Emotional intensity

Gaze

Gaze

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MBTI
INFPishy
Emotional intensity is commonly associated with emotional sensitivity. I've experienced it for a long time, and have always felt guilty about it. Partly, because, i didn't understand it and did not have the tools to manage it.

There's a tendency for our culture to see emotional intensity/sensitivity as a negative, a weakness, something bad, and unproductive. It's seen as a trait which requires not management, but social rejection. This, i think, is quite unfortunate, because there's great benefits and wisdom in the ability to be emotionally sensitive.

I've been researching this subject for a long time, and one of the sites i've come across have listed a number of characteristics of emotionally intense individuals. Now, the site describes the link between emotional intensity and giftedness, but whether or not you consider yourself or are considered gifted, how do you relate to the descriptions below?

Do you experience any or all of the following characteristics? How did it affect you when you were young, and/or as you've gotten older? How did you handle or learn to manage those characteristics?

Emotional Intensity and Sensitivity

GIFTEDNESS has an emotional as well as intellectual component. Intellectual complexity goes hand in hand with emotional depth. So gifted people not only think differently from other people they also feel differently. Emotional intensity in gifted people is not a matter of feeling more than other people, it is a different way of experiencing the world: vivid, absorbing, penetrating, encompassing, complex, commanding... ...
...a way of being quiveringly alive. ​

Emotional Intensity

Emotional intensity is positively correlated with intelligence and so the higher the intellectual level, the more emotionally intense a gifted person will be.

Emotional intensity is expressed by the gifted through a wide range of feelings, attachments. compassion, heightened sense of responsibility and scrupulous self-examination.

While these are normal for gifted people and appear very early in gifted children, they are often mistaken for emotional immaturity rather than as evidence of a rich inner life.

Characteristics


The characteristics of gifted emotional intensity include…
  • Extremes of emotion
  • Complex emotions
  • Intense passionate feelings
  • Fears and anxieties
  • Feelings of guilt
  • Concerns with death
  • Depressive moods
  • Identification with others' feelings
  • Heightened awareness of injustice and hypocrisy
  • High level of emotional energy
  • Heightened sensitivity to the environment; eg light, noise, movement
  • A sense of identification with people, animals, nature, and the universe
  • High levels of empathy
  • Keen self-awareness
  • Vulnerablity to social rejection
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http://giftedservices.com.au/StartingPoints/EmotionalIntensity.html
 
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Well mostly everything listed on the list describes me perfectly :(, I guess I must have emotional intensity, about it correlating to my giftedness well I did tested and I did come off as gifted, my intelligence is something many comment on, however, I don't really now how accurate this is, Anyways..
 
It seems like I'm high on the emotional issues and low on the intellectual complexity.
 
Dragon said:
It seems like I'm high on the emotional issues and low on the intellectual complexity.
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doubt that very much . . .
 
Yeah I'm emotionally intense. A pretty aggressive and obsessive person. When my Fi is on, it's very intense, but it's usually not on. I'm pretty passionate about my objectives and my compassion when I feel it.

I can and sometimes do decide to consciously open up my senses and be more sensitive to everything, but honestly it's just too damn tiring to receive and analyze THAT much input. Even sitting here in a room that I've spent countless hours in, I can start to notice all the little concrete details that I usually gloss over, and combine that with feelings imagination, logic and possibilities. But I usually tune out most things.

I'm intelligent and analytical, but not so much that I'd consider myself gifted. I always considered that my greatest asset was a combination of being intelligent and analytical with a lot of heart.
 
I don't need a list to tell me that I am emotionally intense and sensitive. I know this very well already through experience. The level to which I feel things can become extremely overwhelming, and it has made me seriously question my sanity several times (meaning, I contemplated checking myself into a hospital). That being said, I identify with that list quite a bit, and nearly all of them apply to me.

I do not fully understand why emotion and intelligence intercorralate, but they do. I also want to point out that genius and gifted are different things. They often relate, but one can be one with out the other.
 
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IndigoSensor said:
I do not fully understand why emotion and intelligence intercorralate, but they do. I also want to point out that genius and gifted are different things. They often relate, but one can be one with out the other.
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Which is why i liked the fact that the article used the term "gifted" instead of genius.
 
Dragon said:
It seems like I'm high on the emotional issues and low on the intellectual complexity.
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I am with restraint. I do not agree with you being low on intellectual complexity. Not one bit.
 
I am trying to find my emotional stability. Sometimes i get too much emotional. I don't know, why so much emotions run over me?
 
