Going with the flow is something that requires work rather than relaxation and it's not much fun to lack a natural rapport with most people. The world favours those who get along well over skill in many cases. There are times when I want to be very emotionally expressive with someone and in the moment I think I am being so, but in reflection I just came across as awkward or fake.
From the outside it seems like a golden pass to be able to live your life without caring about societal expectations and to shake off the shackles of emotional manipulation. But at the same time it's hard to live within society but not actually be a part of it, in terms of acceptance. I am emotional and at times insecure but it all gets locked away behind this facade of logic. It hurts me to not be able to have the ability to easily express how I am feeling to a partner or a friend in a way they understand. People tend to think I am rock solid emotionally and come to me with their problems but are unwilling to listen to me if I have one. I usually get a response something like....'well you always know what to do, or you'l get over it'.
Thank you for sharing this; I see a lot of it in my INTJ friend, especially the bolded part.
Sadly, he gets that response a lot from his gf and some of his friends. My friend is very smart, and does almost everything perfectly at school; because of that if he ever voices his concerns about a test, an exam or anything in general, he always gets: "You're smart, you'll figure it out." as a response. The hurt expression on his face is very subtle but I see it.
I think the problem here could be lack of frequent emotional expression?
what kind of response are you really looking for though?
when NTJs express a concern about a problem, the best response and way to help is offer a solution, or at least work with them to find a solution(aka brainstorming) when it comes to feelings, I found that helping them find the logic behind those emotions makes NTJs comfortable and at ease when expressing them or when they confronted by a new kind of feelings.
With my INTJ friend, there's an established level of trust. If he ever feels uneasy about something or even extremely happy, he has no qualms expressing that (even if awkwardly) because there is no prejudice or expectations to live up to on my part.
Also, offering comfort (aka fluffiness) may not always work for NTJ as it might work for NFJ. They can find it annoying sometimes, if it isn't accompanied by some sort of solution to whatever problem they have. However, I am only generalizing here (based on my personal experience), but there can always be exceptions.
Nevermore probably has clearer insight on this. =)