Unravelling My Thoughts

Stress reactions--Fear

I will discuss two ways of dealing with stress, depending on introverted and extroverted temperaments. The first reaction is fear, and the second is anger. I will cover fear in this entry, and anger in the next.

People of Melancholy or Phlegmatic temperaments respond to stressors in fear, being nonconfrontational in their approaches.

Melancholies will internalize stress and think upon it again and again, often being critical of other people without actually coming out and saying that something is wrong in their lives. Small incidents will twist over and over again in their analytic minds, and the stress may build up, stessor after stressor, until a physical reaction causes them to seek help. Social support for Melancholies is a must. They usually have only a few close friends, whom they are very loyal to, and that same loyalty is expected to be returned in kind. The one thing that someone of Melancholy temperament may have to watch out for is the negative influence of other people. They need to pour as much positive into their lives as possible to drown it out. They may internalize other people's problems as their own, especially the problems of close friends and family. Speaking positive self-talk, which can be learned through many self-improvement books, and avoiding gossip at all costs, will make for a much longer, healthier life for someone of this temperament. Reading the book of Psalms will build up any Melancholy who is down on himself/herself. Most are them are written by the delightful SanMel, King David. Reading the story of Moses, a beloved Melancholy, in Exodus, will give hope in how God can work through this temperament. It is a powerful story, and Moses wrote it!


People of Phlegmatic temperament do not internalize stress, but rather shy away from it or avoid it at all costs. Phlegmatics would sooner run away or muffle the stress in any way possible. This might be a physical flight away from any type of danger, or, perhaps a numbing of reality with drugs and alcohol. I, and many Phlegmatics like me, I suppose, can mentally close ourselves in and not let other people know that we are having any problems whatsoever. We can also just forget something bad that happened, and, maybe, it will go away, sooner or later. Trust me, that hardly ever works. Social support is also a must for Phlegmatics, no matter how much we like to stay off to ourselves. For those approaching loved ones of this temperament, building trust is key to any lasting relationship with us. We don't often have very many friends, but the ones we do have, we'll never forget. We may often, however, worry over the stressors of our loved ones to forget our own, which can take its toll on relationships when we verbalize them over and over again. We feel we cannot control what happens, so we may bother the people who may be affected, and tell them to watch out for danger of all sorts. The writings of the Apostle Paul, the Choleric, from the Bible, would be great instruction, motivating the reserved Phlegmatic. Reading the story of Abraham, a fellow Phlegmatic, will bring understanding of how God can work in us, in spite of our fear.


Is there anything else you would like to know about fear and these two temperaments? Let me know.