IndigoSensor said:
I don't need a list to tell me that I am emotionally intense and sensitive. I know this very well already through experience. The level to which I feel things can become extremely overwhelming, and it has made me seriously question my sanity several times (meaning, I contemplated checking myself into a hospital). That being said, I identify with that list quite a bit, and nearly all of them apply to me.

I do not fully understand why emotion and intelligence intercorralate, but they do. I also want to point out that genius and gifted are different things. They often relate, but one can be one with out the other.
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Yes, I've detected your intellectual/emotional power!
 
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Restraint said:
doubt that very much . . .
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IndigoSensor said:
I am with restraint. I do not agree with you being low on intellectual complexity. Not one bit.
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I've been going through this whole thing very slowly, and they are definitely on to something. I fit their criteria completely. I've always known that I have very good spatial thinking ability while I've struggled with other areas. I can completely relate with the extra energy it takes to compensate.

This doesn't change the fact that mathematics and linear/auditory intelligence are extremely important and are what is needed. People who have the linear intelligence do preform better, and many of them seem to be largely spared of the emotional problems; furthermore, they also seem more socially desirable.

I appreciate the understanding the material provides, but I can't get over how the vast majority of people in the real world treat the issue (and they have good reason to act the way they do). I've had too much trouble struggling with language, music, and mathematics, and can't help but compare myself to people who gain mastery over those things and their associated areas.

There is a lot more to it, and this is a huge topic for me. I might have spatial intelligence, but that is relatively worthless compared to those with adequate linear/auditory intelligence.
 
There's a tendency for our culture to see emotional intensity/negativity as a negative, a weakness, something bad, and unproductive. It's seen as a trait which requires not management, but social rejection. This, i think, is quite unfortunate, because there's great benefits and wisdom in the ability to be emotionally sensitive.
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I got reactions like this a lot this last couple of years. It can be something good or bad, you open up to someone.. and they don't want to listen to you. I don't understand.

I was wondering if it had to do with the fact that our genders were not the same.

Just by observation I noticed girls can open up to a group of girls, friends or not, and they will support each other. So perhaps it is the same with boys. Has this been the case for any of you?

The only people who listen to me are my parents and my online blog.
 
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I've noticed emotional sensitivity tends to go both ways -that is, those who are emotionally sensitive to painful experiences, are also likely to be more appreciative and uplifted by more mundane reality. It's like the volume of your sensory experience has been turned up a notch, across the board. It can be a good thing I think; it certainly makes dancing to the music that much more natural :p
 
Maetel said:
So perhaps it is the same with boys. Has this been the case for any of you?
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No, that is NOT the case. If you're a male, you need to be very careful who you open up to. You don't want to open up to males before you feel them out, and you need to be careful about opening up to women because some women are made uncomfortable by overly emotional men.

Emotional expression is very limited for males in our society. You can find support, but it isn't as easy to find, and you'll need to be careful. There will be a stigma that comes with it. I know I've made a lot of mistakes with this, and some I really feel guilty about.
 
Maetel said:
I got reactions like this a lot this last couple of years. It can be something good or bad, you open up to someone.. and they don't want to listen to you. I don't understand.

I was wondering if it had to do with the fact that our genders were not the same.

Just by observation I noticed girls can open up to a group of girls, friends or not, and they will support each other. So perhaps it is the same with boys. Has this been the case for any of you?

The only people who listen to me are my parents and my online blog.
Click to expand...

only in certain contexts, and only for a brief period of time. the level of their true emotional investment can be measured by how quickly they respond the next time you have a problem. women are good at putting on a temporary facade.
 
Restraint said:
Emotional Intensity and Sensitivity

...GIFTEDNESS has an emotional as well as intellectual component. Intellectual complexity goes hand in hand with emotional depth. So gifted people not only think differently from other people they also feel differently. Emotional intensity in gifted people is not a matter of feeling more than other people, it is a different way of experiencing the world: vivid, absorbing, penetrating, encompassing, complex, commanding...
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So that bolded part smells like PC bulls***. The whole thing describes what it means to feel more and more strongly than other people.

I am this way. I'm not weaker than others because my emotions have more control over me, it's because my emotions are stronger than average and I feel more.

Sorry PC Police.

EDIT: The reason I mention this is because I refuse to accept that I am oversensitive. I either feel more or O have less control. I feel more. :)
 
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I seem to possess all those traits, which I've yet to find a positive side to. I'd rather be an emotionless robot at this point as I seem to have found a way of using this emotional intensity to poison everything for me which, before long, will surely lead to my downfall.
 
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