9 Struggles Of Having A Type B Personality While Dealing With Anxiety

Firstly, God bless anyone who genuinely thinks anyone falls 100 percent into any particular category, especially a binary, black-or-white category.

You can be a social introvert or antisocial extrovert.

You can have the majority of the personality traits in a Myers-Briggs category, but you don't necessarily have to have all of them.

You can be something that isn’t entirely Type A or Type B.

I spent a good amount of my life assuming I was Type A because I was always ambitious (sometimes too ambitious).

I was always high-energy, quite emotional and incredibly critical of myself.

Yes, I wasn’t that competitive of a person, and I defaulted to messy and disorganized when I wasn’t careful.

But I couldn’t really be a Type B personality. Right?

Then, I started actually reading about Type B personalities, instead of just resting on the (false) assumption a Type B personality is essentially the lazy cousin of Type A.

It took learning that Type B personalities tend to gravitate toward more creative endeavors, empathetic behaviors and reflective thinking that finally made me recognize I fit more into Type B than Type A.

I just happen to be a Type B personality with a propensity toward anxiety and neurosis.

Like being a homebody outdoorsman or an outgoing shy guy, living with such contradictions can make life interesting.

Being a Type B personality (but also neurotic as f*ck) means the following things:

1. In group projects, you really have no interest in competing for control. But you sure are worried about getting a lousy grade.

You walk that fine line between being petrified of bombing an important assignment and being chill with everyone’s input.

This is easy when all the group members are contributing like they're supposed to.

It's not so easy when the group members are sleeping on the job, or when the person who put him- or herself in charge is a f*cking moron.

2. You really hate the fact everything’s in disarray and you can’t find anything. But to fix that involves consistent cleaning and organizing.

You hate the fact you have to check your closet, the hamper and the washer-dryer for a certain item of clothing.

You really don’t like running around the house to find your keys, but who really has the time to meticulously fold clothing or, you know, put the keys in the same spot?

Those color-coded baskets your Type A roommate suggested are now glorified odds-and-ends bins.

3. You play on a sports team to have fun and get some exercise, but everyone else’s competitiveness is stressing you out.

Guys, seriously. It’s intramural soccer.

You're here to make friends and avoid the gym. Can everyone else stop getting so worked up that your team is massively losing?

It’s making you want to go home and eat potato chips.

4. You seriously hate being late to something, but you just can’t get your sh*t together in time.

You’ve mastered the “deep breaths at a red light” stress-reducer. You’ve also perfected the “I’m so sorry, I’m running late!” text.

But for the life of you, you just can’t get out the door when you want to.

5. Your daily planner is laughable.

You got yourself one of those daily planners, and you have a Google Calendar shortcut on your phone because you hate the idea of missing an appointment or accidentally double-booking yourself.

Too bad you only use it sporadically.

Sometimes, you'll put events in the planner after they have happened, just to make yourself feel better.

6. You’re a fanciful, optimistic, daydreaming mess, who is petrified it’s all going to come crashing down on you.

Everything comes in due time, and everything happens for a reason.

But oh my God, what happens if you lose every single thing that brings you joy in life?

Take the road less traveled. You know, unless you get lost.

Then, you’re f*cked.

7. Everyone assumes you’re Type A.

Maybe you are.

But, you're more like Type A- or maybe a B+.

Actually, now that you think about it, maybe you’re not anything.

But man, why did you mention something in the first place? Now all these people think you’re lying.

How are you going to change that misconception of yourself? Well, this afternoon is now ruined.

8. Actually, being a Type B makes you pretty good at being ambitious.

Fear of failure? Fear of the end result not looking exactly like you imagined?

Not a problem over here.

There might be a nagging voice that is really worried you’ll fall flat on your face, but even that won’t stop you from doing what inspires you.

A focus on the here-and-now and not on the finished product will mean feeling a little more sure of yourself, as you potentially dive into something that might not have an end game in place.

It means you’re less likely to get caught up in the details.

9. You wouldn't change this walking contradiction, even if you had the opportunity.

It can be stressful. It can create a mighty mess for you.

But in some ways, it's the best of both worlds.

It really is a reminder we can't be put into a specific type of box.

But then again, that sounds like something a Type B personality would be comfortable saying.