Exalted personality type: features, causes, diagnosis and treatment

Emotions - an integral part of the life of any person. People rejoice at certain events, are sad for some reasons, laugh, cry, are angry, and all this is a manifestation of special mechanisms in the psyche that are responsible for the emotional ups and downs.

But it happens that emotions in a certain category of people are so strong and vivid in nature that this is considered a deviation from the norm and in psychology is called exaltation or affective-exalted behavior. What does this concept mean?

Exaltation is a manifestation of intense reactions to a particular external stimulus. The psyche of this type of person is in a very excited state, and the very reason for such a spiritual uplift is usually disproportionate to the violent reaction to it.

If a violent reaction becomes a part of the personality, that is, a firmly established pattern of behavior, a character trait associated with a vivid expression of emotions, then we are talking about accentuation. This extreme was first considered by the German psychiatrist Carl Leonhard. He described the meaning of the concept of exaltation, calling it the "temperament of anxiety and happiness."

A person with the presence of such an accentuation is able to passionately rejoice at something and in a second to mortally miss, with a dramatic change in mood can be caused only by tea spilled on the pants or bad news on TV. This means that from joy to grief (and vice versa) in an exalted personality type there is an extremely small emotional distance, so the change of mood occurs in sudden jumps. In other words, it is a kind of cult of emotions.

Interestingly, about fifteen percent of all people have this accentuation. In this case, a man with this type of temperament can be found much less frequently than a woman. This is logical, because a woman, in fact, is prone to greater manifestation of strong emotions.

Signs or symptoms that distinguish the behavior of an exalted person from others:

• The main feature is considered to be sharp emotional leaps from joy to sadness and vice versa. Such a person always cries over a touching film or book.
• An exalted personality type usually speaks loudly and laughs infectiously.
• Often he gets animals and sincerely touches, looking at them, testing for them the most tender feelings.
• Such a person is friendly to others, he is always ready to help, other people's problems touch him to the depths of his soul, he has a very altruistic beginning.
• But at the same time there are people to whom such a psychotype experiences extreme hostility, even hatred.

• Negative features include a tendency to exaggerate, unreasonable panic and dramatization of a situation, high anxiety.
• Such a category of people, as a rule, often falls in love, while clearly showing their feelings. Exalted personalities are real romantics, their feelings are sincere, but their manifestation can often be intrusive and even inappropriate.
• The emotional state of these people is reflected in physical well-being, appetite, sleep, and ability to work.In a depressed mood, they can not work, they can quit the job started halfway, without returning to it anymore. For example, a girl with a similar accentuation, having fallen in love with a guy, may suffer from insomnia all night long and hardly eat.

• The ability to perceive oneself and others also depends on the disposition of the spirit. The same person may seem nice and pleasant, and in a minute he will be boring and repulsive. The same goes for memories. Sometimes exalted individuals see the past in bright colors, and sometimes they remember only their failures and failures. They talk about the future gloomily and joyfully.
• Such people tend to take part in a particular mass event, sometimes even in the foreground, while not specifically trying to be the center of attention.
• It is worth noting that these personality types are never used for excessive manipulations with other people. If these are tears, then they are not for the sake of receiving any benefit for themselves, it is a sincere manifestation of emotions.
• In general, such people are always friendly, very attached to their family and friends.

Even if a person has similar symptoms, it is impossible to accurately form a conclusion about his exaltation. For the most correct diagnosis, there is a special questionnaire for Shmishek, which is based on the theoretical principles of the psychiatrist Carl Leonhard. This kind of testing, in which about a hundred questions involving monosyllabic answers "yes" and "no." The final figure obtained reveals the type of accentuation, and it is not necessarily ultimately exalted. Such a test exists in the children's and adult versions.

That is, such behavior is firmly entrenched for this person, and, perhaps, he does not even realize his problem. According to the results of testing, experts can give recommendations on how to correct the intensity of expression of emotions.

Excess is not a bad or dangerous condition. It is even considered the norm in childhood. There is no such child who would not cry out loud in two or four years or did not even throw real tantrums to parents. At the same time, small children are characterized by an exaggerated joyful mood with uncontrolled laughter and intensive gesticulations.

