Who is a melancholic person: characteristics, pros and cons of temperament

Hello dear readers. Pavel Butor is in touch and in this article we will understand in every detail who a melancholic person is. What is a person of this type of temperament like, how to identify him among your interlocutors and how to interact with him. We will touch on issues such as the compatibility of a melancholic person with people of a different temperament, and we will talk about raising a melancholic child. An interesting test awaits you, with which you can understand what type you are. And also at the end of the article, I will share with you my personal feelings about life, since I am a melancholic and an introvert, and I will tell you what to do if you happen to be one. Go!

On the division into character types

Let's start the article with all sorts of facts and terms. Well, what can you do – that’s psychology. But at the end there will be a lot of personal experience.

In medicine, it is customary to divide everyone, based on behavior and character, into 4 types of people: melancholic, sanguine, choleric and phlegmatic. Although everything is far from so simple, there are also many subtleties. Traits of several characters can be simultaneously present in one person. This is usually called a mixed type of temperament. This is studied in detail in psychology. Knowledge makes it easier to work with patients and helps develop correct behavior with such people.

4 types of temperament

Properties of memory and mental health

An uninterrupted regime of despondency does not allow melancholic people to achieve success professionally.

Thus, a person with such a temperament experiences difficulties in the need to remember various nuances, and can also easily forget previously learned material. Who else, if not a melancholic person, will experience problems concentrating while doing a specific task? For this reason, the learning process is not easy for them.

A person of this psychotype has low self-esteem , which generates an additional flow of complexes. Because of this, there is a strong feeling of non-recognition in the working circle of the team.

The motor function of melancholic people is slow, faded with a lack of expressiveness. Individuals of this type cannot complete work on time, so they are often considered lazy. But at the same time, in a comfortable environment they are amazed by their high productive abilities.

It should be noted that any irritant can disable them from their working state, and this will disrupt the work process.

general characteristics

Let's look into the details of what kind of melancholic he is.

A melancholic person is a person who does not splash out negativity on others and does not start quarrels, preferring to accumulate all grievances and experiences within himself. Such individuals are prone to soul-searching and introspection, but at the same time these same emotions make them very creative individuals.
People with this type of character are characterized by a tendency to constantly worry. They experience vivid emotions that can appear in bursts and then fade away. But unlike the choleric person, the melancholic person does not show them, outwardly remaining unperturbed.

The description of this type (as well as others) was formulated by the ancient Greek healer and philosopher Hippocrates, giving it the name in honor of black bile - melaina chole. It was this illness, in his opinion, that best characterized his character. Just like black bile, negative experiences poison the body. In the modern world, its interpretation continues to be used, only supplementing it with the results of new research.

Description of the melancholic temperament

Hippocrates describes melancholic people as easily vulnerable, sluggishly reacting to their surroundings, withdrawn, and restrained in speech. Despite such “unenviable” characteristics, melancholic people have the main important quality - high sensitivity of the nervous system

, allowing them to become great musicians, artists, philosophers. Melancholic people have a certain margin of strength, so they are not at all as fragile as one might think, however, compared to phlegmatic people, sanguine people and choleric people, this type of temperament is considered the weakest.

Read also: How to make Santa Claus out of paper

How to identify a melancholic person by character traits

It is enough to spend some time with a person to find out his type. Knowing the characteristics of a melancholic person’s character will make it clear how to communicate with him correctly so as not to feel awkward. Briefly about the main signs of behavior of this personality type:

Excessive touchiness. With a melancholic person, you will have to carefully watch what you say and how you say it. A harsh word or inappropriate tone can cause offense in such a person. But it’s not a fact that you can recognize it by external signs.
Closedness. Melancholic people are often not very sociable. They don’t like noisy companies (they are simply uncomfortable in someone else’s company), and if you have to be among people, you will rarely hear more than 1 or 2 phrases from them.
Tact. A melancholic person will not ask you when you will get married or have a child. This doesn't mean he's not interested. Just based on personal experience, he will not “get into your soul.”
Creativity. Often these people are representatives of creative professions. Internal emotional outbursts allow you to direct your energy in the right direction. Therefore, you can often hear that creative individuals are “on their own” or capricious, although this characteristic is erroneous. This is simply a cost of temperament.

