Personality and Your Health
Predictive Personality
By Katherine Steinberg
If you're cheerful, sullen, angry or pensive by nature, it may affect your health. A story by the Daily Mail highlights various studies, which show that certain personality types tend to suffer from specific conditions. Read on to find out what you may be prone to.
Pessimistic
Pessimism and anxiety may put you at risk for Parkinson's disease later in life, reports the Mayo Clinic. Neurologist James Bower, M.D. claims that this is the first time a link has been made between these personality traits and the disease.
Shy
Cold season may be especially rough on shy people. Researchers at the University of California found that shy people are more susceptible to viral infections. Shy folk may have fewer protective lymph nodes than their extroverted counterparts, according to animal studies. This is important because lymph nodes help to fend off viruses and infections, such as the common cold.
Impulsive
Have trouble restraining yourself from spur-of-the-moment urges? You are at a higher risk for stomach ulcers. A study of over 4,500 people done by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found that impulsive people were at 2.4 times greater risk for ulcers than those who did not have an impulsive personality. The cause may be a higher rate of acid production by these personality types, which in turn, triggers peptic ulcers.
Cheerful
A surprising study by the University of California posits that people who were cheerful as children tend to die earlier than their gloomier counterparts. However, the study showed that these children didn't die of any particular cause. One theory is that being cheerful might lead people to be less concerned about health problems and potentially not develop good health habits.
Anxious
Have you been called a worry wart? Often feel nervous about the threat of danger? Unfortunately, we have something else for you to worry about. Generalized Anxiety Disorder has been linked to greater risk of high blood pressure, as shown in a study by Northern Arizona University. One possible explanation is that stress hormones cause the increase.
Aggressive
Anger has been connected to a host of different disorders. However, one unlikely correlation comes from the researchers at Ohio State University who found that wounds take longer to heal in angry people. They tested the healing times of wounds on healthy individuals and found that in four days 70 percent of the calm patients' wounds healed, compared to only 30 percent of the angry types.
Conscientious
If you're a hard-working, mindful person, chances are you'll live a long life, according to a study by the University of California, as reported in the New York Times. This research is supported by the researchers at Nottingham University, who found that conscientious personality types tend to maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It could be that being conscientious helps people maintain healthy habits and create a healthier lifestyle.
Extrovert
Being extroverted won't just win you points at parties, it will keep your risk of heart disease low too, according to a study at the University of Milan. However, it could raise your risk of obesity, as found in a study done by the Yamagata University School of Medicine in Japan.
Optimistic
If your glass is half-full, your life will be as well. The University of California reports that optimistic people are looking at 7.5 years of longer life compared to their pessimistic counterparts. Optimism may help shield people from psychological stress and improve the immune system, say the researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.
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Recent Comments
Shelly8769 10:06:25 AM Jul 29 2008
So everyone be hardworking and optimistic. And you will live a long prosperous life. :)
NookinPerNubb 04:33:16 AM Jul 24 2008
This make perfect sense to me. I do not understand the problem you've all been having with this article. It simply states those more likely to be prone to these problems because they're immune system isn't as, lets say, buff as outgoing people who've exposed themselves to these viruses and so on. The more action from the viral community your body gets, the more anti-bodies it makes and saves over time, making more lymph nodes and so on. So all this says to me is pretty simple. If you're shy then "ON AVERAGE" your immune system is slightly weaker to viruses then outgoing types. ON AVERAGE. See that, its broad and general. No point in shouting how much you don't agree with they put it too broad to begin with.
BthTa7 03:39:47 AM Jul 24 2008
1st time I've ever added my own comment but I had too. This doesn't make sense, we are way past stupid here. Some of the "studies" were done by Universities and I feel like OMG I really want my kids to go to college to learn something! Not this B.S. How did this make it on the bored anyway? I didn't see how any of this junk relates to "Your Health." Maybe I'm just not a believer in crap.
SirusDawes 01:21:15 AM Jul 24 2008
Umm, I haven't had a cold in a while, and I am extremely shy.
ToEsHoEs02 12:58:50 AM Jul 24 2008
this is just plain stupid. i'm shy and i haven't gotten sick in 2 years (even in a dorm situation where my roommate got sick with those really mucousy coughs)
albahaca39 12:54:10 AM Jul 24 2008
Klittastik, you asked, " What are "posits"? Studies?""Posits" is a verb, not a noun. Means something like asserts or puts for the idea...Perhaps you could consult a dictionary for a more precise definition than mine.Best,V.
albahaca39 12:52:11 AM Jul 24 2008
Klittastic,You ask, " What are "posits"? Studies?" "Posits" is a verb, not a noun...means something like asserts or puts forth the idea...perhaps consult a dictionary for a more precise definition than mine.Best,V.
BusheitMonkey 12:32:42 AM Jul 24 2008
BusheitMonkey theories.... What a waste!!! Too many BusheitMonkey WHAACKO SELF proclaimed experts... Bushet!!!!
klittastik 11:06:47 PM Jul 23 2008
*****SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE AT #5:"posits that people who were cheerful as children tend to die earlier than their gloomier counterparts. However, the study showed that these children didn't die of any particular cause."So this study has shown that these children don't die of any particular cause. And they're not really children; they're adults. - yet children is not in quotation marks, so it hinders to adults magically becoming children in a 2 sentence paragraph. I make $9 an hour, which is probably less than this *******A.O.L.******* - PLEASE GIVE ME A ******* APPLICATION, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD What are "posits"? Studies?
Skitah13 09:52:06 PM Jul 23 2008
John, get some professional help bro. To make myself famous in life or death, need to get over yourself first and then move one to something important. Good luck!
