Could your personality type be contributing to your fatigue?

Exploring 3 personality types that may be more prone to experiencing fatigue

When you feel tired all the time, especially when you have chronic or persistent fatigue, you can be left wondering what caused it. Thoughts like “why me”, “what am I doing wrong”, “what have I done to deserve this” are likely to have passed through your mind as you find yourself sometimes struggling to get through the day.

It is frustrating and it can be demoralising.

The truth of it is that it is probably not down to just one thing, but who you are, how you feel and act emotionally and how you react to situations can have a big impact on your energy levels and overall wellbeing.

Over the years as I have read more, understood myself more and helped others I have witnessed first hand how certain personality types appear to be more prone to experiencing tiredness and sometimes leading into chronic fatigue.

In this blog, we will explore together some of the personality types that could be more prone to experiencing stress and fatigue. This may prompt you to think “yep, that’s me” and add a further piece to the jigsaw puzzle in understanding what could be causing your fatigue. We will also importantly look at what you can do about it.

 

Let’s start to explore the personality types.

You can find models that “explain” who you are and how you show up in all sorts of areas; from Ayurveda to psychology. There’s no way we could look at all of the different personality types these models cover. Which is why we’re going to look at 3 that are most closely related to fatigue. They have a lot in common, because they’re different ways of talking about similar qualities and behaviours.

We will explore:

  • The Pitta Ayurvedic Dosha (constitutional) types

  • The A type personality

  • Being a Highly Sensitive Person

 
 

Pitta – the need to be perfect

In Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicine system, everyone has a primary dosha, known as a prakruti, that they are born with.

There are 3 doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha and we are all made up of the 3 doshas, although one will be more dominant.

Being Pitta…

If you have Pitta as your more dominant dosha, you may find yourself having a tendency to expect perfectionism in both yourself and in others. You may also recognise a tendency to being intense and direct.

For you, everything has to be right and you will keep going until it is and if people don’t match your high standards, you can feel frustrated and perhaps even angry.

It can lead to fatigue as ..

Being a perfectionist can be exhausting, especially if you take things off people to do yourself as you want it done properly.

Does this ring any bells for you? It does for me, and I know just how tiring being like this can be, when you keep pushing and pushing until things are just right.

 

Getting it done NOW – the A type personality

You may be more familiar with an A Type. A type behaviour, as it’s become known, was identified in the 1950s by American cardiologists.

If you are an ‘A’ Type …

You may find yourself constantly aware of the time and the need to get things done. You may be competitive and also find yourself always trying to do more, multi-tasking is your thing.

Yet this constant need to deliver can lead to feeling of frustrated or irritated.

You find yourself feeling rushed, as you are trying to fit everything in and you don’t want to waste time.

You are impatient and find waiting in a supermarket or post office queue annoying, so much so you instinctively find yourself trying to assess which queue is shortest.

It’s tiring and stressful:

Life can feel very stressful sometimes for type A people and this may lead to feelings of fatigue and exhaustion if there is no let up in the stress.

I can certainly see some of me in the type A personality and I think there is a definite overlap with the traditional fiery and focused Pitta personality.

 
 

The gift and challenge of being a highly sensitive person (HSP)

I came across Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) recently on LinkedIn, with some of my connections identifying strongly as a HSP. Sounds like a case of birds of a feather flocking together as the saying goes.

I discovered more on HSPs in the work of Shereen Oberg and the more I read I thought “this does sound like me!”

You will not be alone…

As according to research led by Dr Elaine Aron, who first identified the Highly Sensitive Person personality type, around 20% of the population are HSPs.

If you are a Highly Sensitive Person …

You may find yourself feeling stressed and overwhelmed if you have lots to do. You may find being in big groups exhausting, and longing for some quiet me time. You may already have recognised yourself as being quite sensitive.

Being like this can lead to feeling worn out and exhausted if you don’t take steps to look after your wellbeing.

Photo by BĀBI on Unsplash

 

Are you thinking, “that’s me”?

If you feel tired all the time or have chronic fatigue, perhaps some of these personality types are ringing a very loud bell. You may find yourself resonating with all or some of these types, I know I do.

You can’t change your personality type, but you can look at ways you can manage your time and your stress levels to help to restore and maintain your energy levels.

Answering the, “why me?” question.

Realising and understanding that your personality traits could be contributing your fatigue could be a first step for you to make some positive changes that could have profound effect on your energy and understanding who you are and why you feel so tired.

It may provide you with the answer to the question you have probably asked yourself ‘why me?’, ‘why am I so tired’ or ‘what’s so different about me?’

Having that understanding can make a whole load of difference.

