Definition and characteristics of an anxious personality type

Is this an anxious personality type? Anxious person, psychology! Definition of anxiety. How to distinguish anxious people? Features of a radical. Choice of profession.

The full moon rose above the meadow in an unchanging marvelous circle, shining and silent. A pale, pale flowering meadow, The darkness of the night creeping across it, Resting, sleeping. It’s scary to go out on the road: An incomprehensible anxiety reigns under the moon. “A full moon has risen over the meadow...” - Alexander Blok.

Hi all!

Now it’s time to disassemble another psychotype into its component elements. Let's discuss the disturbing type of people!

Characteristic

Anxious personality type is characterized by the presence of increased anxiety. A person is nervous, worried, worried, afraid of something, worried about everything.

1. These individuals are overly suspicious, too superstitious. Regarding any issue, they will find many negative aspects that can be dangerous for them.
2. Such individuals constantly doubt their abilities, are not sure that their thoughts are correct and their actions are appropriate. Anxiety gives rise to modesty, timidity, indecision and lack of initiative.
3. If such an individual once makes a mistake, then in the future he tries to avoid similar situations and determines for himself a tactic of inaction. There is confidence that the mistake will be made again. Mistakes and failures are experienced very hard and for a long time by an anxious person.
4. In the life of such a person there is always fear. Despite the fact that an adult is able to control and hide his panic, the problems caused by the phobia remain unsolved. As a result of all these difficulties, there is a disruption in the process of adaptation and socialization.
5. Anxious individuals are unable to defend their opinion or say “no.” Being close to people who occupy a higher social position, feel excessive modesty, are afraid to even look into the eyes of their interlocutor, stuttering is possible.
6. Such individuals are overly vulnerable and have low resistance to stress.
7. Such persons are quite submissive, so other people often use them for their own purposes.
8. These individuals are very impressionable and hypersensitive, they always worry that some of their actions may harm someone.
9. They are confident that they are socially inept and consider themselves unattractive.
10. Such individuals cannot defend their point of view; at the moment of conflict, there will always be someone nearby who can put them in their belt.
11. Such people constantly engage in self-analysis and always exaggerate their shortcomings.
12. Such individuals try to control their emotions, even if they are spontaneous. As a rule, it is very difficult for them to relax.

As you can see, all the signs seem negative. However, such a personality also has positive traits:

• responsibility;
• diligence;
• caution;
• goodwill;
• prudence;
• responsiveness;
• self-criticism.

As a rule, these are conscientious, compassionate people, ready to help at any moment. There will always be a feeling of anxiety. This can also be obsessive control, for example, in a situation where there are doubts whether the iron has been turned off at home, you have to go back to check it. An example of an anxious personality situation is when a mother tells her daughter that she has been diagnosed with anemia. At the same time, a daughter who has an anxious type of character will have time to create certain images in her head and decide that everything is very bad, the mother is almost dying.

Life is very difficult for such individuals. There is always some event, a situation that provokes anxiety.

Features in children

1. Children with increased anxiety are frightened by everything around them, they are afraid of overly active peers, they will not go to bed with the lights off, they will not want to stay at home alone.
2. As they grow up, such children become “scapegoats” and then victims of bullying. Some parents, without realizing it, further aggravate the child’s condition.
3. Such little ones like to communicate more with younger children, as they feel more relaxed around them. But they are afraid of older children, as well as adults, in particular teachers.
4. Already from childhood, special complexes appear that resemble social phobia.
5. The child is afraid to appear in a bad light, to demonstrate his stiffness or stupidity.

How scary it is to live

Since childhood, anxious people develop symptom complexes that correspond to the picture of social phobia. This is the fear of social interaction, the fear of appearing in front of others in an unfavorable light, of demonstrating stupidity or constraint.

One of the cardinal traits of an anxious character is “forward anxiety” - the desire to avoid alarming situations. Growing up, anxious individuals, of course, are no longer afraid of thunderstorms and dogs, but even with a seemingly quite favorable life scenario, anxiety still lives in the background in them.

It can manifest itself in the form of obsession with repeated control, when a person, having already gotten to work, suddenly returns home to check whether he turned off the iron or locked the door. Having returned and made sure that everything is in order, the person experiences relief, but only until the next alarming situation occurs.

