A personality trait characterized by emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, and a tendency to experience negative emotions.
From Greek 'neuron' (nerve, sinew) + '-otic' (relating to) + '-ism.' One of the Big Five personality dimensions.
Neuroticism is your emotional sensitivity dial — high neuroticism means you feel negative emotions more intensely and more often. It's a trait, not a flaw.
Neuroticism as a personality trait was historically conflated with 'nervousness' and emotional instability, traits coded as feminine and used to pathologize women's psychological experiences. Medical and psychological literature from the 19th-20th centuries systematically dismissed women's emotional responses as neurotic rather than rational.
Use with awareness that the term has been applied asymmetrically—women's distress often labeled neurotic while men's identical symptoms were taken seriously. Specify observed behaviors rather than applying the label directly to people.
["emotional sensitivity","heightened emotional responsiveness","trait anxiety"]
Women neuroscientists like Sandra Bem and Harriet Zuckerman advanced personality psychology, moving beyond gendered pathology frameworks toward dimensional trait models that destigmatize emotional range.
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