I would start my study of private psychopathology with characters. more precisely, with their accentuations. I want to immediately note that accentuation of character is not a disease.

This is still the norm, just special, emphatically specific. perhaps, under unfavorable circumstances, accentuation will grow to psychopathy or give a specific color to the course of mental illness — but, again, this is a variant of the norm. Angular, bulging with its unique facets, but normal. Characters are like zodiac signs for an astrologer. This is the foundation. Once the term “temperament”was used. The word “temperament “( from Lat. temperans-moderate) in Latin means “the proper ratio of parts”; the Greek word “krasis” (fusion, mixing) was introduced by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. By temperament, he understood both anatomical and physiological, and individual psychological characteristics of a person. Hippocrates explained temperament as a feature of behavior, the predominance in the body of one of the “vital juices” (four elements).

The predominance of yellow bile (from the Greek cholē — bile, poison) makes a person impulsive, “hot” – choleric.

the predominance of lymph (from the greek phlégma — sputum) makes a person calm and slow-phlegmatic.

the predominance of blood (from lat. sanguis-blood) makes a person mobile and cheerful-sanguine.

the predominance of black bile (from the greek melas — black and chole — bile) makes a person sad and fearful — melancholic.

They say-cultivate character. And you try to change in yourself what is given by nature itself. Character is a very stable thing. It’s like facial features. Try to give the face the desired expression and keep it for years, without a break for lunch (true, haughty or mournful folds in the corner of the mouth are formed relatively quickly, but this is the rule of all bad habits). Exactly the same as the shape of the character is laid genetically. And during his life, his features are smoothed or sharpened, but very, very rarely change dramatically (usually a psychiatrist is alarmed). Look at your children. Which of your character traits did they inherit? In what bizarre combination? Are there any grandparents in them?