Enneagram Self-Care: Tailored Tips for Each Personality Type

The concept of Enneagram self-care provides tailor-made insights for each Enneagram type to help them improve their self-awareness and quality of life.

The Enneagram test is a powerful personality framework that reveals unique stress triggers, emotional needs, core fears, and desires. Based on that, it can offer customized self-care advice for each type.

In this article, we’ll analyze what self-care means for every Enneagram type and how they can practice and benefit from it.

Key Takeaways

• Each Enneagram type tends to neglect themselves in different ways and areas of life, and therefore each needs a unique self-care approach - that’s how Enneagram and self-care are connected.
• The Enneagram test can help you understand the self-care you need to thrive in life and relationships.
• For Twos, Sixes, and Nines, it is imperative to understand the need for self-care because they tend to put others’ needs before their own.

How Does Enneagram Theory Relate to Self-Care?

Self-care can mean very different things for different people. For some, it’s about self-compassion; for others, it’s more about self-discipline. The value of the Enneagram test in terms of self-care is that it can give us precise insights into the kind of self-care we need, based on the unique characteristics of our Enneagram type.

There are plenty of myths about self-care that it should only include practices that bring us pleasure and joy. While self-care brings joy in many cases, it is just as much about learning to persevere, postpone pleasure, and grow emotionally and psychologically.

So the Enneagram recognizes these different self-care needs, pinpoints growth areas for each type, and helps you formulate a sustainable self-care plan that makes a difference in how you experience life. In some cases, it offers Enneagram wellness tips; in others, it’s more about preventing burnout, since self-care is unique for each type.

That said, let’s see how each Enneagram type recharges.

Personalized Self-Care Tips for Each Enneagram Type

Here’s what self-care means for each Enneagram type:

Enneagram 1—The Perfectionist

Ones easily go into overdrive mode, not allowing themselves to stop until everything is ‘perfect.’ However, since nothing is ever perfect, Perfectionists remain in a state of constant pressure and criticize themselves whenever they achieve even slightly less than what they believe is the optimal result.

Moreover, mistakes trigger them deeply, provoking their anger, which they direct to themselves, fueling the voice of their already harsh inner critic.

So, it’s no surprise that Ones are one of the most likely Enneagram types to neglect self-care. Such dedication to work pushes them to repress their emotional needs. In such a situation, their creativity also gets sacrificed along the way, and Ones risk becoming the ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ kind of person.

Enneagram self-care tip for Ones: It is essential to incorporate rest into everyday routine, no matter how hectic the work schedule is. Ones should take rest just as seriously as they take work. Creative hobbies are also a great way for Perfectionists to nurture their inner child and live a more fulfilling life.

Enneagram 2—The Helper

Twos are primarily prone to emotional burnout as they dismiss their own needs while focusing entirely on those of others. Plus, Helpers struggle to ask for help, though they generously provide it to everyone around them.

Their lack of personal and professional boundaries makes them vulnerable to both mental and physical exhaustion. Essentially, Twos don’t believe that their needs are as important as those of others and therefore easily discount self-care as something they don’t deserve.

Enneagram self-care tip for Twos: In the case of Twos, self-care means both self-compassion and self-discipline. Helpers need to give themselves the same love they give to others while also learning to enhance their personal boundaries. Enneagram 2 stress relief lies in allowing themselves some time to understand what they need from others and learn to ask for it.

Enneagram 3—The Achiever

Threes are in a never-ending chase for success and recognition, and are prone to neglecting their emotions as they try to reach ‘the top.’ Such disconnection from their authentic selves easily leads them to burnout. Achievers may also often suffer from the impostor syndrome due to a disconnection with their feelings.

Though they do not deny themselves joy and pleasure like Ones do, Threes often don’t allow themselves to relax and just rest.

Enneagram self-care tip for Threes: These individuals need to unplug from work and make more room for fostering emotional intimacy with people they love. Connection with those who love them beyond their achievements is the best act of self-care for Achievers because it encourages them to focus on their feelings and authentic needs.

Enneagram 4—The Individualist

Fours want to be emotionally invested in everything they do, so they may exhaust themselves pursuing their passions and following their impulses without thinking through the consequences.

Individualists typically lack structure because they take on different challenges and responsibilities on the go and later realize they can’t commit fully to them. That’s when their days become chaotic, requiring them to spend more energy than is necessary on every task.

