Being Neurotic May Not be a Bad Thing…

A new longitudinal study published in Psychological Science has found that people who show signs of neurotocism – one of the “Big Five” psychological traits of a human, which include “an openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness” – have a tendency to live longer, IFLScience.com reported. 

The study examined the association beween neuroticism and mortality in over 321,456 people from UK Biobank. Traits commonly associated with neuroticism include being pessimistic, moody, anxious, nervous or jealous. Previous research tended to link neuroticism to depression, phobias, substance abuse, and the like. This study, on the other hand, suggests “that neuroticism actually has a ‘covert protection against death’,” Tom Hale reported.

“Our findings are important because they suggest that being high in neuroticism may sometimes have a protective effect, perhaps by making people more vigilant about their health,” lead researcher Catharine R. Gale said. 

The researchers asked the participants to complete a personality assessment and to self-rate their health. Participant’s medical records, and information regarding their health behaviors and physical health were also provided to the researchers. A follow-up study was then completely 6.25 years later. “After they adjusted for the participants’ self-rated health, the data showed that higher neuroticism was linked with a slightly lower risk of death from all causes, including cancer,” IFLScience.com reported.