Melancholic artist
There is information that people of this type of character can be identified based on appearance. Melancholic people have a supposedly fragile physique, their limbs may be slightly elongated, and their skin is pale. But this is very controversial, since absolutely anyone can look like this.

But body language can sometimes, on the contrary, reveal the melancholic side of your interlocutor. Some tightness in posture, tightly pressed knees, often crossed arms and in general the feeling from such a person that he is trying to become more compact.

Advantages and disadvantages

People with a melancholic character can easily succeed and stand out among the team. Like all personality types, they also have good and bad sides. Positive character traits:

Faithful. If a melancholic person has become attached to you, then most likely it will last for life. Their affection is always sincere, such a person is a very good friend.
Monogamy. A person with a melancholy character is a monogamous person and prefers to build long-term relationships. This is true in most cases, but not always.
Very sensual. Due to increased emotionality, melancholic people are prone to romanticism. In love, they are very gentle and sensitive, taking care of their couple.
Creative. Creativity for melancholic people is a way of self-expression. And the richer the emotional range, the more creativity they produce.
Good analysts. The usual state of a melancholic person is observing others. Thanks to this, they have a well-developed ability to analyze and anticipate events and people's behavior.
Perfectionists. Possessing perseverance, they do their work thoughtfully, achieving high-quality results. Unfortunately, speed suffers.

As usual, the most striking advantages also result in negative aspects of character.
Melancholic people experience separation or betrayal very hard. Sometimes it may take them more than one year to move away from a long-term relationship. Excessive emotionality can have a bad effect on the state of the nervous system and ultimately result in unpleasant illnesses. Because of the love of analyzing everything (especially oneself), an endless internal dialogue occurs. This soul-searching and constant replaying of situations in a circle often interferes with moving forward and slows down personal growth.

The most striking disadvantages of melancholic people:

pessimism;
low stress resistance;
poor self-esteem;
inertia;
communication problems;
excessive slowness.

Music has a great influence on the mood of a melancholic person. She can drive him into depression or, conversely, give him strength.

Melancholic introvert

Melancholic people are characterized as closed people, weakly responsive to the external environment, with restrained speech. But one of their most important qualities is the increased sensitivity of the nervous system. This quality allows such people to succeed in the creative field. But it also makes the melancholic vulnerable to society.

A person with this type of character often experiences events too much, and this can affect not only psychological health, but also physical health: pressure changes, nervous tics, headaches.

In addition to the division into character types, people also have different personality types: introvert (closed) and extrovert (open). So, a melancholic person is an introvert.

Can a melancholic person be an extrovert?

You will never meet a melancholic extrovert, since this type of temperament and psychotype are incompatible by definition. A melancholic person will never love a noisy company and will not be in the center of it, since he does not need it. To protect his inner world, he will prefer to hide from prying eyes.

Recommendations

It is impossible to change temperament, but if desired, a person is able to “smooth out” acute manifestations, which often interfere with a peaceful life for both him and those around him.

5 useful tips for a melancholic person

To take care. Avoid communicating with unpleasant people, do not allow yourself to be offended and do not show your feelings to toxic people: their negative emotions only make the other person happy.
Praise yourself more often. Belief in one's strengths and capabilities helps a person feel more comfortable in any society and in any activity.
If you don’t have a hobby yet, listen to yourself and find your favorite activity. It will distract from sad thoughts, increase self-confidence and relax the nervous system.
Learn to look for positive aspects in any situation, even if everything is obviously so bad that it can’t get any worse. This helps avoid depression and distracts from negativity.
Sometimes allow yourself to do something not according to the rules. Let it be a chocolate bar before lunch or a walk instead of drawing up another non-urgent work report. This will make you feel more free.

How to communicate correctly with a melancholic person

The main rule when communicating with a melancholic person is to be friendly. In this case, he maintains clarity of mind, does not experience excessive anxiety and does not get tired of communication so quickly.
It is important for a melancholic person to be approved and praised. If there is such a reason, there is no need to miss the moment, this will allow you to win over such a person and earn his trust.
Try not to show your anxiety to such an individual, as he quickly gets “infected” and stresses himself out, which negatively affects his performance and condition.
There is no need to try to force him into even the most friendly and noisy company, as he quickly gets tired of such communication.

