This personality characteristic can affect relationships in various ways.
Neurotic tendencies, for example, can sometimes cause friction in relationships, leading to conflict and distress.
What Is Neuroticism?
Neuroticism is a trait that reflects a person’s level ofemotional stability.
This concept has roots inFreudian timesbut was later expanded upon byHans Eysenckand others.
These are enduring personality traits that serve as common ways of categorizing people.
How Prevalent Is Neuroticism?
Neuroticism is generally measured using self-report questionnaires as part of apersonality assessment.
This process presents some challenges in identifying its true prevalence.
Instead, each person falls on a continuum that ranges from very low to very high.
Common Traits of Neuroticism
How do you know where you fall on the neuroticism spectrum?
An example of a neurotic person is someone who is often self-critical and experiences more negative emotions that others.
They doubt themselves, are often moody, and may have dramatic changes in their moods or feelings.
What Causes of Neuroticism, Exactly?
What might cause one person to score higher in neuroticism than another?
Here are a few factors to consider.
Research has also connected this trait with higher levels of academic success.
In some cases, neuroticism may contribute to the development of mental health issues such asdepressionoranxiety.
In other words, they live with emotional instability and may have trouble regulating their behaviors as a result.
How Neuroticism Affects Relationships
Neuroticism can have negative impacts on personal relationships.
Higher Level of Annoyance
People who are high in neuroticism can sometimes be seen as annoying.
Or you may blame friends for things in an overly aggressive way, which can hurt your relationships.
This, too, can lead to tension and conflict.
Increased Feelings of Guilt
Someone with high neurotic scores mayfeel guiltyabout things that are not their fault.
Or you may make decisions for them because “you know best.”
What are neurotic people good at?
Make it a habit to write in this journal every morning or every night.
Use it to remember all of the good that life has to offer.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulnesscan help you manage your emotions by keeping you in the present moment.
Being mindful provides other benefits as well, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing feelings of stress.
Work on Your Problem-Solving Skills
Problem-solvinginvolves looking at an issue objectively, then considering viable solutions.
This practice removes emotion from the equation, reducing the tendency for a negative response.
It also helps you look for ways to resolve things that bother you versus letting them pile up.
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