Introduction to Fear-Based Personality Traits
This is the fourth installment in a series of informational blogs about common issues - like chronic pain, anxiety, IBS, fatigue, and more - and how they have common roots within brain centers that have become dysfunctional over time. The brain centers become "hot" in a way that can be detected on fMRI scans. Those hot brain centers begin to over-respond to neutral and even safe signals from within the body and
environment, leaving the body feeling vulnerable. In danger. When there is no real danger at all.
In this post, we’re diving deeper into how fear-based personality traits—such as perfectionism, rigidity, and people-pleasing—might also stem from this faulty brain wiring.
These traits affect your emotional well-being, and create the perfect storm for chronic conditions like digestive issues, fatigue, and sleep disruption.
At Davidson Yoga Therapy, I see these personality traits frequently in clients struggling with chronic conditions.
The Perks and the Poison of Perfectionism
Perfectionism, rigidity, and people-pleasing are often labeled as negative traits, but the reality is more nuanced. These fear-based personality characteristics can also be powerful strengths that help us navigate life’s challenges. These traits have likely helped you succeed, care for others, maintain boundaries in difficult situations, and even survive in circumstances where danger—whether physical, emotional, or social—was real.
Let’s take a closer look at how these traits serve us:
Perfectionism as a Strength: Perfectionists are often detail-oriented, driven, and committed to doing things “right.” This can be a tremendous asset in areas where precision and excellence matter—whether it’s at work, in creative endeavors, or in caring for loved ones. Perfectionism can push you to aim higher and achieve things others might not even attempt.
Rigidity as a Shield: Rigidity, or holding onto strong boundaries, can be a form of protection when the world feels unsafe. When you set firm rules and limits, you create structure in chaotic environments, ensuring your safety and well-being. Rigidity can help you stick to your values, avoid harmful behaviors, and keep danger at bay when things around you are unpredictable or threatening. In survival situations, sticking to what’s known and what’s worked in the past is a way to maintain control and avoid risk.
People-Pleasing as Connection: People-pleasing, though often seen as a weakness, can also be a way of nurturing relationships. The ability to anticipate the needs and desires of others can help you build strong social bonds, avoid conflict, and maintain harmony in personal and professional settings. It can create opportunities for care and connection, and in many cultures, it’s seen as a sign of emotional intelligence and empathy.
These traits have real survival value. In times of true danger, they may be the very qualities that allow you to navigate a perilous situation and come out on the other side intact.
However, while these traits serve important functions, they are fear-based at their
core. They develop in response to environments where you’ve felt unsafe—whether physically, emotionally, or socially—and your brain has learned to perceive the world as a place that demands constant vigilance. When your brain is stuck in this mode, it’s constantly scanning for danger, and these traits, which once served you, become less adaptive.
When perfectionism turns into an obsessive need to control, rigidity becomes an inability to adapt, and people-pleasing results in burnout and loss of self, these traits take a toll. They no longer serve as shields but as barriers to growth, healing, and well-being.
Ultimately, these traits can drive you deeper into the cycle of stress, anxiety, and chronic health conditions. The same traits that once helped you succeed can also reinforce a fear-based loop where your body and mind are in a constant state of high alert, never able to relax, recover, or feel safe.
Constant Problem-Solving and the “Hot Brain”
Another common trait I see in clients is constant problem-solving. If someone has been struggling with chronic conditions for a long time without answers, it’s natural to want to find solutions. However, this can spiral into an obsessive need to “fix” things, keeping the brain in a hyper-alert, danger-seeking state.
When someone is constantly seeking solutions, they may inadvertently remain in a state of stress and anxiety, further reinforcing the cycle of fear-based brain wiring.
The brain, stuck in overdrive, never gets the chance to rest and reset.
Are you in a helping industry?
Consider the reasons you are attracted to being a helper. Could this also apply to you?
The Link Between Personality and Chronic Conditions
Research is revealing that personality traits such as perfectionist personality, rigidity, and people-pleasing—are not separate from chronic conditions like pain, digestive issues, and sleep disruption. They both stem from and contribute to the same root cause: the overactive fear brain.
The relationship between the Nucleus Accumbens and Prefrontal Cortex—two key brain regions involved in fear response, decision-making, and reward-based behaviors—becomes altered when we live in a constant fear state. Research has shown that when we experience chronic stress and fear, these brain areas are rewired in such a way that even neutral stimuli are perceived as threats, leading to more chronic conditions, more pain, and more fear-based behaviors.
The Science of Compassion and Loneliness
At the 2014 Stanford CCare Science of Compassion conference, researchers studied a group of people who had one thing in common: they had all been exposed to one common toxic risk factor. Loneliness. The findings were eye-opening. That loneliness triggered changes in gene expression related to inflammation. That rise in inflammation then increased the risks of developing chronic autoimmune conditions.
Final Thoughts and a Call To Action
So far I've made a case that it's your "hot brain" that is the root cause of all your pain and suffering. You may be thinking that I'm pushing Pain Reprocessing Therapy, gentle Somatics, and Pranayama (breathing) as the answer to all that ails you.
The last thing I want is to get on a soapbox and say "THIS IS THE WAY". It may not be for you.
Altered gene expression, wonky brain wiring, pain, anxiety, IBS, perfectionism, loneliness, and disconnection .... these are all symptoms of an even greater malady at hand... and an even greater remedy.
Look for the next part of the series soon!
Samantha is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, a Noom Certified Health Coach, and founder of Davidson Yoga Therapy and Health Coaching.
She has held complimentary healthcare positions at The Blanchard Institute, Atrium
Hospital, Levine Cancer Institute, Sanger Heart Clinic, and Davidson College. She has presented for Fortune 500 companies and major Universities, both public and professional audiences, on this thing called yoga therapy and what it can do when it is unpeeled, revealed, and adapted to meet the needs and the abilities of the person doing it.
She leverages her three decades of yoga therapy, and health coaching experience with the following therapeutic models:
Jungian Psychology
Interfaith Perspectives
Spiritual Technologies
Trauma Healing
Polyvagal Somatics
Compassionate Inquiry
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
The Neurosequential Model
Internal Family Systems
All this is to say, there are many doorways to use on the path to healing and self-discovery, and Samantha’s breadth of experience allows for vast creativity on which approach is right for you!
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