SHOW / EPISODE

E72: The Enneagram’s “Reality Distortion”: Are You Faking Good or Faking Bad?

Episode 72
56m | Jul 16, 2026

Tannah and Holly open with a light moment about their sleepy dog Bodhi’s “Fritos feet,” then Tannah recounts a terrifying solo-parenting incident at town fireworks when her seven-year-old, Keegan, disappeared for about 15 minutes and was found after she enlisted friends and asked a daycare teacher for help; she describes the fear, anger, tears, and the “lecture of a lifetime,” plus guilt about others “wasting their time.” Holly shares her own lost-kid memory at a Civil War reenactment. They pivot to Enneagram Adventure’s topic: “reality distortion” from the IEQ9 Coaching Companion, explaining “faking good” (overly positive, avoidant, performative, blocking hard conversations) and “faking bad” (overly negative, self-critical), noting their own zero scores in faking bad and observing a few clients higher in faking bad, often women and sometimes sixes. Holly uses Aaron’s Colorado bike crash and broken collarbone two weeks before Ironman Lake Placid to illustrate faking good and suppressed anger/sadness. They connect parenting, fear-based messaging, and building safe relationships through hard conversations, then close with a request to share, subscribe, and follow their platforms.


00:00 Sleepy Dog Debut

01:24 Solo Parenting Recap

01:43 Fireworks Kid Scare

05:20 Relief And Aftermath

06:10 Her Lost Kid Memory

12:00 Podcast Kickoff

13:03 Reality Distortion Explained

15:28 Faking Good In Relationships

21:57 Oversharing And Connection

24:24 Faking Bad Patterns

27:09 Culture And Demographics

28:18 Why Full Assessments Matter

29:23 Changing Reality Distortion

31:00 Faking Good vs Bad Scores

32:46 Bike Crash Emotional Coverup

39:08 Losing Kids and Faking Bad

40:54 Inherited Judgment Patterns

43:31 Parenting Through Fear

49:52 Safe Space Parenting Stories

52:29 Pokemon Cards and Truth

55:52 Wrap Up and Next Steps

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Listen to the Pod Here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/7A3DMdipKzElgEMD47XU6w

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/enneagram-adventure/id1792658956

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