Don’t fret, neurotics – there are advantages to worrying

Negative mental chatter and anxious fantasies may not be all bad – they could bring benefits such as greater creativity and better health

I cannot remember a time when some large worry has not cast a shadow over my day. As a young child, I would lie awake fearing everything from the impending embarrassment of gym class, to the death of my parents, to the prospect of a nuclear holocaust. The form of my fears may have changed as I age, but the tendency to see disaster on the horizon has remained.

I am far from alone in this: negative mental chatter and doom-laden fantasies are common characteristics of the personality trait “neuroticism”. Like other personality traits, this can measured using simple questions such as:

Do you suffer from “nerves”?

Do you worry too long after an embarrassing experience?

Are your feelings easily hurt?

Are you often troubled by feelings of guilt?

Are you an irritable person?

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