Personality, mental health, and your mind: it’s a puzzle

Reviews on my recent research personalitymental health, and heart disease showed that research supports and continues to expand knowledge in this field (Conterada, 2025). However, the idea that emotional personality traits are associated with physical illness is ancient and at least date back to the time of Hippocrates (Conterada & Goyal, 2004). In the science era, this thinking first gained systematic empirical support in the work. Type A A behavioral pattern that is prone to coronary arteries. Type A refers to a constellations of attributes that include achievement, competitiveness, impatience and focus angerand was shown to be a predictor of hostility and coronary heart disease. Anger and hostility were then identified as the main foundations of the association.

Negative emotions

The focus on anger and hostility quickly spread to encompass sadness and other negative emotional factors. anxietywhich, together with anger, forms a pattern that can sometimes be called negative emotions. The fact that these emotional tendencies tend to coexist has made it difficult to determine which of them is most responsible for increased cardiovascular risk. In addition to complexity, it has a high level of Pessimism and low level Optimismcorrelated with negative emotional attributes also appears to predict the risk of heart disease (Bajaj et al., 2019).

Mental health issues

Although emotional personality traits generally refer to normal individual differences, recent research focuses more on mental disorders. First, clinical depression Identified as a cardiovascular risk factor, followed by anxiety disorders and post-trauma stress hindrance (PTSD) I received a considerable amount Note in this regard. Similar to the emotional personality attributes, these conditions often coexist, making it difficult to separate independent effects on heart health.

mechanism

It is important to note that predictive associations with cardiovascular conditions are correlated and therefore do not constitute evidence of causality. The relationship between causal and effectiveness is reinforced by evidence regarding the mechanisms that may explain how personality and mental health are causal determinants of physical illness. This study builds on studies showing that psychological stress and negative affect physiology appear to lie in causal pathways that can initiate and promote the progression of atherosclerosis, hypertension, and other cardiovascular disorders. The same kind of physiological activity is associated with emotional traits and psychiatric disorders, reinforcing cases of causal roles in heart disease (Betensky & Conterada, 2010).

Surprising results of intervention studies: missing parts of the puzzle

This gives us practical meaning. Here, the photos become complicated and a little inexplicable. There is some evidence that psychological interventions aimed at modifying emotional traits and improving clinical depression, anxiety, and PTSD reduce the risk of disease progression in heart patients. However, this task is inconsistent at best. It is unclear why this is, which forms of intervention work, and, if so, why it may be.

A broader approach

It is now more commonly suspected by scientists and clinicians that the relationship between personality and mental health issues and heart disorders is involved not only in the direct physiological effects of stress but also in stress-related behaviors.

In healthy individuals, stress may be related to cardiovascular disease Emotional eating And, as well as the interaction between adipose tissue and stress, its effects on weight regulation hormone Between overweight and obese individuals.

Negative emotions can affect some cardiovascular risks by promoting a sedentary lifestyle. And stress control Feelings It can promote heart disease by contributing to the use of substances such as tobacco. alcoholcannabis.

Negative effects, particularly depression, are associated in patients with cardiovascular disorders medicine These conditions allow for progress. This is especially disappointing given the obviously highly effective availability of drugs and other treatments.

Takeout

Stress almost certainly contributes to heart disease. And there is good reason to suspect that this explains the relationship that links anger/hospitality, depression, anxiety, and PTSD with cardiovascular risk.

So maintaining heart health will provide additional incentives for us all to tackle stress levels beyond the inherent benefits this has to quality of life.

It also means that providers whose patients have problems in the area of stress, emotions, and stress-related mental disorders should recognize the risks these issues pose to heart health. And doctors who care for heart patients need to deal with stress, emotions and mental health.

Furthermore, while mental and physical connections may be functional, stress and negative emotions must also be addressed regarding the relationship between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and medication violations. As seen in cardiac rehabilitation results, stress reduction in the context of behavioral changes is effective.

Hopefully, by trying to understand the consequences of inconsistent efforts to address heart disease, by correcting negative emotions and mental health issues, we may gain clearer insight into which approaches are most successful.

Copyright 2025 Dr. Richard J. Contrada