So, you want to know about type A personality physical, and mental health? Is your loved one a Type A and you feel worried about their wellbeing?
Well, this think-piece commences the end of your search because it has everything you must be aware of. Later on, you can convince your type A loved one to take care of their health accordingly.
C’mon, let’s know everything you must…
Type A Personality Physical Health
Type A people overwork themselves a lot. Obviously, they’ll impact their physical health a lot with these habits.
However, they hardly notice the damage they do to their body. So, know about these, share the link, and remind your loved one to be careful and protect their health for your sake. So, off you go with the details…
1. They have a higher probability of getting hypertension
In people with type A personality traits, one of the greatest health problems is high blood pressure. With the intense urgency to meet deadlines and multitask, the need to stay awake and work for long hours increases.
The best solution to attain this is caffeine. All of these together can easily lead to high blood pressure issues.
Further, Type-As also lose their cool easily. Since they’re constantly irritable, hypertension isn’t too unusual for A-types.
2. The risk factor of coronary heart disease is high
People with A Type personality traits are extremely vulnerable to anger and hostility. They’re determined and passionate about their professional life.
So, when a coworker slows them down with their poor skills or a loved one asks them to pay more attention to them, A types lose their mind.
They easily get triggered by the smallest issues and become hostile towards them. From 1980s peer-reviewed studies, it’s also found that Type As hardly has enough self-control. This increases the chances of coronary artery disease.
However, in 2006 medical reviewers didn’t find any connection between heart disease and type A personality.
3. The stress can hurt the body immensely
Due to a type A’s work pressure, urgency, fear of not being able to meet expectations, and lifestyle to satisfy everything, they’re frequently stressed for long periods.
High-stress levels lead to an increase in cortisol levels. High levels of cortisol hormone in the body also lead to the following:
- Episodes of migraine, tension, and headaches
- Muscle ache and tension
- Sleeping difficulties and disorders
- Declination of existing health concerns
- Respiratory issues like asthma
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Prolonged fatigue
- Substance abuse
- Immunity problems
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Libido problems
- Fertility and pregnancy issues
- Worsened appetite
- Concentration issues
- Frequent energy drop
4. It might lead to addiction issues
Usually, people due to high amounts of stress give into smoking, drinking, or even gambling addiction. All of them have direct or roundabout effects on the human body.
However, no study found a connection between type A personality and these addictive substances.
From analytical research, it’s found that in the early days, most studies on type A people and cardiovascular diseases were chiefly funded by the tobacco industry.
Of course, the industry won’t want their self-sponsored studies to shun themselves. So, they probably manipulated the results and didn’t let the researcher study them.
Hence, type A might have a high risk of addiction and its side effects.
But physical health isn’t the only kind of health. So, let’s move on to…
Type A Personality Mental Health
When physical health declines, you can easily notice the symptoms and take care of them. But signs of mental health issues are hard to notice. That’s why this list is even more important to help out your fellow type A…
1. It might cause depression
A-types believe they’re the best and they can and will attain nothing but the best. They also hate the thought of losing. They think that once they lose their pride and status of being on the top, they can’t recover that shame ever. They’re even extremely hard on themselves.
But, sometimes their work may demand better creativity… which is a great opportunity for type B personality but next to impossible for type As. So, life may not work accordingly despite the efforts.
They might fail in tasks which they’re not suitable for… and your fate doesn’t always allow you jobs which you desire or are most fitted in. Some people just make it somehow with any job… even if they’re a misfit.
So, medical reviewers connected depression with type A personality.
2. Anxiety might be another issue
Type As are great multitaskers and they’re fast-paced. Once they show these skills to their employers, they know that the type A employee is their go-to person to pour all the responsibilities on. Employers forget that despite their high productivity, they have a limit.
On the flip side, a type A doesn’t complain or ask the employer to adjust the workload. Instead, they try to do everything possible within their reach.
If someone deals with tight deadlines every day, it might lead to anxiety disorder in no time. They might feel anxious about whatever they do and always worry about losing precious time to work.
3. They might become unnecessarily hostile
Type A folks have high productivity, are extremely dedicated to their work, and are fast-paced, punctual, and achievement-oriented.
If they deal with someone that’s not like them or if someone’s actions obstruct their path, they might hold excess hostility against them. The negative emotions can impact them mentally, and spoil their mood.
This may lead to stress and its several side effects. It can also affect their problem-solving skills, reasoning, memory, learning capabilities, concentration, and so on.
The hostility might make them feel down and helpless. This might lead to feeling loneliness which is related to the next point.
4. It might result in loneliness
Check for Type A vs Type B, C, or D, you’ll find that only As are the most passionate about their work… so much so that they forget that they have a life beyond their job.
Individuals with Type A personalities believe that achievement, growth, and money are the most important things for a happy life. They chase these dreams themselves and motivate their family for the same. They also judge people that can’t stay true to such goals.
Well, let’s be honest. It’s never easy to always win. Their family members might lose and need their support. However, A-types can only spare negative emotions during these times.
For this, they grow apart from their loved ones and have a higher chance of feeling lonely. Moreover, since they’re too immersed in their job, they don’t notice the valuable time they lost.
It’s too late when they see that nobody is there to celebrate their success and this leads to social isolation.
A word from ThePleasantPersonality
If you’re a type A yourself, learn to control your issues due to your behavior pattern. Seek others’ help if you need it. Set healthy boundaries and check in with a healthcare provider regularly.
If you know a fellow type A, make them aware of the risk factors and help them prevent the issues before they become evident.
Lastly, remember that these are for informational purposes only. If you feel you have any of these health issues, don’t delay real-life medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Don’t take your safety lightly or try to self-diagnose or self-medicate.
Article Sources
1. https://www.verywellmind.com/type-a-personality-traits-3145240
2. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/are-you-a-type-a-personality/
3. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/type-a-personality
