Who is a melancholic person: description of temperament, characteristics of communication

Melancholic: personality characteristics

For a melancholic person it will be a tragedy that for a sanguine person it is an interesting case, and for a phlegmatic person it is an insignificant episode. The typical idea of ​​a melancholic person is a sad, timid and intimidated person. But fear and a tendency to depression do not characterize temperament. Finding themselves in unpleasant circumstances, melancholic people fall into melancholy more often than people of other temperaments, but at the same time they have invaluable qualities that are unique to them. Academician Pavlov called melancholic people greenhouse people. There is a version of the origin of temperament types, according to which melancholic people are intended to warn other people about dangers: increased anxiety and sensitivity force them to always be on guard. A classic melancholic person is an intellectual who strives for harmony and order in everything. Everything refined and refined in this world was created by melancholics.

What's special about them

Among representatives of this personality type there are most talented musicians, philosophers, poets and artists. Aristotle believed that only melancholic people were geniuses. An excellent feature is that everything that melancholic people undertake can be brought to perfection, even if it takes years of hard work. The ideal creations of melancholic people differ from the fruits of the creativity of sanguine or choleric people in their ideal form and execution. Melancholic people always prefer quality to quantity.

With strange persistence, sophisticated melancholics choose as partners people with opposite qualities - frivolous optimists. In such unions, dramas often play out, but at the same time melancholic people gain new creative impulse.

Melancholics and chaos are incompatible - only systematicity, order and organization in thoughts, relationships, emotions and in the surrounding space. They are always neat and well-groomed, they have good manners, clear eyes and clean nails. Even if a melancholic person was born in a family where good upbringing was not highly valued, he will certainly acquire the missing knowledge himself and master the rules of behavior in society. For them, there are no trifles - everything is important, especially shades and nuances. Melancholic people are very caring, compassionate and attentive to others.

They do not have leadership qualities and do not try to be visible, but they still do not remain unnoticed due to their extraordinary abilities. A typical melancholic person is a spectator, not an active performer, so they make good psychologists who delve deeply into the problem.

A person of this type often builds a picture of his own life and then systematically searches for his ideal or tries to create it. They exist in a world they have created themselves, where there is no place for rudeness and primitive relationships. The rhythm of life of a melancholic person is very slow, they do not need a wide circle of friends, a few loyal friends and a loved one are enough for them. They are selective in their friendships and personal relationships, but if you have the honor of being the friend of a person of this temperament, you can be sure of support for many years to come. In love, melancholic people are even more demanding; they prefer to remain alone until they find an object that best matches their ideal.

Melancholic people are deep and thoughtful, they look at the world with sober prudence and therefore are not prone to excessive optimism and enthusiasm for external features - they penetrate to the essence of things. If the energy of a sanguine person is spent on talking, a choleric person spends it on impulsive actions, a phlegmatic person spends it on contemplation, then melancholic people know how to plan, think and create. If necessary, they agree to repeat the action many times until they achieve the desired result.

Definition

Psychologists call melancholic a person with an inert type of temperament and a weak nervous system. This category of people is highly sensitive, emotional, and anxious. Such qualities allow melancholic people to be classified as introverts - calm and slightly slow individuals living in their own inner world.

Melancholic people react to life situations depending on the characteristics of their own temperament. For example, if a sanguine person calls an event an interesting incident, then a phlegmatic person will evaluate it as an unworthy fact, but for a melancholic person this same situation turns into a tragedy.

Since ancient times, representatives of the psychological trend in science have tried, in the spirit of their time, to put forward a definition of the melancholic disposition of the soul. Later, in the army of psychologists there was a division into areas, as a result, participants from different schools expressed their point of view on this issue.

