Enneagram Type 5 Explained

Enneagram Type 5 is sometimes called “The Investigator” or “The Observer.”

This is a head-based type in the Fear Triad.

Each of the three types in the fear or head-based triad is going to be structured or shaped by their relationship to childhood fear in some way.

Enneagram 5 Types are observers, who in response to fear or things that might arouse fear, withdraw into their head. They feel safest when they’re observing from a distance.

This is a very intellectual personality type, someone who likes a lot of privacy, and someone who can actually be quite isolated if they’re not careful.

Enneagram 5 Types automatically make boundaries between them and others. They tend to be content experts in a job, or even as a hobby they will want to learn a lot about something so that they can really understand it at a deep level. They are also great with objective analysis.

Type 5’s automatically detach from emotion and look at the intellectual level.

Basic Strategy of Type 5

The basic strategy of Enneagram Type Five is to gather information and to be knowledgeable. They love the idea that knowledge is power.

Sometimes Type 5’s can become an expert in a subject. Other times they just observe what’s going on from a distance and accumulate data. It makes them feel powerful to know that they understand something.

Enneagram 5 Types typically avoid being depleted and overwhelmed, especially emotionally. They like to live in their heads. They feel more comfortable with thoughts and mental activity rather than emotions. Type 5’s often feel like they only have a certain amount of limited energy, and they’re very sensitive to people who might take that energy from them.

Interactions with people, and especially emotionally-charged interactions with people, can really deplete them according to their perception when they’re in personality.

Key Challenges of The Type

Enneagram Type 5 challenges are letting go of the worry about scarcity and their need for clear boundaries. They often feel like they run out of inner resources, and so they get very protective of those resources and worry about people taking their energy from them.

But, of course, that’s living from scarcity and it can hijack a Type 5’s ability to renew energy or recharge through interactions with people. It’s important for Enneagram 5 Types to learn to access their feelings, connect to their emotions, and share their emotions with others.

Enneagram 5 Types report they can access their feelings, but they feel more comfortable engaging with their own emotional inner life when they’re by themselves.

Grow Deeper With The Enneagram 5 Owners Manual

What Is In The Owners Manual?

Introduction To Enneagram
— Meet Your Teachers: Dr. Beatrice Chestnut & Uranio Paes
— How To Navigate And Use This Enneagram 5 Personality Owners Manual
— Resource: Your Enneagram 5 Personality Owners Manual Growth Companion Guide

Module 1: Introduction To Enneagram
— Lesson 1: Introduction to the Model
— Lesson 2: Enneagram as a Typology
— Lesson 3: Integrate the Shadows
— Lesson 4: Avenue of Growth

Module 2: Overview of Enneagram Type 5
— Lesson 1: The Concept of Personality – Overview of Enneagram Type 5
— Lesson 2: Center of Intelligence – Center of Intelligence for Enneagram Type 5
— Lesson 3: Passion – The Passion and Virtue for Enneagram Type 5
— Lesson 4: Fixation- The Fixation & Holy Idea for Enneagram Type 5
— Lesson 5: Focus of Attention
— Lesson 6: The Subtypes (Subtypes explained – Subtypes for Enneagram Type 5)

Module 3: Self-Observation & Action Steps
— Lesson 1: Key Tendencies
— Lesson 2: Blind Spots
— Lesson 3: Growth Path
— Lesson 4: From Passion to Virtue
— Lesson 5: Overcoming Patterns/Tendencies

Module 4: Continued Learning & Deepening Growth
— Lesson 1: Wings & Arrows
— Lesson 2: Growth With Wings
— Lesson 3: Growth With Arrows
— Lesson 4: Subtype Growth
— Lesson 5: Vision Casting Module 5: Toolbox & Bonuses
— 1 Hour Q&A Session Around Type