Sofia Emelyanova

Author of the article. Psychologist.

About the expert

Features of a melancholic woman

A girl of this character is a very modest, often complex person who avoids large and noisy companies. From the outside, she may seem a little slow. Outwardly, she shows practically no emotions, although a storm can occur inside. Typically, melancholic women are very creative; they like to decorate their homes, doing things with their own hands, sewing or knitting clothes for their loved ones.

Melancholic woman

Relationship building

Quite often, melancholic people are monogamous. They are distinguished by devotion, loyalty, and willingness to help, despite their own inconveniences. A person with this type of temperament expects a similar attitude from his partner.

It is important to realize that a melancholic person greatly values emotional intimacy. He wants to feel, hear and see that he is loved. Each time a person will look for confirmation of feelings. As soon as the candy-bouquet period ends (see Psychology of relationships between men and women), the melancholic person experiences a real tragedy. He will believe that feelings and good attitudes disappear.

The need for emotional support is not an obstacle to a melancholic person’s love of solitude. The most important thing is that he does not spend all his time alone (see Psychology of loneliness), which will lead to depressive disorder. It is important to realize that a person with this type of temperament does not like to swear, but may burst into tears because he had a dream about a breakup.

In addition, a melancholic person will exhibit the following behavioral characteristics:

Excessive romanticism, which will be appreciated in a partner;
Expects that the relationship may deteriorate;
Try to maintain relationships because you become attached to a loved one;
Loves to please other people, forgetting about his own interests;
Wants to see strong personalities next to him in order to feel their care;
Demanding, but kind-hearted towards children.

How to raise a melancholic child

From early childhood, a melancholic child loves logic toys, willingly learns about the world around him, and is inquisitive. But he may often not make contact with his peers. The child studies well at school and has good behavior, but rarely responds on his own initiative in class. At the same time, such a child may completely lose interest in the subject if the teacher offended or insulted him.

Parents of a melancholic child need to carefully filter the information coming to the child. Thanks to their well-developed imagination and heightened sensitivity, such children have a hard time coping with cruel scenes from films or even fairy tales.

A melancholic teenager needs the support of his environment and relatives, gets tired quickly, and is very worried about the distribution of forces in the class. Boys have a hard time with failure and can become interested in collecting and sports. The girls are quiet and willing to carry out their teachers’ instructions. They often become teachers' favorites, regardless of their academic performance.

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.

Relationships and compatibility with other temperament types

To find common ground, it is important to have common interests. But sometimes this may not be enough. It would seem that there is a common cause or hobby, something to discuss, but different characters do not allow them to get closer. It turns out that temperament also plays an important role in successful communication. Let's figure out how a melancholic person feels next to people of a different type of temperament, and who is suitable for him.

With a choleric person

Choleric is considered the most “mental” type of temperament. These are people with an explosive character who can shout if something doesn’t go according to plan. They are constantly nervous, even over small things, and take it out on others. But they also think very quickly and in critical situations make decisions faster than others.

Of all the types of temperament, a melancholic person combines worst of all in a relationship with a choleric person. He may simply be “crushed” by the latter’s irrepressible energy and strength of character. A choleric person can often communicate in a raised tone and cannot hold back harsh words, while melancholic people are, as a rule, quite touchy people.

With a sanguine person

People of this type are considered the most sociable and positive. Often such people are portrayed as cheerful and always laughing. A sanguine person belongs to the extroverted psychotype.

He is an optimist, a good listener and a pleasant conversationalist. A sanguine person easily finds a common language with a melancholic person, being an inspiration for him. It charges you with energy, helps you overcome internal pressures and move towards your goal. An ideal combination, since it is a sanguine person who can stir up a melancholic person.

With a phlegmatic person

Phlegmatic people are deservedly considered the calmest people. It’s hard to piss them off, but if this person gets angry, then this is comparable to a disaster, since the slower he starts, the slower he cools down. Phlegmatic and melancholic get along well with each other. This will be an even relationship or friendship without strong emotional outbursts.