What worries engulf an anxious person?

Such a person is afraid of everything that surrounds him

1. Everything is perceived as a threat. When there are no objective reasons for concern, such an individual will simply invent them.
2. An anxious person lives as if he has a radar that can detect trouble.
3. Such an individual assumes the possibility of a catastrophe developing. It is important for him to make every effort to be able to eliminate even the slightest complication.
4. Such an individual is always careful and tries to keep everything under control.
5. In any situation, first of all, it detects a possible risk.
6. When there is uncertainty, he will always choose the worst option of possible events, that is, he will not even try to find something good, but will immediately begin to fear the worst.
7. When thinking about the future, such a person also thinks about possible threats.

There is a certain situation when increased anxiety turns into a disease that requires treatment. The restless state, endless thoughts about a possible catastrophe, and constant increasing tension are accompanied by other symptoms:

• increased sweating;
• muscle tension;
• tachycardia;
• feeling of a lump in the throat;
• constant vigilance of what is happening.

In this situation, the help of a specialist is very important.

Diagnostics

Anxious personality disorder is diagnosed when at least 4 of the following symptoms are present:

• a persistent and widespread feeling of tension and preoccupation;
• conviction of one’s own social awkwardness and inadequacy, external unattractiveness, and low value relative to other people;
• excessive concern with criticism and rejection in society;
• reluctance to enter into relationships where there is no guarantee that the person will be liked;
• limited lifestyle due to the need for security;
• avoidance of professional or social activities associated with intense interpersonal contacts due to fear of criticism, disapproval, or rejection.

Psychotraining

It is important to learn to remain calm in any situation

If a person wants to cope with increased anxiety, a psychologist can help with this. It is worth considering that you will need to put in a lot of effort and time in order to achieve good results. The main goal of psychological assistance is to teach a person to work on himself and to respond correctly to problems. If you realize that you yourself are a carrier of an anxious personality type, then you can control yourself through certain exercises.

1. It is important to take care of your physical health. Relaxation procedures will also be appropriate here.
2. Positive thinking. You need to learn to see at least something positive in any issue.
3. You can come up with certain rituals. For example, getting up in the morning on your left foot. If this happens, then everything will be fine.
4. You need to deal with your fears and learn to confront them.
5. One must act in accordance with authority. In a situation where you can’t make a certain decision, you can ask for advice from someone whose opinion is valued. In essence, with such an action you can shift your responsibility to someone else.
6. You need to learn to plan your actions. Moreover, the plan must have points and sub-points.
7. If you are afraid of something, remember some good event from your life, about the feelings that you experienced then. You will feel better.
8. Try to remain completely calm and keep yourself in this state for as long as possible.
9. When communicating with people, try to speak clearly and loudly, respecting your sense of dignity.
10. Love yourself, practice self-hypnosis, talk about how attractive and smart you are. If necessary, visit a beauty salon or gym. This will also help improve your self-esteem.
11. Expand your circle of contacts. Make good friends with whom you can share positive emotions.

Out of a molehill

Imagine a young woman living separately from her beloved mother. For the time being, it works successfully (anxious people, as a rule, are very efficient, because they are afraid of not being able to cope with something and causing the wrath of their superiors), but one day my mother calls and casually says that she recently had a routine examination at clinic.

She was diagnosed with low hemoglobin and was prescribed medications, which she will soon be back to normal. What will happen when this information is comprehended in the soul of an anxious daughter? Well, of course, she will work herself up so much that she will already imagine a farewell ceremony with her mother. Because of such thoughts, it will become extremely difficult for a girl to live an ordinary life, smile at her colleagues and carry on light conversations with them. Her head has already become fixated on a negative event, which, it seems to her, will have tragic consequences.

Adviсe

If you want to help a person with an anxious type, you need to do the following.

