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Many neurotic people know they (we) are neurotic and are working on it (getting counseling, meditating, etc). However, there is a genetic component to it, and
by riehwvfbk 3y ago
Many neurotic people know they (we) are neurotic and are working on it (getting counseling, meditating, etc). However, there is a genetic component to it, and despite their best efforts to manage the traits they will always more neurotic than the average bear.
But what's truly ironic is that some of this neuroticism is justified: we are in fact perceived negatively and organizations are in fact trying not to hire or get rid of us. And so our employment is only as good as our ability to mask. Which, as you might imagine, does not make it easier to not be neurotic.
- caseyy 3y agoIt seems to me like neuroticism isn’t fixed in people. Perhaps there are genetic predispositions, but it seems to me like it can be learned at certain stages in life, and later unlearned as a set of behaviors.
- riehwvfbk 3y agoYes, therapy helps tremendously. Just as with everything, there is a base system and then a set of overrides programmed in the brain, which is why we can override a fight-or-flight response and don't scurry away from any shadow like an insect does. However, there is research to suggest that neurotic people have more active amygdala than average. So yes, we can override our panic, and yes, we can learn to do it better, but there is a gotcha: all these overrides tend to fail at the most inopportune moment. And that is when already overwhelmed by stress.