With a melancholic person

This may seem like the perfect combination. After all, who can better understand a melancholic person if not exactly the same? Yes, such a union will be idyll. And it will be a measured and stable relationship. No “Italian” quarrels with showdowns, breaking dishes, and so on. But if a melancholic person needs a person who can inspire him to move forward, then it is better to take a closer look at a representative of a different type.

To learn how to get along with people, you can undergo special training.

The online intensive “Effective Communication” is suitable for:
Entrepreneurs, executives, top managers.
For those who work with clients, middle managers, and freelancers.
To everyone who is involved in raising children.
Anyone who wants to improve their communication with others.

The author of the course is Oleg Kalinichev, an expert in nonverbal behavior, emotional intelligence and lie detection. Accredited trainer Paul Ekman International. Managing Director of Paul Ekman International in Russia (PEI Russia).

You will learn:

Communicate with closed people.
Coping with daily problems involving other people.
Influence your environment and much more.

The course lasts 1 month and contains 33 video lectures, 26 exercises, 6 tests + webinars with emotional intelligence experts.

The training consists of 4 blocks:

Emotions. Basics.
Emotional stability and emotional flexibility.
Social efficiency.
Building harmonious relationships.

How it goes:

You are watching video lectures.
Then you complete independent tasks to reinforce the material.
Participate in webinars and discuss difficult issues.
Take tests on the material you have studied.
You complete the intensive course and receive a certificate.

The cost of completing it independently is 1,040 rubles, with a curator – 2,370 rubles.

They will refund your money if you decide within 7 days that the course is not suitable for you.

Relationships

Despite the increased sensitivity and vulnerability, in a relationship the melancholic person is a very faithful and reliable companion. If his significant other has trouble, he will worry about himself. At the same time, he will try to do everything possible to solve the problem and help a loved one.

The main thing in a relationship for a melancholic person is to feel that he is loved, that he is needed. Therefore, he needs to be constantly reminded of this, pampered, and pitied when he feels sad again.

I have compiled a table of compatibility of a melancholic person with representatives of other types of temperament.

Temperament type	Character traits	Compatibility
Sanguine	Optimistic, sociable, frivolous.	Good - an energetic and extroverted sanguine person takes care of a submissive, quiet melancholic person.
Choleric	Dominant, unbalanced, irritable.	Low - a melancholic person is doomed to suffer from the rudeness and straightforwardness of an explosive choleric person.
Phlegmatic person	Calm, calm, slow.	Average - a calm, phlegmatic partner will quickly get tired of the increased emotionality of a melancholic person, and the second will suffer from misunderstanding and indifference on the part of the phlegmatic person.
Melancholic	Vulnerable, sensitive, reserved.	Low – both introverted and overly touchy partners will sulk at each other over the slightest careless word.

As can be seen from the table, the most suitable for each other are melancholic and sanguine. A melancholy partner will dutifully obey a sanguine person, who, in turn, will charge his sad companion with optimism and cheerfulness. However, for such relationships to arise, representatives of these contradictory types must meet somewhere and fall in love, which is quite difficult.

With a choleric person it will be very difficult for a melancholic person, because he will not spare feelings and choose expressions when communicating with a deeply vulnerable partner. A union is possible if both learn to compromise and respect each other.

The equanimity and iron calm of a phlegmatic person will be regarded by a melancholic person as indifference. From this he will begin to suffer, look within himself for the reasons for his partner’s coldness and fall into despair. But the thing is that a phlegmatic person, in principle, does not know how to express his emotions and feelings, which is of great importance for his melancholic partner.

Two melancholic people are unlikely to get along. Insecure and touchy, they will simultaneously take out their suffering and complaints on each other. In this case, they will generally spend most of their time in silence, being offended by one another.

The situations described are true for people with a pronounced type of temperament. However, there are very few such people. Most people have a mixed temperament. In this case, a person contains a whole mixture of characteristics corresponding to two temperaments at once.

Ideal job for a melancholic person

For a person of a melancholic nature, it is better to choose professions that minimize interaction with people and require attention to detail. For example, the work of a manager or advertising agent will not suit them, since this type of activity involves constant contact with a large number of strangers.