1. Show that you are a reliable friend, partner, that he can trust you. This is very important to him.
2. Try to help the anxious individual realize that what is happening is not as threatening as he thinks. For example, if he is afraid of being late for the train, you need to talk about the fact that even in this case, nothing terrible will happen.
3. Your jokes should be friendly and gentle. Dealing with an anxious person is a tedious and difficult task for many. The main thing is that you resist and do not start mocking this person and do not act out of spite.
4. Your task is not to fall under the influence of such an individual, not to begin to behave the same way as him.
5. There is no need to talk about your problems when you are next to an anxious person. Remember that such an individual is absorbed in his own difficulties, including imaginary ones. In addition, it is unlikely that he will be able to help you cope with your problems.
6. There is no need to talk to such a person about some tragic incidents, or tell him about the bad news you saw on TV. Remember how acutely he can react to such events.
7. Such people need to be praised and their self-esteem increased.

Now you know what an anxious-suspicious type is. As you can see, the life of such a person is in constant tension. He is always looking for problems, even when there are none, and is unable to exist normally and enjoy every day. If this type of personality is typical for you, try to learn to control yourself, look at life more easily, and see something good in every event. If there is an anxious person in your environment, then you need to build your communication with him taking into account his characteristics.

We play and sing

To help such people, mastering acting techniques at least at an amateur level is ideal. By playing a role, you can practice coping with your fears.

Often anxiety goes hand in hand with logoneurosis - simply put, stuttering. Lack of self-confidence sometimes reaches such a critical level that simply pronouncing words becomes a problem. The more a person stutters, the less he believes in his own abilities to overcome the disease.

We invite you to live online webinars: Ways to work with anxiety, fear and phobias

Vocal therapy can help, since in singing the process of pronouncing words is based on a musical basis. Especially anxious people like songs that they remember from childhood. In my practice, there was a case when six months of vocal therapy led to the patient getting rid of stuttering even in speech, and not just in singing lullabies.

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Treatment

People with anxiety disorders seek the help of a psychotherapist themselves, because despite avoidant behavior, they need care and love, and accordingly suffer from isolation. But during the treatment process they need constant monitoring. Additionally, attention is required to the fact that the fear of discussion and condemnation forces them to hide problems and conceal facts.

When interacting with an avoidant person, you do not need to use demands; you need to direct your efforts to correct behavior, fight anxiety and avoidance, and increase self-esteem. Training in self-regulation techniques is mandatory.

Individual cognitive behavioral therapy and sometimes group therapy are used to overcome avoidant behavior. The patient learns conflict resolution skills, overcoming failures and difficulties. Social-psychological training is used to build self-confidence and improve social skills.

In general, psychotherapy is aimed at acquiring the ability to control the situation, recognize anxiety and negative factors, think rationally, and comprehensively analyze the situation. If the disorder has congenital causes, then drug treatment is prescribed.

The prognosis of treatment depends on a number of factors: the moment of contacting a doctor, compliance with recommendations, severity of symptoms, general health, and more. If the social situation is good, complete healing is possible. Sometimes the disease becomes chronic. If the course is favorable, the success of treatment becomes noticeable in the first two years of therapy.

Causes

It has been noted that people with anxiety disorders have a special brain structure. The structures responsible for recognizing danger include the autonomic nervous system, which results in increased heart rate, tremors, and increased blood pressure. People with this predisposition react especially acutely to stress. With frequent stress, the mechanism begins to work falsely.

The prerequisites for the development of the disorder are somatic illnesses in childhood, condemnation from parents, significant adults and peers. Overestimation of dangers and a feeling of powerlessness can also be caused by incorrect family upbringing, in which, for example, the parents themselves were afraid of the world around them and convinced the child of this (anxious mothers and overprotection). Upbringing with excessive criticism and inflated demands, ignoring the child’s achievements and merits, and lack of emotional support has an unfavorable impact. Taken together, this creates a feeling of insecurity and powerlessness in the child.

In addition to destructive upbringing, the psychological cause of the disorder is some kind of internal conflict. Probably, for a long time the true needs and desires of the individual were suppressed and remained unsatisfied. Gradually accumulating, they make themselves felt with anxiety.

Other socio-psychological causes of the disorder include:

• chronic stress;
• family problems;
• violence;
• poverty;
• conflicts at work;
• change of habitual lifestyle;
• difficult life situation and unstable prospects;
• sedentary lifestyle;
• low self-esteem;
• bad habits and addictions;
• low stress resistance;
• overvoltage.

Anxiety disorder more often develops in people with alexithymia or due to character traits, stinginess of emotions, secrecy, tightness, impressionability, and vulnerability.