NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS

INHIBITED



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HELPFUL TIP:

Characters with this flaw will be extra sensitive to certain emotions, so think about how events in your story might specifically trigger these feelings to generate compelling tension and conflict. Another idea is to give a supporting character a positive attribute that is an opposite of this flaw, which will get under the skin of both characters and cause friction in their relationship.
DEFINITION:
Suppressing desires, impulses, and feelings

SIMILAR FLAWS:
Constrained, restrained, repressed

POSSIBLE CAUSES:
A mental disorder
A difficult or painful past
Being punished as a child for expressing certain desires or emotions
Sexual abuse
Passive-aggressive parents who toyed with their child's emotions
Growing up with repressed, emotionless parents
Feeling unsafe
Feeling imperfect or unworthy
Caregivers who showed preferential treatment of one sibling over another
Fear

ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES:
Trying to force a state of emotional numbness
Self-loathing
Apathy and indifference
Frustration at feeling something but being unable to show or act on it
Pulling away from people
Isolation
Paranoid thoughts that keep one from behaving in a certain way
Difficulty becoming intimate with others
Being unable to show vulnerability to others
Explosive reactions when emotions can no longer be contained
Avoiding crowds and events
Refusing to do anything spontaneously
Being unable to cry even when one wants to
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ASSOCIATED THOUGHTS:
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ASSOCIATED EMOTIONS:
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POSITIVE ASPECTS:
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NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
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EXAMPLES FROM LITERATURE:
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OVERCOMING THIS TRAIT AS A MAJOR FLAW:
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TRAITS IN SUPPORTING CHARACTERS THAT MAY CAUSE CONFLICT:
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