Men and women with melancholic personality share many traits – they tend to be loyal to their family and friends and extremely careful.
Respectability and moral issues are particularly important to them; they prefer to follow typical “norms” of society and family traditions.
They are respectful to authority, follow the rules, and feel comfortable in hierarchies where structure, regulations, and order are implemented.
They need want to be a part of the larger community.
They see their loyalty to it as a duty.
The Serotonin Association
Melancholic personality traits are associated with serotonin, which suppresses aggressive tendencies.
That explains why melancholic people are calm and self-confident, deeply attached to their family and community, and loyal.
They are very orderly and don’t like unpredictability – they enjoy making definite plans and keeping schedules.
They love routines, which they find relaxing, and this should not come as a big surprise – any repetitive motion increases serotonin levels.
It is relaxing in its nature, but nobody enjoys it more than a melancholic!
Attention to Detail
These people pay attention to detail:
They remember special dates, anniversaries, and events.
They will remember details about their neighbors and colleagues.
Melancholics don’t see family and social ties as something that limits their freedom and flexibility as this could be with sanguines or cholerics.
To them, these are safety nets, kind of a soft place to fall but on a much grander scale.
It is also something that adds meaning to their life.
Since society and family ties are such an essential part of their daily lifestyles and routines, they absolutely can’t see themselves without it.
Take this part away from them, and they will be devastated.
That is why the melancholic is not likely to be somebody who would marry a foreigner or leave to another country for permanent residence.
It’s All About The Order!
Melancholics need to be orderly even in their speech.
They will express themselves precisely, accurately, providing all of the relevant information.
If you interrupt them or ask them a question, they will think you are not interested in what they are talking about.
Unlike Sanguine people, they hate distractions and get frustrated by them.
If you want to impress them, don’t talk about your big ideas.
Instead, give them precise information and stick to the details.
Their need for order is expressed even in their jokes – they won’t be a fan of nonsense humor or unresolved humor.
Even their jokes reflect order, predictability, and closure.
Accuracy Counts!
People with a melancholic personality are thorough and accurate.
They are process-oriented and like to pursue their goals in a precise, straightforward way.
Before they start a specific task, they need to organize themselves and break down the task into the manageable steps.
An average melancholic is not the kind of person that will work well under pressure.
To be comfortable in a given situation, they need to be in a clear-cut place where the details are known and proven.
Patience is a Virtue!
Melancholics are persistent and patient.
They don’t get bored easily and excel at tasks that require attention and repetition.
Interestingly, repetitive actions raise levels of serotonin even more.
That is why some people repeat the same movement over and over when they are anxious.
The Taste Test
Their orderliness is also reflected in their tastes.
Melancholics love geometrical designs that are simple, orderly, predictable, repetitive, and symmetrical.
If you give a melancholic man one striped shirt and hundred shirts with asymmetrical design, he will be wearing that one striped shirt every day.
Asymmetry makes them too uncomfortable.
Note, however, that most people are a mix of several personality types that make them much more flexible.
The Melancholic Manager
These people make excellent managers and administrators because they follow the rules and stick to the facts.
Even more so, they are reliable and make it a point to maintain social ties.
They are superb at managing people, whether it is at work or at home.
One of their strongest needs is the need to belong, and this is why they want to be reliable, respectable, and charitable.
Their emotional well-being depends on their social networks.
Pride
Melancholics are proud of their accomplishments – they will display their trophies, medals, diplomas, certificates, and photos with influential people.
Generally, they want to do the things in an accepted way; they prefer to plan things in advance and to know ahead of the time what they are going to do.
The Negatives
On the negative side, people with a melancholic personality may become close-minded, dogmatic, and stubborn.
They also tend to turn to pessimism which may turn into fatalism, believing that nothing will ever change for better.
Sometimes they get overly critical and judgmental because they often believe in their own moral superiority.
Their frugality may turn into stinginess.
Some melancholics can become fixated on the past. They can ruminate for hours how their life would be if they did or chose something else in the past.
Also, they may have difficulty with stopping what they are doing, so hoarding is often a very common problem.
Find out all about how Melancholic people behave in love and relationships here.
The Melancholic personality type is similar to ISTJ personality type.