This article will take a look at the type 2 enneagram and how they behave when they are healthy and also provide tips on how they can reach these levels. Furthermore, the article will also introduce this enneagram type in detail as well as highlight its fears and desires.
What Does A Healthy Enneagram 2 Look Like?
A healthy type 2 enneagram is someone who is able to see the good in others and become appreciative in nature. They are not quick to judge and will give people the benefit of doubt. At this stage, the enneagram is able to give their own self and others love and become unselfish.
Here are the 3 levels that we will discuss with regards to the type 2 enneagram when it is healthy:
- Level 3 – Healthy
- Level 2 – Very Healthy
- Level 1 – At Their Best
We will explore each level, but before that we will introduce the type 2 enneagram in detail!
Who Is An Enneagram Type 2?
An enneagram type 2 is also known as the Helper because of their desire to help others and make their tasks easier or remove any burden upon them. They are very caring and have great interpersonal skills that allow them to interact with people to help them and understand their situation and needs. Personality traits used to describe type 2s include possessive, demonstrative, helpful and people pleasing.
People with this type are very empathetic and have profound emotional intelligence thus it makes them more approachable and appealing to people who are in need of help and find it difficult to ask. They are friendly, generous and self sacrificing hence they overlook their own needs to fulfill those of others!
However, such closeness with others results in feelings of possessiveness. Also, they force their own self to forgo their feelings and need to make sure they are available to others for help; this may seem pretty good in the short term but they will end up pretty frustrated in the long run and their feelings may erupt like a huge volcano does!
Basic Fear.
Type enneagrams are scared they will be left alone and unloved. They want to belong somewhere, especially in someone’s heart. They feel that the only way they can do this is to feel worthy. How do they feel worthy? Well they have this innate core belief that they must be helpful in some way to another person – they must be able to help them get work done, provide the resources they need or be there for them in their difficult times.
This is why such people are often in the pursuit of trying to get close to others to find out how they can be of use to them! They will sometimes be too nosy and may become a source of irritability for others as they wonder why they are always around them!
Basic Desire.
The desire of enneagram type 2s stems from their fear that they will be left alone and unloved. Also, they feel they will be worthless not only in their own eyes but those of others too. Hence they want to be in a position where they can help other people and they will strive persistently to do so. They want to be recognized and appreciated for the help they provide and also be loved in return. This is the basic desire of enneagram type 2s that drives them to work hard to become close to others – a bit too close sometimes!
Tips On How To Reach Their Healthy State – Type 2s
In this section we will look at how the type 2 enneagram can reach their healthy state.
Prioritize Your Needs
It is very important for enneagram type 2s to not only recognize their own needs but fulfill them too. Our body has certain rights over us that we must tend to whether they are related to hunger, thirst, sex, rest or exercise. We must strive to fulfill these needs in the right way to ensure our physical and mental health remains ideal. Oftentimes type 2 enneagrams overlook their own needs and this causes them to deteriorate slowly in both spheres.
Take Help From Others.
Sometimes the type 2 enneagram needs to realize that others also have the resources to help them. They are not the only ones who seem to have the ability to help others. This thought process will instill a sense of humility and appreciation for others. Furthermore, accepting this reality will allow type 2s to take help from others and they will be able to experience how it feels like to be able to allow others to grow by helping. This in its way is therapeutic!
Analyze Your Thoughts & Feelings.
The type 2 enneagram must be honest to himself! Is he helping the other person because they really need help or because he is looking for a way to feel good about himself and find an opportunity to be in a position of higher status? Helping others indeed makes one feel good about their own self but that should not be the purpose.
Value Yourself!
The type 2 enneagram should not measure their worth on how helpful they are to others. There are many other ways they can see their worth for example the little things they do to improve their own self, the efforts they make to think healthy and eat healthy and how they are improving their skills to eventually contribute to the world. Yes we have the responsibility of contributing to the society we live in but everything happens through a process, step by step and not always simultaneously or in the manner we want!
Let Others Breathe.
Don’t go looking for people who need help! Even though that is a good thing there needs to be a balance especially for type 2 enneagrams in the habit! Also, give others space. Let them open up when they want to and ensure you are not too nosy! If they need your help they will let you catch on or simply ask.
What Does A Healthy Enneagram 2 Look Like?
In this section, we will look at how the type 2 enneagram behaves in their healthy states.
Level 3 – Healthy
At this level, the type 2 enneagram follows a balanced approach where they do understand their responsibilities, job, commitments to others and tasks are important but their own needs and peace is as important too! They will hence adopt a balanced approach where they give their own self time too and complete whatever work they have or commitments in the best manner possible.
They can be seen as truly loving because they are kind and giving. Furthermore, they are not quick to judge and give people the benefit of doubt and hence love them and themselves. They are also very encouraging and appreciative of what others do.
Level 2 – Very Healthy
The type 2 enneagram further improves to the extent that they become very concerned about the needs of others. They care for them and want them to be content. They develop empathic traits and hence feel for others and the difficulties they go through.
As a result, the type 2 enneagram becomes forgiving because they recognize others go through difficulties through and have needs so they can make mistakes as well. Also, they are more sincere and kind hearted and more giving.
Level 1 – At Their Best (Very Best)
This is the best stage a type 2 can reach! They become very pure individuals who have very good intentions for others and a form of pure love. They are deeply unselfish and actually view the world differently now – they consider themselves lucky to be a part of the other person’s life. Hence, they are now more humble in nature and do not consider themselves as something too big! This helps them appreciate others even more.
The type 2 enneagram also becomes altruistic. They are always on the lookout for people in need of help and will extend their helping hand to them.
Conclusion
This article took a look at the type 2 enneagram and how they behave when they are at their very best. The article not only introduced the type 2 enneagram and its fears and desires but also provided tips on how to self improve so that the enneagram can reach the best or healthy version of themself!
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