as a way to express their affection and love for their partner. They value the feelings of love by receiving and giving sweet and love words to their partner rather than the sexual act. 

The intense dislike for criticism and dislike is one of the real problems for INFPs. They are quick to assume a personal angle in any criticism or conflict whether there was any personal angle intended or not.

They have a tendency to take any type of criticism as an attack on their character and personality and will become emotional and irrational in such situations.

This can create problems for INFPs, usually in cases when they are in a relationship with a person having judging and thinking preferences.

As TJs relate to others on the basis of a definite attitude which can be expressed through their conversations so if their opinion is negative towards the INFP they can be really threatening for them in a relationship.

As INFPs can respond with more emotions and vagueness which will only convince them that all of the negativity is their fault. 

INFPs who have not developed their intuitive side much and have a strong feeling preference can spell their doom with their dislike of criticism and conflict in their relationship as they can make decisions without gathering sufficient data for it.

These INFPs usually will respond to extreme feelings of emotional distress in such situations are at full loss with no idea about what to do.

Since, they have no idea they will usually lash out at their partner and try to use guilt manipulation to get positive support from others. This kind of behavior does not go well in a long term, healthy relationship.

Individuals with this tendency should work on improving their capacity to take criticism objectively rather than personally.

They should also remember that every conflict situation is not their fault and being in a conflict is definitely not the end of the world. These feelings should be addressed immediately so that it should not become a bigger problem in future. 

INFPs not only tend to give space to other people but are also aware of their own space and do not want anyone to invade it.

They value their freedom and personal space to do things that they want and they will cherish their partner who will also give them space and respect their perspectives, principles and unique style.

INFP relationships are not known to be overly possessive and jealous of something in a relationship but are known to give independence and space to their partners.

They will not only respect their partner’s goals and perspectives but will also support them fully.

In short, INFP relationships  are regarded as loving and warmly affirmative partners who value their partners and are always committed to a healthy relationship.

Although they might be slow and cautious in the beginning, once the layer of trust is developed they are solid and loyal in their relationship and remain committed for lifetime.

They will put muster up and put forward every effort they can to make their relationship a healthy one.

INFP Relationships as Parents

INFPs are naturally born parents, they enjoy and accept the parental role as a natural extension of their principles and values.

They love to be a parent and see it as an opportunity to define and develop their values further and pass it forward to their children. They consider it a fundamental task and take the parental role very seriously.

INFPs having the feelings of affirming, warm and flexible are considered to be very easy going parents in many respects.

As INFPs do not like situations where conflict will arise so they try to be more diverse and flexible to have a positive and conflict free environment at their homes.

INFP relationships with their children usually do not like to give out punishments or discipline their child so in this case they might adapt to the policy administered by their partner.

In the absence of their partner, INFPs do make considerable effort in creating a structure in which the children can live.

Although INFPs hold strong values and do not like to punish others, that does not mean that they will tolerate violation of their rules and principles.

The INFP relationships with children do not have difficulty in disciplining their child if they truly believe that he has done wrong.

They will confront the child directly, over powering them and demanding recourse for their actions. 

INFPs usually give room for their child to grow and value them as individuals and respect their perspectives.

They always let the child have his own place and voice in the family. INFP relationships with their children  are extremely devoted and loving parents with a tendency to support and protect their child.

If there is an issue and the INFP has to take sides they will always choose the side of their children and will always be loyal to them. INFPs are known as patient, flexible, loving and devoted parents by their children. 

INFP Relationships as Friends

INFP relationships with their friends are caring and warm individuals who always value commitment, authenticity and depth in their personal relationships.

They are usually quite open to the perspective and feelings of others and are considerably easy to get along with different types of people.

However, the INFP mostly keep their true self reserved and are not opened up easily except for the selected few people with whom they have a lasting and close friendship or the inner circle. 

With their strong desire of dislike of conflict and harmony, INFP relationships with friends usually feel threatened by people who have a preference in thinking and judging.

Although they might have difficulty in appreciating or accepting them on a personal level, they might be able to work pretty well with such types of people professionally.

They usually feel a kind of affinity and kinship with people having preference in feelings. IFPs always value their confidantes as altruistic, caring, deep, genuine and original individuals.

If you’ve enjoyed the ”INFP Relationships” mentioned above, I would recommend you to take a look at ”INFP Personality and Depression” too.

FAQ about INFP Relationships 

References

https://www.personalitypage.com/html/INFP_rel.html