Direction nameVariants of interpretation of the concept
Ancient group (Hippocrates, Democritus, Epicurus, Galen)From the point of view of Hippocrates, the facets of behavior are associated with the predominance of a special “life juice”. For a melancholic person, this is black bile, as a source of melancholic sadness.
Analytical school (Carl Gustave Jung)The founder of the movement called a melancholic person an anxious introvert who does not believe in his own strength and does not accept public criticism.
Sigmund Freud's School of PsychoanalysisThe father of depth psychology defined this type of personality as the result of the struggle between hatred and love. The conflict turns into massive torment for the individual.
Reflexosociology (I. Pavlov, V. Bekhterev, I. Sechenov)Based on his own typology (based on the type of nervous systems), Pavlov identified melancholic people in the category of individuals with weak nervous activity (slow psyche).
Humanistic psychology (A. Maslow, V. Frankl, C. Rogers)From the point of view of humanists, a melancholic person is a unique, but vulnerable person. He is recognized by slow gestures and weak facial expressions, and a tendency to deep emotions.

Outwardly, a melancholic person looks like a fragile subject with an asthenic physique and elongated limbs. The back and chest are flat, the waist is narrow with underdeveloped muscles. A person with a similar temperament is extremely vulnerable due to constant secrecy and suppression of emotions, and the events of the surrounding reality are perceived by him in a gloomy way.

Melancholic childhood

A melancholic newborn begins to study the world around him from the cradle. Each toy must be examined and examined in detail. A little later, when the opportunity to choose toys arises, they give preference to the most complex ones; even later, melancholic people are interested in logic games. They easily solve tasks that are difficult for their peers and love to tinker with construction sets and puzzles. In general, this person is serious from birth.

If there is a child in the class who likes to write tests, he is almost certainly melancholic. He never consults anyone and likes to do everything himself. Children of this temperament enjoy topics that require research and analysis. They usually have a good memory and developed speech.

Strengths

In psychology, a melancholic person is an impressionable and fastidious person who suffers from depressive conditions.

The advantages of a melancholic temperament include:

  • rich imagination and developed intuition as a guarantee of creative potential;
  • the ability to turn even the most ordinary things into a source of inspiration;
  • tendency towards permanent relationships designed for the long term;
  • analytical mind, ability to foresee events;
  • readiness for sincere empathy and free assistance;
  • breadth of worldview with developed intelligence.

Natural psychologists are able to quickly identify the emotions of their interlocutor, recognizing pretense. This is useful not only in relationships, but also in business, and high emotionality allows you to realize the fullness of feelings.

Mature years of melancholic

They draw conclusions only on the basis of a deep and detailed study of the topic. A melancholic person has an analytical mind, but he sees the world not as a whole, but in detail, and may miss the whole behind the particulars. As a result, a person of this type of mental activity can find fault with others over trifles, without trying to find ways to solve the problem as a whole.

Melancholic people work slowly, but the fruits of their labor are perfect - they are excellent performers in those areas where there are clear instructions and there is no need for a quick reaction. If a melancholic person somehow miraculously becomes a leader, his subordinates will be subject to continuous criticism for the shortcomings and imperfections of the fruits of their labor. It is extremely difficult to please a melancholic person - only he knows what the ideal result should be.

A striking example of a melancholic genius is Michelangelo. Before he began creating each of his magnificent creations, he studied anatomy. Theoretical knowledge was not enough for him, so Michelangelo personally performed autopsies on the dead in the morgue to study the human structure. The great master painted the frescoes decorating the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican for four years, lying on scaffolding under the dome. Apparently, only the melancholic temperament allowed Michelangelo to be so scrupulous in his approach to creativity.

Diagnostics

To assess personality traits, determine the dominant type of mixture of temperaments and the relationship between them, a visual examination of the patient alone is not enough. For an in-depth assessment, psychologists have a selection of questionnaire tests that allow them to determine the characteristic properties of the human nervous system.

The Hans Eysenck questionnaire consists of a series of author's surveys; this is the most reliable test. The test has two internal scales: extraversion-introversion and neuroticism. The result of the intersection of characteristics clearly shows which of the 4 psychotypes the subject belongs to.

V. Rusalov's questionnaire allows you to diagnose the properties of temperament based on the psychomotor, intellectual, and communicative qualities of a person. Thanks to the relationship between the degrees of expression of the characteristics, the variant of the individual psychotype (basic, mixed, indeterminate) is determined.

Jan Strelyau's questionnaire was created on the basis of the psychologist's author's theory. Temperament is determined by 3 main characteristics of nervous processes - the strength of excitation, inhibition, and mobility. The later technique was strengthened by additional measurement criteria.

