December 24, 2025

The Need for Agency: How Anger Shapes the Body Center

5-minute read

Series: Grounded Enneagram, S01E10

TL;DR

Agency is one of three fundamental human needs. It’s the drive for autonomy, self-direction, and control over one’s life. When agency is threatened or restricted, anger arises as a protective signal. This need pairs with the Body (Gut) center of the Enneagram and shows up most strongly in Types 8, 9, and 1—each expressing agency in a distinct way.

Agency as a core human need

Agency is the need to act, choose, and protect one’s autonomy.

At its core, agency involves:

maintaining boundaries between self and others
meeting one’s own needs
preserving physical and psychological autonomy
knowing “I can steer my life”

Using the sailboat metaphor: agency is the ability to steer the boat. Without it, movement stops. Direction is lost.

All humans need agency. Without it, we feel powerless, restricted, or controlled.

What happens when agency is unmet

When agency is blocked or threatened, a specific emotion arises: anger.

Anger isn’t a character flaw. It’s a protective, mobilizing emotion that signals:

loss of control
violation of boundaries
restriction of movement or choice

Anger energizes us to reclaim autonomy, assert limits, and regain a sense of control. This is why anger is the core emotion of the Body (Gut) center.

How agency pairs with the Body center

Agency aligns with the Body center of the Enneagram.

While everyone needs autonomy, Body types experience agency as a primary need. Their attention naturally orients toward:

action and resistance
boundaries and control
physical presence
instinctive response

This is why Types 8, 9, and 1 often relate strongly to anger—either through expression, suppression, or redirection.

How agency shows up in Types 8, 9, and 1

Although they share the same core need, each Body type meets agency very differently.

Type 8: agency through assertion and strength

Eights meet agency by:

asserting themselves
pushing against control
resisting vulnerability
protecting themselves and others

Agency drives them forward. It fuels leadership, protection, and resistance to being dominated.

Type 9: agency through withdrawal and self-erasure

Nines often meet agency indirectly.

Rather than pushing against life, they may:

avoid conflict
minimize their own needs
maintain harmony to stay unaffected

By convincing themselves that their needs don’t matter, Nines attempt to preserve autonomy by staying untouched.

A helpful metaphor comes from Sleeping At Last, who describes this dynamic as “another domino falls”—removing one’s own domino so it can’t be knocked over.

Type 1: agency through self-control and integrity

For Ones, agency turns inward.

It often shows up as:

strong self-discipline
moral clarity
striving to be good, right, or correct

Control is exercised internally first, which can spill outward as criticism when internal pressure becomes overwhelming.

When agency is overdone

Just as Heart types can overdo bonding and Head types can overdo certainty, Body types can overdo agency.

This can lead to:

rigidity or control struggles
suppressed or explosive anger
resistance to vulnerability
loss of flexibility and softness

Growth involves learning when to assert—and when to release control safely.

Key takeaways

Agency is a fundamental human need tied to autonomy and control
Anger signals threatened or unmet agency
The Body center (Types 8, 9, and 1) prioritizes agency
Each Body type meets this need differently
Growth involves flexible, conscious use of power and choice

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About Michael

Michael Shahan is a licensed marriage and family therapist, Enneagram coach, and teacher. He integrates Enneagram wisdom with evidence-based therapy to help people build honest, spacious relationships with themselves and others.

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