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While no one really wants to deal with mental health issues, if you have a propensity for them, it’s important to know so that you can be prepared to face them. Of the “Big Five” personality traits — openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — researchers recently found that three stand out as putting people more at risk for mental health issues.

A study performed by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Estonia’s University of Tartu examined the results of the Estonian Biobank, which collected voluntary data on Estonians. Researchers specifically looked at data regarding the “Big Five” personality traits, as well as some additional traits, and their link to mental health. They found that there are three traits that suggest a higher likelihood of mental health issues. Researchers shared their findings in the hopes that they would help others.

1. Higher neuroticism

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Neuroscience Newswhich reported on the study, defined neuroticism as “a tendency to feel negative emotions.” Going a step further, Arlin Cuncic, MA, said“Neuroticism is a core personality trait characterized by emotional instability, irritability, anxiety, self-doubt, depression, and other negative feelings.” Cuncic continued on to say that neuroticism is a “continuum” or spectrum, meaning that we all have varying levels of it present in our personalities.

It makes sense that a higher propensity for feeling negative emotions and feelings would naturally be linked to a higher likelihood of mental health issues. Being neurotic is virtually the very definition of struggling with one’s mental health. Cuncic also said that neuroticism essentially defines your “emotional stability.” As such, it measures how likely you are to become depressed or anxious, or to develop any number of other emotional issues.

It feels like common sense that if someone had a higher level of neuroticism, they would be more likely to develop mental health issues. The key components of neuroticism are directly connected to mental health, and more specifically to mental health issues. This is a sign that would be expected for people struggling with their mental health.

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2. Higher agreeableness

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Having a higher sense of agreeableness means that you have “a positive orientation toward other people,” Neuroscience News said. VeryWell Mind writer Sherri Gordon described it this way: “Agreeableness is a core personality trait that reflects (an) individual’s abilities to get along well with others and their concern for social harmony.” On the surface, it may seem confusing that a high level of agreeableness would correlate with greater mental health issues. After all, isn’t it a good thing if you get along with other people?

Technically, yes, it is. Gordon noted, “When it comes to personality traits, if you’re someone who has scored high in agreeableness, you’re likely popular and tend to make friends easily. You also may be seen as trustworthy, altruistic, honest, modest, empathetic, and cooperative.” While these are all good things, when taken to an extreme, they can become dangerous for one’s mental health.

Take, for example, cooperation. If you make cooperation your main goal without any thought for how that will affect you personally, you’ll be stuck doing everything possible to get along with others. That will become more important to you than standing up for your own beliefs or for yourself. Too much cooperation is really more of a weakness than a strength.

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3. Lower conscientiousness

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According to Neuroscience News, conscientiousness is “a tendency to be organized and hardworking.” Gordon described it as “a core personality trait that involves being diligent, responsible, and careful. When someone is conscientious, they are able to exercise self-discipline and self-control in order to pursue and ultimately achieve their goals.”

Obviously, having lower levels of this would not be good. It’s important to be hardworking and push towards certain goals. This keeps you on track for achievement and progress and keeps you moving in a positive direction. An absence of these qualities would leave you feeling unmoored and directionless. It would be easy to wonder what the point of life was.

Gordon noted that those who are conscientious are able to live “a more successful life.” If conscientiousness is not something that you rely on in your life, you’ll feel more susceptible to the struggles of life, including mental health issues. Without a clear vision and purpose, you’ll be more likely to develop issues like depression and anxiety.

It’s important to keep in mind that these aren’t the only indicators of mental health issues.

Researchers were quick to point out the fact that personality only accounts for a fraction of mental health issues. The lead author of the study, Helo Liis Soodla, from the University of Tartu, stated, “Many people whose traits might statistically predict poor mental health report great well-being. Conversely, many people who experience mental health problems at some point in their lives do not appear to be at risk based on their personality traits.”

Having or not having certain traits is not a sure sign that you will struggle with your mental health, but should it become an issue, it’s good to see how the two correlate.

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.