The nine self-preservation instinctual subtypes

Type 1: Worry and anxiety/tenseness

You believe that your very survival depends upon getting things right. Your life is about shoulds instead of wants and desires. You channel anger (or guilt) into perennial worry and anxiety about doing the right thing and not making mistakes. You don’t believe the world is either generous or forgiving, so ultimately you worry alone. You resent the unfairness of life, but so what? You still must avoid the annihilating punishment from your inner critic, the thought-and-desire policeman. So you keep busy doing self-preservation tasks that keep the anxiety away, such as cleaning, keeping things in order or stocking up on provisions.  You attempt to assert control and impose order over the natural world in matters of self-survival. It can look like you would rather be right than happy. Rightness becomes an imperative despite your desire and longing. At your worst, this worry can become very limiting and accompanied by much inner tension and little pleasure.

Type 2: Privilege

You assure your survival indirectly through earning privilege by meeting the needs of others in your life, especially important others. Being personable, nurturing and supportive of others helps create a sense of entitlement. Your pride manifests as a sense that you deserve to have your needs met: “I’ve given so much. It’s my turn to have my thirst quenched.” You deserve a special seat, nice clothes, attention and to go first. You can get upset or emotional, when “they” haven’t honored you or given you preferential treatment. In this way you protect your position as a selfless giver while assuring that your own needs get met. At your worst, however, you can become preoccupied with and demanding of what you believe you need for nurturance and personal survival, such as being taken care of, attended to or put first.

Type 3: Material Security

With the self-presentation instinct of material security, your image energy gets channeled into material things, position and possessions. Sometimes this means endlessly working very hard to earn money far beyond what you really need. You manifest self-deception or deceit by identifying your self-survival with externals such as wealth, assets, occupation, and even simply “doing.” You feel reassured when you are busy, active, moving up, succeeding and aligning with the company goals. You gain material status that you believe will assure you and important others survival and satisfaction. Your success also must match your image of approval and therefore may take a modest form, such as having an older, inexpensive car because it’s the “right” kind of automobile. At your worst, there is no end to activity directed at both acquiring objects and completing projects that you believe will bring security. Others can become obstacles that elicit your impatience and anger.

Type 4: Reckless/dauntless

How can being reckless and dauntless serve survival? For the Romantic, to be ordinary, mundane or regular feels like death. You must be a “somebody” or “something” by finding meaning and authenticity in what you do. You assuage your envy by playing the edge, walking the cliff, throwing caution to the winds or jumping into new situations – whatever will provide a sense of authenticity. You even may neglect your basic survival needs. In this way you feel enlivened and special – your life is meaningful and intense. You have a reckless urgency to obtain those ultimate and uniquely elite experiences that make you feel alive and quell longing. Even the ordinary events get a jazzed-up spin or dramatic flare. Perhaps you create a mini-crisis with big feelings by threatening rejection or breaking the ordinary rules. You temporarily dissolve or defy envy – “Not me, I won’t succumb.” At your worst, your self-absorption in recklessness paradoxically can lead to disastrous outcomes and a re-emergence of a sense of inner lack and depression.

Type 5: Home/castle

What better placeto protect your boundaries of privacy and person than in your own space? Through the sanctuary of your own mind or special place, you can keep others out or guard their access to you. You have avarice for your own space, whether it’s your mind, room, home or castle. In this way, you can preserve your time and energy, acquire more knowledge, build a storehouse of necessary subsistence items and assure your survival. As an Observer, you keep your precious independence by needing very little and hoarding what you think that you need. You experience pleasure doing with less, and often spurn possession and luxuries, You cling to whatever you believe assures your independence – money, books, energy, collections, food stores, even traveling from place to place with your backpack. No one owns you nor do you own anyone. You can obtain your sufficiency, so you believe, by assuring boundaries and the sanctuary of your place and person. At your worst, you can become so retracted that you end up lonely and lacking nurturance. 

Type 6: Warmth/affection

As a self-preservation subtype, you disarm others with your warmth and affection. By acting kindly with thoughtfulness and deferral, people won’t be angry with you or harm you.  You’ll make friends and get people to like you by pleasing, supporting and aligning with them – in effect creating a safety zone populated with allies. This makes you feel safe and secure. Avoiding risks and staying within well-known boundaries also can abate your fears. At your worst, you give away your authority and power, paradoxically making you more vulnerable.

Type 7: Like-minded defenders/family

You feel secure when you identify with others of like mind and ideals. You find other deserving people to bond with who mirror your ideals and dreams. These people who share your life view may exist mainly in your imagination, as possibilities, or they may be family, friends and associates who fit into part of your dream. Your gluttony plays out through these like-minded defenders who protect you from being trapped or limited in a boring or painful life, and assure enjoyment in family-style gatherings and the good life. They are like family to you, although often not your biological family. You share pleasures such as dining out or planning interesting projects. As trusted fellow travelers, you brainstorm together and sustain a part of each other’s vision of a positive future. At your worst, your claims on others to support your point of view or material desires can be highly demanding and thoughtless. 

Type 8: Satisfactory Survival

You need adequate amounts of provisions and environmental security to assure satisfactory survival for yourself, your intimates and groups. If you give a party, for example, you might serve at least twice the food and beverages that your guests can consume. You assert big control over your own survival needs and those you protect. You are generous with them. Your tendency toward excess shows up everywhere. You don’t hoard things, but you want to make sure that what you “need” is available so that you won’t be deprived or dependent. You have control of your creature comforts and environment. Your motto for satisfactory survival is “Be prepared.” Taking charge of your creature comforts and environment gives you the illusion that you are invulnerable and in control. At your worst, this drives you to become preoccupied with never-ending demands for security and to excessive control or domination over the physical environment and those in it.

Type 9: Appetite

In the Self-preservation instinct, your inertia energy flows into appetites. You seek comfort through interests, daily rhythms, and little things, not realizing that the appetite or craving is a substitute for your true needs because it feels so compelling. These outer interests draw your energy or soothe you. They can feel vital, comforting, and even a temporary replacement for love. You like a practical structure and daily rhythm that supports your life. You get lost in chores or errands, or “veg out” in front of the TV. You become engrossed in your routines, reading, collections or hobbies. Having lost touch with the inner you, you reconnect through these substitutes, and your discomfort temporarily abates. At your worst, you become preoccupied (stubbornly involved) with a myriad of inessentials (small talk, ruminations about what to wear, all the errands, etc.), resulting in no time for the completion of your own priorities.