I had never even heard of Neuroticism before I took this personality test. I am glad, in a way, that some of my emotions and behaviours have a name, as I can now target areas of my personality that I wish to improve.
Australian researchers suggest that mindfulness, or thinking more intensely about one’s experiences, could help highly neurotic people. In mindfulness, you concentrate on and accept your thoughts and feelings and consciously insert yourself into the moment. You learn to view the experience with acceptance and curiosity. Rather than fighting the emotions, you ask yourself where it’s coming from and redefine the situation as one you can conquer.
Taking a mindful approach, you’ll admit that you made a mistake and acknowledge that it’s causing you to feel upset. You’ll also view your feelings of anxiety as providing information about the types of situations that upset you. Gaining insight into what provokes you can help you gain greater self-understanding.
Being mindful of your positive and negative feelings seems to be an essential tool for combating neuroticism because mindfulness is a skill that could find a way to lessen negative emotions and, ultimately, psychological distress.
Another tool I have been using is to speak the truth. It has been empowering, giving you a solid place to stand concerning your emotions. I feel that when you are overwhelmed, and your head doesn’t know what way is even up or down, the one thing you count on is the truth. This seems to eliminate a lot of passive anxiety for me, and I draw confidence as I know if I speak the truth I am heading in the right direction.
You should also prioritize your care and optimize your coping skills. Self-care is things that you do to promote your own physical, emotional, mental, and relational well-being. It means being aware of what your mind and body needs. Some examples of these activities or interventions would be like decluttering your home, taking a break from digital devices, setting limits with your work hours or saying no to things you don’t have time to do—exercising and reducing junk food in your diet. It would be best to prioritise this as it will allow you to feel looked after. If you prioritize too much before your self-care, you can feel that no one cares or that you don’t matter. I try to put my children first, then my self-care and other family members next. It would be best if you cared for yourself like you would a close family member and never be too hard on yourself, as life is hard enough without you adding to it.
I also want to look into Selective attention, top-down processing and removing harsh words like Always and never. I will try and learn some tools to manage composure in higher stressful situations like disagreements, high-paced environments and the ability to calm down effectively. I’ll write about my findings when I find something that works for me.