You can determine your temperament type for free using tests presented on websites on the Internet. After answering several dozen questions, the user receives a detailed explanation of the characteristics of his psychological type. For a consultation with a specialist in a psychological center, you will have to pay 1500-6370 rubles, and for an hour of his work.

To briefly describe the psychotype, a melancholic person is a very vulnerable person; in psychology, this term refers to particularly impressionable individuals. The depth and strength of their inner emotions are hidden inside, which does not prevent them from becoming devoted friends for sincerely loving people.

Author: Tatyana Larina

How to recognize a melancholic person

  • They rarely become the center of attention - they are not cheerful people or leaders, they try to stay apart or in a small company of well-known people.
  • Melancholic people have smooth and slow movements.
  • The speech of melancholic people is quiet and often slow. They never allow themselves to laugh loudly or wave their arms.
  • A valuable quality is that these people are good listeners. They are patient and attentive to the interlocutor, never interrupt, look into the eyes and smile encouragingly.
  • The other side of the coin is excessive meticulousness. If, for example, an employee of the organization where you apply for a certificate takes a long time to examine your documents, examine the seals and demands additional confirmation of your identity, this is most likely a melancholic person who strictly follows the instructions.
  • The classic melancholic is polite and correct. He often apologizes, thanks and tries not to bother anyone.

Famous personalities

Among people with a melancholic temperament there are many celebrities of the past and present:

  • Isaac Newton;
  • Edrag Alan Poe;
  • Charles Darwin;
  • Fedor Dostoevsky;
  • Pyotr Tchaikovsky;
  • Nikolay Gogol;
  • Michael Jackson;
  • Johnny Depp;
  • Keanu Reeves.

Due to excessive suspicion and rancor (without active revenge), people obsessed with melancholy often remain lonely. However, in the case of creating a family, family heirlooms and traditions are carefully preserved.

Positive

  • The ability to empathize. The emotions of a melancholic person are expressed, which is explained by their thin-skinned nature. The most insignificant event can make them happy or sadden them to tears.
  • Emotional melancholic people are aesthetes.
  • Anticipation of difficulties. They have increased anxiety, melancholic people imagine the most tragic scenarios for the development of events, and this can throw them off balance. But, on the other hand, they can prevent trouble.
  • Propensity for long-term relationships. Melancholic people need quite a lot of time to get along with a new person, but if you have earned their trust, then you will not find more reliable and devoted friends.
  • Consistency. Melancholic people strive to maintain relationships, although their social circle is usually quite narrow. They can maintain interest in a person for a very long time, trying to study him thoroughly.

Combination of temperaments

The typology initiated by Hippocrates and improved by modern psychologists cannot be considered dogma. The designated types do not occur in their “pure” form, so combinations of psychotypes do not always produce positive results.

CombinationResult
Melancholic-cholericPickiness to detail guarantees high competitiveness in work. The tandem of demandingness and perfectionism creates problems in interpersonal relationships.
Melancholic-phlegmaticThe mercy of a balanced phlegmatic person against the background of melancholic calm allows one to find the right solution. A mixture of sadness and indifference threatens overstrain and negative emotions.
Melancholic-sanguineThe combination of the energy of a sanguine person with the quiet calm of a melancholic person will manifest itself as mild criticism. To realize their own potential, a person with unstable mood needs to work in a team.

Negative

  • Melancholic people get tired quickly and often interrupt work to rest. But during pauses, new ideas often come to them for a new round of creativity.
  • Closedness. They are tired of intense communication, they do not like noise and fuss. Melancholic people do not immediately open their souls to everyone, and it is not easy to get along with people.
  • Anxiety. Melancholic people are not heroes; they are constantly afraid that everything will end badly, which often prevents them from acting.
  • Pessimism. They are not born pessimists, but almost always become one at the very first encounter with real difficulties. Despair and complaints about fate are mandatory numbers in the repertoire of a pronounced melancholic person.
  • Exposure to stress. Stress awaits the melancholic at every step, and every trouble is experienced as a shock. They recover for a long time and painfully, since the processes of inhibition in melancholic people prevail over excitation. Constant readiness for trouble deprives life of many bright colors.