You can choose monotonous activities that require periodic use of thinking. List of suitable professions for a melancholic person in which he can succeed:

analyst;
literary editor;
programmer;
designer;
advertising developer;
writer;
psychologist (subject to non-group practice), etc.

Although a melancholic person prefers to work alone, if the team is small and close-knit, with a homely atmosphere, so to speak, then these conditions are quite comfortable for him.

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.

Famous melancholic personalities

There are a lot of examples where famous people who achieved success had a melancholy character. It is noteworthy that their activities were mainly related to creativity in one form or another.

Famous melancholic people:

Keanu Reeves;
Johnny Depp;
Michael Jackson;
Megan Fox:
Charles Robert Darwin;
Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky;
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin;
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol;
Pavel Sergeevich Butor (coming soon!);
Isaac Newton and others

Melancholic Johnny Depp

What are the features of the type

The melancholic temperament type has low self-esteem.
These are usually insecure people who do not believe in a successful combination of circumstances, luck, and also tend to exaggerate their own shortcomings. They constantly delve into themselves, engage in introspection and self-criticism. At work, these people are very slow, do not have endurance, have a weak nervous system and fatigue easily. They need professions where frequent rest and redirection of attention is possible. This type of personality, such as melancholic people, very rarely ends up at the helm and occupies leadership positions. But what is important to them is emotional return, the support of colleagues and friends.

People with the melancholic temperament type find it very difficult to make new acquaintances, they are not the first to make contact, they do not enter into dialogue, not because they are shy, they are simply not interested. They are more concerned about the state of their inner “I”, the analysis of their personality. In society, these people are usually distant, do not engage in dialogues or discussions, and are socially passive

They are comfortable staying in the shadows, but at the same time it is important to feel supported, cared for and receive help from others. The most difficult thing for melancholic people to establish contact and communication with is active and cheerful sanguine people among all existing types.

In love relationships, the melancholic temperament also shows passivity and apathy, and will try not to demonstrate their feelings. Waits for activity, first steps and manifestations from the partner. Most often, melancholic people are monogamous. Due to the nature of the melancholic, their chosen ones need to be careful and tactful, attentive and sensitive, and avoid harsh statements due to their weakness.

What to do if I'm melancholic - my personal opinion

How can a melancholic person live in modern society without breaking out of the general rhythm? To be honest, I wanted to write a separate article on this topic, but decided to limit myself to a short text within the framework of this article.

Friends, I myself am melancholic and an introvert, and everything described above is about me. This is considered to be the weakest type of temperament. But to be honest, I don’t care about this judgment. I have my own opinion on this matter, and the facts from my life confirm it.

Yes, sometimes this makes it difficult. Yes, sometimes I can get carried away over trifles, I can be offended by a person, it would seem, because of a trifle. By the way, I learned to deal with this. How exactly - read my article.

Constant internal dialogue, analysis of my past actions, anxiety that comes from out of nowhere, fatigue from long-term communication (especially uninteresting), physical fatigue, sometimes slowness and the like - all this is present in me, and no matter how hard I try to change it, nothing works. Therefore, you need to turn everything into “plus”.

The most important thing is to accept yourself, stop comparing yourself to other people and start enjoying yourself and your capabilities. Now I’ll tell you how I do it (the process, of course, is still far from complete, but a start has been made).

You need to clearly understand your trump cards. And a melancholic person has a lot of them!

Responsibility. For example, I know for sure that if a matter is interesting to me, then I will approach it with great responsibility. Especially if someone asked me to help and I agreed. I will carry it out meticulously. Yes, speed suffers, but until the quality, in my opinion, reaches the ideal, I will not finish the work. To turn this feature into a “plus”, I just needed to choose the right activity.

Analytical thinking. I'm just in awe of this! Not to say that I develop this side greatly, but even the basic skills given to me by nature are enough to stand out from the crowd and think differently: think ahead, analyze the actions of other people, etc. This is truly a strength and it is inherent melancholic people!