Teenagers are also prone to exalted behavior due to hormonal changes in the body. They find it difficult to control their emotions, their mood is impermanent, they become maximalists, not recognizing the golden mean in expressing feelings.

The following stages of the manifestation of accentuations can also occur in adulthood, for example, in a person in love or a young parent, when external stimuli have a strong effect on the emotional background. The ability to control one's excitability is called maturity. But people can remain eternal children, which already speaks of exaltation, as an integral part of their character. Factors that contribute to its strong strengthening in the human psyche:

• Exaltation is more due to genetic predisposition. A parent with one or another accentuated character trait is likely to pass it on to her child.
• In addition to heredity, this type of personality also forms an upbringing (for example, excessive custody or, conversely, lack of attention from parents).
• The reason may be the wrong self-esteem (it may be too high or, on the contrary, underestimated, which is considered an inferiority complex).
• An exalted person becomes due to the impossibility of satisfying his basic needs (this applies to interpersonal communication, building relationships, a sense of security, etc.).

• Some people with accentuations simply lack the concept of moral and cultural norms.
• Another reason is the presence of private conflict situations in adolescents with their peers. A similar problem can form an accentuation and “transfer” it to adulthood.
• If from childhood often pay attention to the state of health and one or another chronic disease, then you can also subsequently become the owner of an exalted temperament.
• Excess depends on professional factors. For example, doctors, military, representatives of creative professions are more prone to vivid manifestations of emotions.

People with exaltation often prefer the creative profession. No wonder many representatives of the literary or artistic field and in adulthood have not lost their childish character. Some geniuses were considered "big children" because of their sudden mood swings and unstable emotional background. Many paintings were painted in the heat of passion. The same applies to the creation of artistic works.

They try to realize themselves in the creative field, because they are not without good taste and sensitivity. Such people make very touching works and deep pictures. The actor's path is another area for a person with accentuation. The ability to express bright emotions there is valued above all else. Such personality types are well able to play in the cinema or in the theater, because their impact on the viewer with the help of experiences is colossal.

In addition to creative professions, people with accentuations choose the work of educators. Their sympathy and kindness help to find the approach to any small child. But not every person with a similar temperament can be realized in the creative profession (in the absence of talent). Then work, for example, the organizer of the holidays will help to give emotions.

Exalted personalities most often have problems when interacting with society. Especially hard for close people. If someone in the family has a similar temperament, then life with such a person resembles the location next to a sleeping volcano. It is impossible to predict what emotional impact on an exalted family member this or that situation will have.

Society, to a greater extent, tries to avoid such people, hence:

• frequent conflict situations occur;
• a person with such an accentuation at work does not give important tasks, usually he does not occupy high positions and it is difficult for him to move up the career ladder;

• close friends with a person with such a temperament usually do not happen because of distrust, because a person with such an explosive and unpredictable emotional background is difficult to trust.

Most often, these individuals, leaving the care of their parents and other relatives, do not cope with life tasks, even domestic problems, so some of these people simply drink themselves or even find themselves without shelter. Usually these psycho-types are single. Among famous actors and other creative individuals there are many examples with a similar fate. Many of them, despite their talent and popularity, were dying poor and lonely.

But if in time to understand and realize the problem, then with the help of certain methods one can somewhat curb one’s character by stabilizing the emotional background.

The treatment of such an accentuation is based on the correction of an enhanced character trait that prevents a person from interacting in society. Fully temperament can not be changed, but you can get rid of the negative manifestations. To do this, there are special techniques for working on yourself.This is done by psychologists. The course of treatment depends on the severity of accentuation, it may be three months or even years.

How treatment is carried out.

• Individual conversation. The psychologist tells in detail about the strong and weak traits of the character of an exalted personality type, gives advice on reducing the significance of the events taking place, provides ways to respond to certain situations.
• Group training. In contrast to the individual conversation here, the psychologist recruits several people with similar accentuation, there is a mass discussion of the problem. This technique includes psychological training, during which the psychologist gives clear instructions on the correct model of behavior in a given situation.
• Conversation with the family. This method is aimed at settling conflicts of an exalted person with family members, as well as at improving the overall family environment. Usually such work is done with children and teenagers.
• Psychodrama. Group method, where the psychologist creates fictional situations and helps people with accentuation to find the right way out of them.

How to learn to manage your emotions, see the next video.