 

Making some positive changes

Now you may understand the why, the next step is to make some positive changes.

Here are my top 3 steps to accessing your inner energy stores:

  1. Be kind to yourself

Sounds obvious I know, but if you are a Pitta or A type personality, this can be very hard as there is so much to do.

It is like you are programmed to achieve. Recognising who you are and being comfortable with it, is the first step. It’s not your fault, and you know you just need to make some modifications to your life.

This is the same for Highly Sensitive People too. You acknowledge your sensitivity and recognise some of the changes you can make to help you to feel less overwhelmed with life.

 

2. Take time for you

Make some time for you each day. It may be a challenge, but having some time in the diary to do something you enjoy that reduces any feelings of stress or overwhelm may make a real difference. It may be as simple as going for a walk in nature, spending time in the garden, marvelling at the sky at night or perhaps cuddling your pet and feeling their love for you.

Sometimes the simpler things in life are more effective.

 

3. The power of the calming breath

Something as simple as taking a few moments to just breathe more deeply if you are noticing the feelings of stress or overwhelm can help you to feel calmer and more balanced. The benefit is it can be done anywhere.

Taking just 2 - 3 minutes to breathe and observe your breath, can be like pressing the re-set button on an electrical item that is buffering. You may find yourself able to think and act more clearly. Check out my mindfulness 3 minute breathing practice if you’d like to see if this works for you.

There’s plenty of research out there showing the effectiveness of mindful breathing on reducing stress and anxiety.

 

The cherry on the top - harnessing the support of herbal medicine

So you are making changes to support your wellbeing and taking better care of yourself.

Though you may already be feeling really tired and these changes may not be quite enough. Your body is telling you that it needs a little more support.

This is where herbs can be really helpful with many herbs having properties that may help you to feel calmer, more balanced and energised.

So what herbs may be helpful for you?

Lemon balm may be able to help if being on the go all the time leaves you feeling tense and anxious. It may also be able to improve your mood.

Ashwaganda, now a very popular herbal supplement may be able to help to modify the effect of stress on your body and mind and help with anxiety and insomnia.

Chamomile, lovely as a tea, could help to reduce tension and any associated headaches.

These are just a small selection of the herbs I have in my dispensary that I find invaluable for helping to manage the impact that these personality types can have on your health and wellbeing

Empowered to make some changes to your life?

I do hope this article has given you some insight to whether your personality type could be contributing to your fatigue or CFS.

I think understanding who you are and how it affects your life can be a real game changer. It can allow you to see the full picture - what may have contributed to your chronic tiredness and importantly, what you can do about it. It may enable you to see a way forward and give you hope, which is so important when nothing you have done so far has helped.

 

Your Top 5 take aways

  1. Certain personality types appear to be more prone to experiencing tiredness and sometimes leading to feeling tired all the time and even chronic fatigue.

  2. Understanding who you are could be a lightbulb moment to understanding how you came to be so tired all the time.

  3. Pitta and A type personalities can push themselves hard and may be perfectionists, which can lead to burnout and chronic fatigue.

  4. Research has shown that Highly Sensitive people can be more prone to fatigue and 20% of the population is considered to be a HSP.

  5. Making some small and simple changes to your lifestyle like taking time for you, being mindful and using herbs to reduce tension and stress and support your wellbeing.

 

Have you been inspired but feel you need some support?

As someone who has identified as having elements of all 3 personality types, I have adopted these holistic practices alongside a nourishing diet, herbal medicine and flower essences to help me to recover my energy levels. This is why I am in a unique position to understand what you may be feeling. I am committed to supporting you to feel more energised by providing you with a safe space where you will not feel like you are being judged but will be treated with care and empathy.

I help people on a one to one basis, so if you’d like to discuss how working together could help you to kick start your journey back from persistent tiredness, do get in touch.

I offer a free 30 minute discovery call for us to chat about the help you are looking for and how I may be able to help you to feel like yourself again.

 

Interested in more articles like this?

If you found this article useful and want to learn more about how to regain your energy levels naturally, be first to read new blog articles and webinars that can support your recovery journey, why not sign up to my mailing list.

Don’t worry, I won’t clog up your mailbox, I only send out information on my new blogs, exciting new research or any webinars I am hosting. No pushy sales emails here.

 

The content of this blog is provided for educational and information purposes only and does not constitute personal advice. It is recommended that prior to making any diet, supplement or other lifestyle changes (including exercise regimes), you first discuss these with your doctor or health care practitioner.

If you are experiencing persistent tiredness or chronic fatigue like symptoms, you should discuss these with your GP as soon as possible as these could be symptoms of another illness.