A sense of beauty and the ability to feel people. This is a characteristic of absolutely any melancholic person. Yes, because of this we can sometimes seem too sentimental, but this can also be corrected. For example, when I communicate with a person, I can immediately determine approximately who he is and what kind of energy he carries. True, friends, and this is cool! If you correctly combine analytical thinking and the ability to feel people, then we will turn out to be the best psychologist in the world. And if you are a good practicing psychologist, then you can easily control those around you.

Leadership. It is believed that a melancholic person cannot be a leader. And I'll tell you that this is nonsense. It's just that the leadership format is different. You will not lead the crowd into battle by shouting slogans, but you will calmly control both the captain and the crowd. You can easily gain leadership in any team and do it without anyone even noticing. How – I described in detail in the previous article. That's right, it's not that difficult, because you feel every person perfectly. You just need to know certain tricks, that's all!

Relationships “man - woman”. Again, for some reason, everyone around me thinks that a melancholic man has a hard time with women and vice versa. And I can say with confidence that this is nonsense, but not entirely! For example, it was really hard for me before. And rightly so, girls love obvious leaders (choleric people), cheerful people (sanguine people), guys who don’t whine. And this is all true. But guys! Those abilities that are already inherent in us by nature can be applied to women in such a way that everyone else will be no match for us! Don't believe me?

We feel a woman very well - this is a huge plus for guys. After all, all women are very emotional, and knowing the reason for their actions, plus analytical abilities to develop certain strategies, we can always control the situation. You just need to know certain tricks and that’s it. And for this, friends, you need to study seduction. “Romantic” style - who can be a romantic better than a melancholic person?

We are shy, but it can be cured with practice. We don’t like noisy companies - it’s unlikely to be cured - which means we shouldn’t go to noisy places, but go where it’s comfortable.

In general, friends, a melancholic person has a lot of advantages. Just to understand them and learn how to use them correctly, you need:

Accept yourself and understand what you can and want to change, and what you cannot or do not want.
Eliminate what is unacceptable to you.
Constantly work on yourself.
Compare “I am now” with “I was then”, and in no case with other people.

Don't like your job, are you very tired of it? So, maybe it's because she's not right for you at all? Quit, just do it wisely.

I understand your situation and since you are reading this article, I have an effective solution for you. Get training. For example, you are shy and your communication skills suffer, unlike a sanguine person, for example - take communication training.

Also download your advantages. For example, by nature, as a melancholic person, you are endowed with a unique ability to feel people’s emotions. But it’s not clear how to work with all this, right? This means you need to improve your emotional intelligence. I recommend you the “Emotional Intelligence” training, which is conducted by the famous trainer Oleg Kalinichev, a famous consultant, director of Paul Ekman International.
Vikium offers a 7-day money back guarantee.

This investment in yourself will pay off very quickly, and you will become much more productive. Completing the course will allow you to understand your own emotions and the emotions of other people, determine when you are being lied to, understand people's facial expressions and resolve conflicts. The course is aimed at developing the skill of remaining calm in any situation, and the main value of the training is increasing self-esteem and self-confidence.

You can also find other training options on the Vikium website. Try it, it's free. In any case, there is a guarantee that you will improve yourself in the field of communication and relationships with people. There is a review article on our blog, read:

Brain simulators and courses Vikium - the most detailed and honest review of the online learning platform + reviews

That's it, friends. Whether we are melancholic or sanguine, introverted or extroverted - all this is not as critical as it seems at first glance. Let's not give up, but start working on ourselves!

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.

Melancholic and career

A melancholic boss is an exceptional rarity. Usually he chooses the position of a subordinate and accepts the position of a slave. He is suitable for creative professions (artist, designer, pastry chef) or work that requires analytical thinking (scientist, accountant, programmer). He loves to ask questions about the meaning of life and help others. This makes him feel needed and important. Therefore, a teacher, a nurse (but not a doctor), a nanny, a psychologist are also a common choice for such people.

The melancholic type of temperament is difficult to tolerate:

However, such an employee is indispensable in situations related to creativity, calculations, forecasting, learning new things, and understanding human emotions and thoughts.

Phlegmatic person

Level out the influence of the specifics of emotions - excessive slowness.

