Heal with Grace
123. How Your Personality Traits Keep Your Nervous System Stuck
May 05, 2026
Season 1
Episode 123
Grace Secker
If you've ever caught yourself thinking "that's just me -> I'm an anxious person," or "I've always been a perfectionist, it's just how I am" -> this one's for you.
In this episode, I'm walking you through the 6 personality traits that show up over and over again in people with chronic symptoms. Anxiousness. Pressure. Perfectionism. People pleasing. Catastrophizing. Black and white thinking. These aren't who you are. They're learned patterns. Which means they can be unlearned.
I'm digging into how each one keeps your nervous system stuck in threat mode, where it actually came from (hint -> it's almost never random), and the small shifts that start to loosen the grip. I'm also sharing the moment my therapist called me out on my own perfectionism in grad school -> and the light bulb that finally went off for me.
If you've been doing the work, listening to podcasts, reading the books, and you still feel like something keeps pulling you back into the loop -> it's probably one of these. Maybe more than one. The good news is, naming it is half the work. Once you can see the pattern, you can step outside of it.
You don't have to fix your personality. You just have to give your nervous system a different message than the one it's been getting for years.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Sign up for my FREE Live Masterclass happening May 15th :
How to know if your symptoms are nervous system driven and what to do next
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
Resources from Grace:
Connect with Grace