Have you ever heard the idea that certain personality traits might predispose you to illness? It has long been observed and documented that certain personality traits may play role in the development of many chronic health issues. It’s not the traits you would necessarily expect though, like being cantankerous, angry or aggressive. Rather, it’s been found that the people exhibiting these traits are consistently described as being ‘really, really nice.’

Now, before you panic about being a nice person, please keep reading! We’re not talking about ‘nice’ in terms of being a friendly and respectful person; we’re really talking about being self-sacrificing and the fact that we live in a culture that encourages this—especially in women.

We're living at a time where people are sicker than ever, even though modern medicine has advanced significantly. The reasons for this are varied and complex to say the least, but one thing that is consistently overlooked when it comes to someone dealing with chronic health issues is this: Are you living your life in a way that feels authentic to you? Are you living a life that feels like it's yours? Or have you adapted your personality to become what was expected of you at the cost of your own needs and physical well-being? These are important questions to ask yourself, regardless of any health issues! The common traits that present in research are consistent with this fundamental disconnection from the self, and Dr. Gabor Maté sums them up concisely below.

The common themes that have been observed:

In his book The Myth of Normal, Dr. Gabor Maté sums up his observations with this list of personality traits:

• An automatic and compulsive concern for the emotional needs of others, while ignoring one’s own
• Rigid identification with social role, duty and responsibility
• Overdriven, externally focused multitasking hyper-responsibility, based on the conviction that one must justify one’s existence by doing and giving 
• Repression of healthy, self-protective aggression and anger
• Harbouring and compulsively acting out two beliefs: “I am responsible for how other people feel” and “I must not disappoint anyone.”

About these he says, “I have found them not only present but prominent among people with all manners of chronic illness, from cancer to autoimmune disease to persistent skin conditions, through a gamut of maladies including migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, and many others.” 

He goes on to say that “At root these are coping patterns, adaptations originally formed to preserve something essential and nonnegotiable.” What he means is that these traits have been formed as a method of self-preservation, though in the process an essential part of your being became disconnected from itself, resulting in self-suppression. It is this self-suppression and disconnection from the wholeness of yourself that must be regained for real healing to take place. These “traits” don’t have to define you. They are learned coping mechanisms, not the real you. 

Where might astrology come into this?

To briefly bring in an astrological perspective, the traits listed above describe the function of certain planets (parts of the psyche) being suppressed, namely the Sun, Moon, Mars and Saturn. Let’s focus on just one of those for now: Mars.

Mars might be the most common under-functioning planet that I see in people's charts/lives, and it is listed above when he describes "repression of healthy, self-protective anger and aggression." The Mars function—things like asserting boundaries and expressing desire, will and healthy anger—have been massively shut down for so many people. Again, especially for women. The repression of this function for whatever reason (usually self-preservation in childhood) may lead to a whole host of health issues later in life as that part of you is screaming to be expressed. Physical symptoms are the body’s way of alerting you to something that needs to be witnessed and healed on a psychological level. From a medical astrology perspective, Mars is an indicator of inflammation and heat in the body. We are well aware by now the role that inflammation plays in basically all chronic illnesses.

Maybe you recognize some of the traits listed above in yourself or in the people in your life. (I know I recognize some of them in myself, and being aware of this gives me extra motivation to work through these learned disempowering perspectives.) The good news is that they are not set in stone. The first step is understanding that if parts of you have been suppressed or repressed, that it is absolutely not your fault. And that it does not have to be permanent. 

The great thing about astrology is that it illustrates the particular needs of your Mars, i.e. how that energy needs to be expressed for you. The expression of Mars in Aries will be very different from the expression of Mars in Pisces, for instance. They need different things.

Bringing astrology into a holistic health approach provides unique insight into the whole picture of YOU. The exploration of your birth chart helps you reconnect to your wholeness, which can be deeply healing as it allows you to reintegrate parts of yourself that have been knocking at the door, so to speak, via physical symptoms. The expression of all of these different parts you (shown by your birth chart as a whole) can change over time, but it requires conscious engagement.

I encourage you not to become too attached to any of your “personality traits” because, what if they aren’t really you at all? What if they are learned coping mechanisms that you developed to keep yourself safe? And what if you can decide to change the things that are no longer working for you? 

So does your personality predispose you to illness? I think a more accurate way to say it is that it’s the suppression of your true personality—your integrity and the disconnection from your wholeness—that may actually be at the root of illness and health challenges.