As my journey into maintaining mental health continues, I can’t help but wonder about the  link between Personalities and Mental Health.

There are different Personality Types. Here I am referring to one of the 16 personality types (INFJ, etc).

Now we have our Mental Illnesses.

If one personality type is exposed to stressors and situations, how does that type cope/survive/recover? Obviously different from another. So does this not mean that treatments are to be tailored based on this?

Surely standard treatments won’t work for everyone in the same way based on this and maybe that’s why some people seem to be rejecting the treatment they receive. Maybe that’s why some people seem to not be making progress. Maybe that’s why some people keep spiraling. Maybe that’s why some people aren’t treated and “healed”.

Maybe that’s why we hear other depressive persons saying to another: “Don’t worry about it, look at me if I could do it so can you”. Maybe that’s why we hear anxious individuals telling another: “Try not to think so much”. Maybe that’s why we hear an OCD person telling the other: “At least you don’t have/have to (fill in obsession)”.

Based on particular personality types, people are driven and influenced differently, respond differently, think differently. So is it safe to say that even someone with a mental health issue will not even understand someone else with the same? I think so. I really do. Someone can be highly emotional and their feelings are way deeper than someone who can rationalize and deal with things head on. But they both suffer with the same mental health issue. The symptoms may be similar, the triggers even may be similar, but the coping/ surviving/ healing may be completely different.

Then there are also Personality Disorders to add to the mix. But, I think that’s another discussion altogether.

I am an extremely emotional/ highly sensitive person and I struggle to survive with the everyday approaches towards maintaining good mental health. I can meditate, do deep breathing, do yoga, exercise, eat healthy, take vitamins, take my ssri, eliminate known stressors and still have debilitating anxiety at the end of the day with the slightest discomforting thought (the obsessive thought.. the ruminating… the anxiety…followed by feeling hopeless…the depressed state which follows). That’s why I wonder about Personality Types… because sometimes doing all the “right” things still doesn’t work.