Enneagram self-care tip for Fours: Walking in nature and self-pampering are great, but discipline and structure make a difference in their lives. So, shifting focus from motivation to discipline and understanding the importance of consistency is the best way for Fours to take care of themselves and prevent long-term emotional burnout.

Enneagram 5—The Investigator

Fives aren’t as prone to workaholism as Ones and Threes, but they can be obsessed with specific ideas related to their work and detach and self-isolate to explore them. This can lead to overthinking and mental exhaustion, and a feeling that they are ‘stuck in their head.’

So, Investigators easily lose touch with others and their bodies, which may make them feel lost in the world and trigger their core fear of unpredictability.

Enneagram self-care tip for Fives: Enhancing body awareness, limiting information intake, and making small social steps toward connection with others is the best self-care for Enneagram Fives. Investigators need physical movement to connect with their bodies and interaction with others to connect with their emotional side. When they do that, they will feel less anxious and more productive.

Enneagram 6—The Loyalist

Sixes are one of the Enneagram types that can severely neglect self-care because they tend to get consumed by their anxiety, which pushes them to throw themselves into their work to feel safe. Their minds race from one catastrophic possibility to another, which drains them not just mentally but emotionally, too.

While they often seem well emotionally regulated and calm, Loyalists are actually spiraling inside and obsessing over possible threats and dangers.

Enneagram self-care tip for Sixes: For Sixes, it is important to be kind to themselves, to practice grounding, and to focus on building reliable support systems.

Enneagram 7—The Enthusiast

The playful Sevens indulge themselves in many ways, often even too much. On the one hand, Enthusiasts have trouble refusing to take on those activities that they like, so they take on too much, and on the other hand, they refuse to commit to anything that they are not passionate about. As a result, Sevens burn out quickly, leaving many things unfinished.

Plus, of all the Enneagram types, Enthusiasts are the most likely to perceive self-care as an act of self-indulgence, which is often the opposite of what they need.

Enneagram self-care tip for Sevens: The crucial thing for Sevens is to practice slow living, to notice their feelings, and to introduce more structure in their lives from a place of understanding their needs and emotions.

Enneagram 8—The Challenger

Eights live with an inner imperative to be strong, which may bring them to the point where they ignore fatigue and keep pushing themselves despite feeling drained. Though Challengers are generally self-aware and have good contact with their emotions, their tendency to dismiss vulnerability may lead them to stress.

Whenever Challengers become too pushy, bossy, confrontational, and domineering, they may enter an unhealthy mode due to too much stress.

Enneagram self-care tip for Eights: Eights should learn to take a break from their ‘tough mode’. Cuddling a pet, playing with kids, or exchanging tenderness with a loved one are great ways for them to counter their rough exterior. Physical release through martial arts, weightlifting, running, or similar activities is great for them to take care of and channel their intense feelings in a healthy way.

Enneagram 9—The Peacemaker

Nines are so attuned to the needs of others that neglecting their own feels natural. So, being used to not caring for themselves, Peacemakers frequently have emotional burnouts, which they experience in the form of lethargy, passivity, and numbness.

This can lead to stagnation in all areas of their lives, and Nines might eventually get depressed unless they learn to prioritize their needs.

Enneagram self-care tip for Nines: The best way for Nines to practice self-care is to practice assertiveness. Peacemakers may, for example, set a task for themselves to voice one opinion or preference daily.

Create Your Unique Self-Care Routine with Enneagram!

Your Enneagram type is key to nourishing your mind, body, and soul. Take the Enneagram test and learn your type's most effective self-care strategy!

Final Thoughts

There’s no universal recipe for self-care; generic advice simply doesn’t work. Each of us must discover our self-care formula, and the Enneagram test can be a valuable tool.

By highlighting the areas where we most frequently disregard our needs, Enneagram self-care tips enable us to develop personalized self-care plans and map our path to a more fulfilled life.

So, whether you’re a Perfectionist who needs to learn how to rest or a Helper exercising their boundaries, your growth begins with self-awareness.

In addition, remember that your Enneagram wing can significantly modify how your primary type is expressed, so if the self-care tip for your core type doesn’t seem to fit, consult tips for your possible Enneagram wings.

Enneagram and Self Care FAQ