Blog Post 5: How Does Taking Type C Too Far Harm Us?

Some Type C characteristics help us - for example, being a conscientious hard worker is good for job security and financial gain. Being a conscientious and responsible parent is obviously good for our children. But what happens when we take it too far? It is often to our own detriment if we apply the beliefs and rules too excessively that we learned in childhood and from family, society and our culture.

For example, putting a high importance on what other people think of us can shift the focus too far from our own needs, and lead people to take advantage of us. Since we’re often unaware of our own needs, other people will likewise fail to recognize our needs - they are easier to dismiss since we are not making them important enough to let them be known.

Over time, if we engage excessively in this people-pleasing behavior, we can feel anger, resentment, loneliness, and experience low self esteem - feelings of “I don’t matter.” Anger builds when we assume other people have the same beliefs we do - “they will think of my needs just like I think about theirs” and when they don’t act in the way we expect - “they will be thoughtful and caring just like I am”. This, in turn, can cause us to feel disappointed, lonely, and upset, and we may distance ourselves from other people. 

Applying the rule of “don’t upset others, my needs don’t matter as much as others” leads us to hold in our emotions, which is especially harmful - suppressing or numbing ourselves to feelings can lead to higher adrenaline and cortisol levels over time. This can cause a host of physical issues, like headaches, migraines, back pain, stomach problems, sleep troubles, and other issues over the longer run. Moreover, the mind-body disconnect from constantly numbing ourselves can make us miss important messages that our body is giving us.  This can also lead us to use alcohol or substances to help manage overwhelming emotions.

As emotions build, we eventually turn into a shaken soda can, and somehow explode. This can take the form of an angry outburst toward ourselves or others, or in the form of physical pain or illness. Increased cortisol in the body over time can weaken the immune system and make it more vulnerable to illness.  Cortisol is associated with increased inflammation which is connected to many illnesses.  As the studies cited in an earlier post indicate, excessive repression of emotions can weaken our natural resistance to carcinogenic influences.