Psychosomatics

The basics of human health are closely related to the characteristics of the nervous system, and in melancholic people it is extremely vulnerable. The result of poor resistance to stress is the emergence of a whole bunch of diseases.

In people with increased emotionality, the cardiovascular system is more likely to suffer, which leads to a high percentage of strokes. Melancholic people who are picky eaters and have a decreased appetite need long sleep and proper rest, and problems with the bronchi and lungs often result in asthma.

Rules for communicating with a melancholic person

  • Support and encourage the melancholic person when he is going through his next “dark streak” and engages in deep self-flagellation.
  • Compliment, praise and encourage him - this is very useful in this case.
  • Stay calm in all situations so as not to feed the already hyped anxiety of a melancholic person. Your self-control will support him and force him to reconsider his attitude to the situation.
  • Be the initiator of communication. Melancholic people are shy and time passes very slowly for them, so you may not wait to “mature.” Take the first step - and the melancholic person will be grateful to you.
  • Be sensitive. A melancholic person should spend time in solitude from time to time to recuperate. Do not try at all costs to get him out of his shell, even with the best intentions, otherwise he will consider you intrusive.

Weak sides

Among the traits that make life difficult for a person with sad eyes are several side effects that guarantee positive qualities.

Negative sides of melancholy:

  • a pessimist by nature has a vulnerable soul, prone to causeless sadness;
  • the touchy melancholic is vindictive, prefers the role of the victim, accumulating negativity;
  • a closed nature, prone to depression, finds it difficult to contact others;
  • due to reduced endurance, work leads to rapid exhaustion;
  • Low self-esteem coupled with stubbornness leads to dependence on other people's opinions.

The result of the desire for perfection in all respects is the impossibility of achieving one’s own created ideal. A melancholic person perceives light criticism as an insult, and perfectionism turns into a conflict.

Paron: melancholy - melancholic

melancholy - melancholic

The words are a primary pair. Part of the word words: adjectives.

Melancholic - characterized by weak excitability, depth and duration of emotional experience; Melancholy, melancholy, unusual for them. (Used in terminological phrases.) Examples: melancholic type, temperament; sad nature, essence; Melancholy landing. Melancholic - contain elements of melancholy, saturated with despair, pain filled with them; prone to sadness, obedience. Examples: melancholic person; sad man, nature; melancholic appearance; melancholic letter; melancholic song.

Compare: melancholic character - a characteristic feature of melancholy, characterized by weak excitability; A melancholic character is a sign that is prone to sadness and obedience.

Paroni with the letter: ABVGDEZHZIKLMNOPRSTUFHTSCHSHYUYA

By parts of speech: nouns, adjectives,

Characteristic

Melancholic is a person with a predominance of pessimistic moods and thoughts. He often does not believe in himself, does not try to insist on his own, and reacts sharply and emotionally to criticism. His performance is reduced, constant sad thoughts distract him from his activities, and he is not always attentive to what he is doing.

External signs

A person with a clear manifestation of this type of nervous activity looks depressed and weak. He often slouches, lowers his eyes to the floor, and has a predominantly pensive or sad expression on his face. Movements, gestures and gait are uncertain, the step is slow, the voice is quiet. It seems to him that those around him are opposed to him, they do not like him and do not understand him, and therefore his psyche is constantly under stress, and his body acquires thin and angular features.

In the case when a melancholic person tries to compensate for the lack of happiness hormones with food and sweets, he can become quite overweight.

Character traits

A melancholic person is introverted, withdrawn, not very talkative, and depressed. A low level of stress resistance, a melancholic person does not tolerate tactlessness on the part of others, and has a pessimistic worldview. He is immersed in himself and his thoughts, careful and thoughtful. Non-conflict, emotional, sensitive, most often quite kind and understanding.

Melancholic people are characterized by increased anxiety and fussiness. They quickly give up without achieving their goal. Often gets upset for reasons that seem trivial to other people. Concentration is often reduced, motivation is weak, and there is a high level of self-criticism. Sensitivity allows such a person to be creative in music, needlework or painting. Loves calm, emotional conversations with loved ones.

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