Being Neurotic Is Good For Your Health, Sometimes

Neurotic people are known to be lots of unfortunate things: they can be moody, nervous, hostile, depressed, and often drunk. But wait, they are also, according to a news release from the University of Rochester, known for their openness (creative, curious, broad-minded), extraversion (outgoing, friendly, talkative), agreeableness (helpful, warm, sympathetic), and conscientiousness (organized, responsible, hardworking). Researchers at the University’s medical school recently looked closely at a certain type of neurotic person: those with average-to-high levels of neuroticism who are also conscientious, the type who tend to be high-functioning, very organized, goal-oriented and reflective. The researchers found 441 people, in a study group of over 1,000, who could be described as conscientious neurotics, and when they examined the health of those people, they found that the higher a person scored in both conscientiousness and neuroticism, the lower their levels of interleukin 6, a protein linked to inflammation such as heart disease, stroke, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, and some cancers. They also found that the conscientious neurotics had lower body-mass index scores and fewer diagnosed chronic health conditions. Read more from the University of Rochester.