Keep in mind: emotions, time pressure and authority are arguments for others. A phlegmatic person must remember that his behavior in an extreme situation may be incomprehensible and even unacceptable to others. Indeed, with any form of argumentation and pressure (“We won’t have time to submit the work,” “You are slowing down the work of everyone else,” “The head of the company is dissatisfied with your delay!”), the phlegmatic person completes the work only as quickly as he is used to, and does only what he was told in advance, or better yet, what was indicated in the instructions. This infuriates his colleagues, especially since even in a stressful situation it is useless to push, threaten or remove him. Realizing the reasons for such a conflict situation, the phlegmatic person must explain that he understands everything and will patiently wait for an objective, preferably written, argument (“Please be so kind as to provide the documents, upon receipt of which, as soon as possible!” Otherwise, unfortunately, I won’t I can’t change it”).
Learn empathy and tactful communication skills. Reacting too slowly to feel the interlocutor and show tact in communication, the phlegmatic often gets into trouble. He needs professional communication training and even some familiar and proven schemes for organizing it.

Mitigate the influence of speed of switching dynamics.

Give yourself enough time to absorb the information. When other employees have already understood everything and are starting to work, the phlegmatic person is just beginning to realize what needs to be clarified and what questions to ask in order to begin building an action plan. He needs to calmly and carefully “digest” the argument. Preventing the invasion of suppression and sublimation, its typical forms of defense, requires a sufficiently long temporary accumulation and summation of the corresponding signals so that they exceed the personal threshold. Therefore, he himself must reserve time for clear planning and structuring of his actions. However, it is not necessary to demonstrate your desire to act only after developing the intended program, since such systematicity may seem exorbitant and annoying to others.
Imagine a new task as a development of the old one, start building a graph of your subtasks. The phlegmatic person is convinced that in a hurry it is impossible to come up with and do anything significant. He believes that a task must grow from within for a long time and only then can it be perceived as meeting serious internal needs and promoting inspiration. With this position, he does not tolerate parting with each previous task and the need to switch to a new one, which requires re-arranging all the planning. But it’s a completely different matter when the task is not fundamentally different, but related to the previous one and requires only some adjustment of plans. That is why it is so useful for a phlegmatic person to imagine the situation as a development or continuation of the old one.
Consider the role of the age of communication partners. In old age, representatives of all temperaments shift somewhat from choleric to phlegmatic. Due to the age-related slowdown of reactions, the interval of the past taken into account when constructing behavioral strategies also increases. As a result, it becomes possible to synthesize events over longer time periods than in youth. By prolonging a larger interval of the past, even elderly choleric patients are able to look into a more distant future. Therefore, when calculating the possible behavior of an individual, it is necessary to take into account not only temperament, but also age.

Health (psychosomatics) of melancholic

The most vulnerable place of a melancholic person is the nervous system. Weak resistance to stress makes him susceptible to any disease. The largest number of strokes occurs in melancholic people.

Another problem area is the lungs. Due to the tendency to keep their emotions inside, melancholic people suffer from asthma, heaviness in the chest and cough.

The most obvious illnesses of a melancholic person are problems with posture. He often has scoliosis, kyphosis, and stoop. Due to the incorrect position of the vertebrae, nerve endings and blood vessels are pinched. This leads to neurological problems. They are usually expressed in headaches, dizziness, and fainting.

For a man

Melancholic - the characteristic of this type of temperament for the male gender comes down to such qualities as pedantry, punctuality, and seriousness.
A melancholic man is very dependent on his family, he is ready to love, protect and protect his soulmate, give her good and expensive gifts, show attention and care. He loves to make plans for the future and tries to strictly follow them. But it is very easy to confuse such a representative of the stronger sex; at the same time, due to his character, it will be difficult for him to endure troubles and shocks, although sometimes he may not even show it. A man with a melancholic type is also characterized by increased anxiety. Often what happens in the world around him can cause negative emotions in him. He reacts very sensitively to the actions, behavior, and words of others. Too low self-esteem of a melancholic person can lead to the fact that this man remains lonely or, on the contrary, destroys an already established relationship.

A melancholic man can reveal not only his creative abilities, but also his artistic ones thanks to his rich and intense inner world. Various creative professions are ideal for them.

Watch the video on the topic: