Many people have probably heard of the term “neuroticism.”
However, some people may not really understand what characteristics it actually involves or whether their own personality traits apply.
Neuroticism refers to a personality trait characterized by a tendency to experience negative emotions easily. It is characterized by being vulnerable to anxiety and stress, thinking about things pessimistically, and having low self-esteem.
It is said that when this tendency is strong, the risk of developing depression or anxiety disorders also increases.
However, neuroticism is not simply all negative aspects. A cautious and sensitive personality also leads to the ability to think deeply about things and understand others’ feelings.
What’s important is knowing your personality traits and learning to deal with them skillfully.
This article will provide detailed explanations of the characteristics, mechanisms, and influencing factors of neuroticism.
Please use this as a reference to understand your own personality.
Once again, personality researcher and author of Villain Encyclopedia, Tokiwa (@etokiwa999), will provide the explanation.
※We have developed the HEXACO-JP Personality Assessment! It has more scientific basis than MBTI. Tap below for details.
目次
- 1 What is Neuroticism
- 2 Characteristics of People with High Neuroticism
- 3 The Relationship Between Neuroticism and Income
- 4 The Relationship Between Neurotic Tendencies and Health
- 5 The Relationship Between Neuroticism and Happiness
- 6 Causes of Neurotic Tendencies
- 7 The relationship between neurotic tendencies and the brain
- 8 Methods for improving neuroticism
- 9 Finally
What is Neuroticism
Definition of Neuroticism
It refers to a personality trait characterized by a tendency to experience negative emotions easily.
People with high levels of this tendency have the following characteristics:
- Prone to feeling anxiety and stress
- Tend to perceive things pessimistically
- Have a tendency toward low self-esteem
- Often have perfectionist personalities
Additionally, neuroticism is considered one of the Big Five personality factors model.
The Big Five is a model that explains personality through the following five factors:
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
In other words, neuroticism can be said to be one of the important elements that constitute personality.
However, having high neuroticism is not necessarily a bad thing.
Moderate neuroticism leads to cautiousness and attentiveness.
Characteristics of Neuroticism
People with high neuroticism tend to experience negative emotions easily.
Specifically, the following characteristics can be mentioned:
- Prone to feeling anxiety
- Vulnerable to stress
- Tend to be pessimistic
- Low self-esteem
- Perfectionist
Furthermore, people with high neuroticism tend to exhibit the following behaviors:
- Worry about what others think
- Avoid taking action for fear of failure
- Suppress their own emotions
- Worry about others’ evaluations
However, these characteristics apply to everyone to varying degrees.
What’s important is understanding your personality and learning to deal with it skillfully.
Methods of Measuring Neuroticism
Neuroticism is measured using questionnaire methods and other techniques.
Representative questionnaires include the following:
- NEO-PI-R
- Big Five
- Y-G Personality Test
- HEXACO Model (emotional stability item)
These questionnaires ask about the respondent’s usual behavior and ways of thinking.
Based on those responses, the level of neuroticism is quantified.
In addition to questionnaires, neuroticism may also be measured using the following methods:
- Behavioral observation
- Interviews
- Projective methods
Measuring neuroticism tendencies provides clues for understanding your own personality.
Based on the measurement results, it is important to understand your own characteristics and think about how to deal with them.
You can take the HEXACO personality test from here, which is an improved version of the Big Five!
Relationship with MBTI’s 4 Dimensions
There are research papers suggesting a relationship between the academically trusted Big Five and MBTI, which classifies personalities into 16 types. The main correlations are as follows.
| Correlation Table | E | I | N | S | F | T | J | P |
| Extraversion | Strong positive | Strong negative | Positive | Negative | ||||
| Openness | Positive | Negative | Strong positive | Strong negative | Negative | Positive | ||
| Agreeableness | Positive | Strong negative | ||||||
| Conscientiousness | Negative | Positive | Strong positive | Strong negative | ||||
| Neuroticism | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Positive | Negative |
As can be seen from this, there is a possibility that neuroticism tendencies in the Big Five and emotionality in HEXACO correlate with MBTI.
While MBTI does not have items corresponding to neuroticism tendencies, 16personalities has Identity (the final T and A) which could potentially correspond to neuroticism tendencies.
This can be summarized in the following figure.
Characteristics of People with High Neuroticism
Prone to anxiety and stress
People with high neuroticism tend to be prone to anxiety and stress.
They tend to worry excessively or be overly concerned about even trivial matters.
For example, they are likely to feel anxiety and stress in situations like the following:
- When adapting to a new environment
- When there are problems in relationships
- When they fail at work or studies
- When thinking about their future
Such anxiety and stress are common to everyone.
However, people with high neuroticism are characterized by the intensity of these feelings.
As a result, it can sometimes interfere with their daily life.
Tend to view things pessimistically
People with high neuroticism tend to view things pessimistically.
They have a tendency to focus more on bad things rather than good things.
For example, they are likely to have pessimistic thoughts in situations like the following:
- Thinking “I’m a worthless person” when they fail
- Thinking “They must hate me” when there are problems in relationships
- Thinking “Things probably won’t go well” when considering the future
Such pessimistic thinking triggers negative emotions.
And negative emotions create a vicious cycle that generates even more pessimistic thinking.
Tend to have low self-esteem
People with high neuroticism tend to have low self-esteem.
They cannot have confidence in themselves and tend to underestimate their abilities.
For example, they are likely to have thoughts like the following:
- “I can’t do it”
- “I have no value”
- “I am inferior to others”
Such low self-esteem leads to lack of confidence.
And lack of confidence makes them hesitant to take on new challenges or makes it difficult to build relationships.
However, having low self-esteem is not necessarily a bad thing.
Moderately low self-esteem leads to humility.
Many have perfectionist personalities
Many people with high neuroticism have perfectionist personalities.
Perfectionism refers to the tendency to demand high standards from oneself and others, and being unable to tolerate anything less than perfect.
People with high neuroticism often have the following perfectionist characteristics:
- Being conservative in their actions due to fear of making mistakes
- Being concerned about evaluations from others
- Suffering from the gap between their ideals and reality
- Being obsessive about trivial matters
While perfectionism leads to having high goals, it can also be a source of stress.
Seeking perfection too much can lead to pushing oneself too hard.
The Relationship Between Neuroticism and Income
High neuroticism tends to correlate with lower income
This tendency shows that when it is high, there tends to be lower income.
The reasons for this can be considered as follows:
- Being weak to stress, work performance tends to decline
- Missing opportunities to take on challenges due to fear of failure
- Having low self-esteem, becoming passive about promotions or job changes
In fact, research examining the relationship between neuroticism and income has yielded the following results:
- People with high neuroticism tend to have lower incomes
- This tendency is particularly strong in women compared to men
- High neuroticism is associated with a lower probability of becoming a manager
However, having high neuroticism doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a low income.
There are many people with high neuroticism who earn high incomes.
What’s important is effectively managing the anxiety and stress that comes with neuroticism.
It’s crucial to find your own stress management methods and devise ways to improve your work performance.
It’s also important to build self-esteem and have the courage to take on challenges.
By leveraging your strengths and taking positive action, you can work toward increasing your income.
Even with high neuroticism, it’s entirely possible to grow your income with the right approach.
Negative thinking reduces work performance
People with high neuroticism tend to fall into negative thinking patterns, which becomes a cause for reduced work performance.
When negative thinking becomes strong, the following effects may occur:
- Fear of making mistakes leads to passive behavior
- Excessive worry about failure causes stress
- Underestimating one’s abilities leads to loss of confidence
- Worrying about others’ evaluations causes withdrawal
This type of negative thinking reduces work quality.
The fear of making mistakes leads to hesitation in taking on challenges or becoming overly focused on details.
Additionally, increased stress can lead to decreased judgment and concentration.
As a result, work efficiency decreases, making it difficult to achieve results.
To improve negative thinking, the following approaches are effective:
- Focus on your strengths
- Build up small success experiences
- Use positive self-talk
- Learn stress management techniques
Negative thinking is something everyone experiences.
What’s important is not being controlled by negative thinking.
It’s crucial to maintain a positive mindset and practice your own coping methods.
By doing so, you can prevent negative thinking from reducing your work performance.
Difficulty in interpersonal relationships
People with high neuroticism tend to have difficulty with interpersonal relationships.
The reasons for this include the following:
- Becoming overly concerned about others’ reactions and withdrawing
- Being unable to control emotions and becoming easily emotional
- Being trapped by one’s own anxiety rather than considering others’ feelings
- Having high perfectionism and demanding too high standards from others
These characteristics make communication difficult.
Being too concerned about others’ reactions can prevent you from expressing your opinions or accepting others’ views.
Also, becoming emotional can worsen relationships with others.
Anger and anxiety can prevent appropriate words and actions.
To improve interpersonal relationships, the following approaches are effective:
- Try to see things from others’ perspectives
- Verbalize your emotions
- Practice assertive communication
- Soften perfectionism
Interpersonal relationships are a difficult challenge for everyone.
Just because someone has high neurotic tendencies doesn’t mean their interpersonal relationships will necessarily suffer.
It can be said that understanding your own characteristics and making repeated efforts is important.
By doing so, you can gradually improve your interpersonal relationships.
Good interpersonal relationships lead to improving the quality of work and personal life.
The Relationship Between Neurotic Tendencies and Health
High neurotic tendencies tend to worsen health conditions
It is known that when these tendencies are high, health conditions tend to deteriorate.
The following reasons can be considered:
- Decreased immunity due to stress
- Physical tension due to anxiety and stress
- Poor physical condition due to disrupted lifestyle habits
- Mental and physical disorders due to negative thinking
People with high neurotic tendencies are prone to feeling stress, which negatively affects their body.
When stress increases, immunity decreases, making one more susceptible to illness.
Additionally, physical tension due to anxiety and stress can cause the following symptoms:
- Headaches
- Stiff shoulders
- Stomach pain
- Insomnia
Furthermore, disrupted lifestyle habits due to stress also become a cause of worsening health conditions.
Lack of exercise, unbalanced diet, and irregular sleep are likely to cause poor physical condition.
To maintain good health, the following measures are effective:
- Learn stress management techniques
- Maintain regular lifestyle habits
- Incorporate moderate exercise
- Have time to relax
Health is the most precious asset of all.
Even with high neurotic tendencies, maintaining good health is fully possible with the right approach.
It can be said that finding your own stress management methods and maintaining regular lifestyle habits is important.
By doing so, you can minimize the negative impact of neurotic tendencies on your health.
Physical symptoms due to stress are more likely to appear
People with high neurotic tendencies tend to be more prone to physical symptoms caused by stress.
When stress increases, the following symptoms may appear:
- Headaches
- Stiff shoulders
- Stomach pain
- Heart palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
These symptoms occur due to physical tension caused by stress.
When stress increases, the autonomic nervous system becomes disrupted and muscles enter a state of tension.
As a result, symptoms such as headaches and stiff shoulders are more likely to appear.
Additionally, decreased immunity due to stress also becomes a cause of physical symptoms.
When immunity decreases, one becomes more susceptible to colds and experiences stronger feelings of fatigue.
To improve physical symptoms caused by stress, the following measures are effective:
- Have time to relax
- Incorporate moderate exercise
- Get adequate sleep
- Maintain a balanced diet
Stress is unavoidable in modern society.
What’s important is learning to deal with stress effectively.
It can be said that finding your own stress management methods and putting them into practice is important.
By doing so, you can reduce physical symptoms caused by stress and lead a healthy life.
High risk of depression and anxiety disorders
High levels of neuroticism are known to increase the risk of depression and anxiety disorders.
People with high neuroticism are more susceptible to stress, which negatively affects their mental health.
Depression is characterized by the following symptoms:
- Depressed mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure
- Changes in appetite
- Changes in sleep
- Decreased concentration
- Fatigue
- Recurrent thoughts about death
On the other hand, anxiety disorders are characterized by the following symptoms:
- Excessive anxiety or worry
- Irritability
- Decreased concentration
- Changes in sleep
- Physical symptoms (palpitations, sweating, trembling, etc.)
These symptoms significantly interfere with daily life.
They can make it impossible to go to work or school, or cause difficulties in relationships.
To prevent depression and anxiety disorders, the following strategies are effective:
- Learn stress coping techniques
- Verbalize your emotions
- Seek support
- Consult with professionals
Early detection and early treatment are crucial for depression and anxiety disorders.
If symptoms persist, recovery can become more difficult.
Having high neuroticism doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop depression or anxiety disorders.
However, it’s important to be aware that the risk is higher.
It’s important to pay attention to your mental health and take necessary measures.
Tendency toward disrupted lifestyle habits
People with high neuroticism tend to have disrupted lifestyle habits.
When anxiety and stress increase, the following effects may occur:
- Disrupted sleep rhythms
- Irregular eating patterns, becoming obese
- Lack of exercise
- Tendency to rely on alcohol and smoking
These disrupted lifestyle habits become causes of physical and mental health deterioration.
Sleep deprivation causes decreased concentration and fatigue.
Additionally, irregular eating leads to weight gain and disrupted nutritional balance.
Lack of exercise increases the risk of decreased physical fitness and lifestyle-related diseases.
Alcohol and smoking may temporarily help distract from stress.
However, in the long term, they become causes of health problems.
To improve lifestyle habits, the following strategies are effective:
- Create a regular life rhythm
- Focus on balanced meals
- Incorporate moderate exercise
- Moderate alcohol consumption and smoking
Lifestyle habits have a significant impact on physical and mental health.
Even with high neuroticism, you can maintain health by being mindful of regular lifestyle habits.
It’s important to create your own life rhythm and develop good habits.
By doing so, you can prevent lifestyle disruption caused by neuroticism.
A healthy lifestyle also leads to mental stability.
The Relationship Between Neuroticism and Happiness
High neuroticism tends to correlate with lower happiness
When this tendency is high, it has been found that happiness levels tend to be lower.
Specifically, the following effects can be considered.
- Anxiety and stress are constantly present
- Only the negative aspects of things catch your attention
- Unable to have confidence in yourself
- Human relationships don’t go well
These factors reduce the quality of daily life.
You become trapped by negative emotions and unable to view things positively.
Additionally, low self-esteem and interpersonal relationship problems make it difficult to feel purpose and fulfillment in life.
You may not feel connected to people around you and end up carrying feelings of loneliness.
To increase happiness, the following approaches are effective.
- Focus on positive aspects
- Recognize your strengths
- Have a spirit of gratitude
- Build good human relationships
Happiness is subjective.
Even if neurotic tendencies are high, you can increase your happiness level by maintaining positive thinking.
It can be said that finding your own happiness and cherishing it is important.
Also, feeling connected to people around you is essential for enhancing happiness.
It’s required to cherish relationships with close people such as family, friends, and colleagues.
By doing so, even with high neurotic tendencies, you can lead a fulfilling life.
Experiencing Many Negative Emotions
People with high neurotic tendencies tend to experience many negative emotions.
Specifically, they tend to easily feel the following emotions.
- Anxiety
- Fear
- Anger
- Irritation
- Depression
- Loneliness
- Guilt
These negative emotions have a significant impact on daily life.
When anxiety and fear become strong, you become unable to actively engage in things or challenge new things.
Anger and irritation become causes for deteriorating human relationships.
You may become emotional and hurt others.
Depression and loneliness reduce motivation and rob you of drive.
You may feel like doing nothing and become prone to withdrawal.
Guilt lowers self-evaluation and causes loss of confidence.
You continue to blame yourself and become unable to move forward.
To control negative emotions, the following approaches are effective.
- Verbalize emotions
- Face emotions
- Focus on positive aspects
- Find ways to relax
Negative emotions are something everyone has.
What’s important is not being controlled by emotions.
It can be said that learning methods to get along well with emotions is important.
By doing so, you can minimize the impact that negative emotions have on your life.
By maintaining positive feelings, you can lead fulfilling days.
Low Life Satisfaction
People with high neurotic tendencies tend to have low life satisfaction.
The reasons for this can be considered as follows.
- Experiencing many negative emotions
- Unable to have confidence in yourself
- Human relationships don’t go well
- Prone to feeling stress
Additionally, low self-evaluation becomes a cause for reducing satisfaction with one’s life.
Unable to recognize their own worth, they may find themselves unable to find meaning in life.
Relationship problems increase feelings of loneliness and make it difficult to feel a sense of purpose in life.
Unable to feel connected to people around them, they end up carrying loneliness.
High levels of stress damage physical and mental health and reduce quality of life.
They constantly feel anxiety and pressure, becoming unable to have time to relax.
To increase life satisfaction, the following approaches are effective.
- Focus on your strengths
- Have a feeling of gratitude
- Build good relationships
- Learn stress management techniques
Life satisfaction can be increased depending on yourself.
Even with high neurotic tendencies, if you strive for positive thinking, you can live a fulfilling life.
It can be said that it’s important to find your own happiness and cherish it.
Also, feeling connected to people around you is essential for increasing satisfaction.
It’s required to value relationships with close people such as family, friends, and colleagues.
By doing so, even with high neurotic tendencies, you can walk through life in your own way.
Causes of Neurotic Tendencies
The influence of genetics is not small
It is known that neurotic tendencies are influenced by genetics to at least some extent.
In other words, the level of neurotic tendencies is influenced by innate temperament.
Research on twins has yielded the following results.
- Neurotic tendencies in monozygotic twins (twins with the same genes) are more similar than in dizygotic twins (twins with different genes)
- The heritability (genetic influence) of neurotic tendencies is around 40-60%
These results show that neurotic tendencies are determined by genetic factors.
There is a possibility that high neurotic tendencies are inherited from parent to child.
However, genetic influence is merely a matter of possibility.
Even if neurotic tendencies are genetically high, it doesn’t necessarily mean that neurotic tendencies will be high.
Environmental factors also influence the level of neurotic tendencies.
Various environmental factors such as home environment, school environment, and social environment are involved in the manifestation of neurotic tendencies.
Stressful environments or environments with little support will likely become causes that increase neurotic tendencies.
Conversely, warm home environments and supportive school environments have the effect of suppressing neurotic tendencies.
The level of neurotic tendencies is determined by the interaction between genetics and environment.
While genetic factors cannot be changed, environmental factors can be changed.
By creating a good environment, it is possible to control the level of neurotic tendencies.
Environmental factors also influence neurotic tendencies
Neurotic tendencies are influenced not only by genetic factors but also by environmental factors.
In other words, in addition to innate temperament, the environment in which one was raised and the situations one was placed in influence the level of neurotic tendencies.
Specifically, it is known that the following environmental factors influence neurotic tendencies.
- Home environment (parenting attitudes such as parental abuse, family relationships, etc.)
- School environment (friendships, bullying experiences, etc.)
- Social environment (high stress, harassment, lack of support, etc.)
People who grew up in warm home environments tend to have lower neurotic tendencies.
On the other hand, people who grew up in cold home environments tend to have higher neurotic tendencies.
School environment also greatly influences neurotic tendencies.
People with good friendships tend to have lower neurotic tendencies.
Conversely, people who experienced bullying tend to have higher neurotic tendencies.
Social environment is also related to the level of neurotic tendencies.
People placed in stressful environments tend to have higher neurotic tendencies.
Also, in environments with little support, neurotic tendencies are more likely to increase.
Thus, neurotic tendencies are influenced by various environmental factors.
While genetic factors cannot be changed, environmental factors can be changed.
By creating a good environment, it is possible to control the level of neurotic tendencies.
Stressful experiences increase neurotic tendencies
Stressful experiences are one of the factors that increase neurotic tendencies.
In other words, experiencing events that cause strong stress tends to increase neurotic tendencies.
Specifically, the following stressful experiences have been shown to increase neurotic tendencies.
- Abuse and neglect
- Bullying and discrimination
- Accidents and disasters
- Illness and injuries
- Separation from loved ones
These experiences leave deep wounds in the heart.
In particular, stressful events experienced during childhood have a major impact on subsequent personality development.
Children who experience abuse or neglect develop low self-esteem and become unable to trust others.
Children who experience bullying or discrimination lose confidence and find it difficult to adapt to society.
Accidents, disasters, illness, and injuries cause not only physical pain but also significant psychological damage.
Separation from loved ones causes feelings of loss and loneliness, hurting the heart.
These stressful experiences become causes of increased neurotic tendencies.
By experiencing strong stress, negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, and anger become stronger.
Additionally, stressful experiences lower self-esteem and make it difficult to trust others.
As a result, neurotic tendencies increase.
The relationship between neurotic tendencies and the brain
Excessive amygdala reactivity
People with high neurotic tendencies have been found to have excessive amygdala reactivity.
The amygdala is an important part of the brain related to emotions.
In particular, it is responsible for processing negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anger.
The amygdala of people with high neurotic tendencies reacts excessively to stress.
In other words, even minor stress causes the amygdala to react strongly.
As a result, the following effects may occur.
- Anxiety and fear become stronger
- Irritation and anger become difficult to subside
- Negative emotions persist longer
- Stress tolerance becomes lower
Excessive amygdala reactivity causes major disruption to daily life.
Even minor stress causes strong anxiety and irritation.
Additionally, as negative emotions persist, physical and mental fatigue accumulates.
Because stress tolerance becomes lower, even small things cause strong stress.
Excessive amygdala reactivity is thought to be related to structural characteristics of the brain.
People with high neurotic tendencies have been found to have larger amygdala volumes and higher activity levels.
Excessive amygdala reactivity can be improved through pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.
It is also important to develop your own stress coping methods.
By controlling amygdala reactivity, it is possible to reduce the impact of neurotic tendencies.