At the Institute we believe that personality and temperament contribute to certain depressive disorders, particularly the non-melancholic disorders. Certain personality types are more at risk of depression than others.
Anxious Worrying Personality Style
Someone who has an ‘anxious worrying’ personality style tends to be highly strung, tense, nervy and prone to stewing over things.
Irritable Personality Style
Someone who has an ‘irritable’ personality style tends to be easily rattled and have low tolerance for frustration.
Self-critical Personality Style
A person with a ‘self-critical’ personality style tends to have low self-esteem and gives themself a hard time.
Rejection Sensitive Personality Style
Someone who has a ‘rejection sensitive’ personality style tends to be hypersensitive to the quality of interpersonal relationships and perceives others as rejecting or demeaning.
Self-focused Personality Style
Someone who has a ‘self-focused’ personality style tends to lack consideration and empathy for others, is often hostile and volatile in interacting with other people, and has a low threshold for frustration.
Perfectionistic Personality Style
A person with a ‘perfectionistic’ personality style tends to perceive that they’ve failed to meet their own high standards, or that somebody has criticised their performance and they feel demeaned.
Socially Avoidant Personality Style
Someone who has a ‘socially avoidant’ personality style tends to be shy and avoids social situations for fear of their limitations being exposed or of being criticised by others.
Personally Reserved Personality Style
Finally, someone who has a ‘personally reserved’ personality style tends to be wary of others getting too close and becomes vulnerable and depressed when their inner worlds are exposed to others.
Those who are high on the following dimensions are at distinctly greater risk to depression (especially non-melancholic depression).
If you have experienced depression and wish to determine whether your personality style may contribute, you might care to complete our Temperament and Personality questionnaire.
More detailed information on these at-risk personality styles is provided in Dealing with Depression: A common sense guide to mood disorders, by Gordon Parker, published by Allen & Unwin, 2004.
It is important to note that while temperament and personality styles may dispose to depression, they appear to have quite differing relevance to differing types of depression.
Page last updated: 6-May-2009
Depression and Bipolar Disorder Information Australia - Black Dog Institute.
Copyright © 2010 Black Dog Institute
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.
Our site has been approved by the HealthInsite Editorial Board to be a HealthInsite information partner site
