We’ve often heard people saying such things about people who feel intense emotions “It’s not my fault she’s so sensitive”, “she’s probably crying for attention”, “it’s not that deep”, “oh you’re overreacting.” These could be used to refer to people who feel so deeply and experience intense emotions. Experiencing a wide range of emotions with great intensity is natural and there is nothing to get worried about. It’s a blessing rather than a curse.
However, rapid change between high and low emotions can be a diagnostic symptom of mental disorders like bipolar disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) or borderline personality disorder also known as emotional intensity disorder. This is the reason why people who feel intense emotions fear reaching out for therapy even if it’s causing distress to them, as then they could be labelled as mentally ill Or may get diagnosed with some disorder.
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The individuals with intense emotional experience may feel distress and pain due to overload of emotions but once they get self aware of themselves or start getting to know their emotions and core feelings better to be able to cope up with them, they understand that they need not be in control by their emotions.
Signs that shows people feel emotions intensely
- People make gestures so to express emotions like putting Hands on chest/ heart when they are happy or even sad. These gestures are made by people who feel their emotions by heart.
- Gets deeply moved by things like art, quotes, music, poetry, nature, film and genuinely appreciate what they adore.
- They Prefer deep, meaningful conversations rather then small talks and really could spend hours having thoughtful discussions with someone.
- People with intense emotions are Highly empathetic, they can feel other’s pain or suffering as if it’s their own.
- Gets moody so often as if one time they are being happy and excited and the very next moment, surrounded by gloomy sadness.
- People feel in extreme whatever they intend to feel. If they are happy, they feel immense happiness or otherwise melancholic.
- Sometimes people feel the emotions so deeply, they end up being in a state where they feel absolutely nothing i.e. numb reaction to a really intense emotion.
- At times feeling too much emotions makes it unbearable to them and they just start to cry.
- People who feel intense emotions adore the beauty of things or people as it is and often pay attention to the detailing of the object which tends to be ignored by others.
- People who feel intense emotions are quite impulsive or tends to rush into things. They fall in love easily or thinks they’ve found their soulmate the moment they clicks with someone or someone match their vibe.
- People with intense emotions often feels confused and over explain their reasons when others don’t value it or questions it’s existence, saying ‘it’s not even that sentimental’ or ‘why are you so excited about it, it’s just…. Not a big deal.’
Psychological reasons which makes people feel emotions deeply and intensely
In psychological terms, intensely feeling is called as emotional over-excitability. Feeling intensely and profoundly deep emotions affect the ways in which an individual experiences the world. Intellectual over excitability and emotional over excitability are interrelated, that is, If a person has higher intelligence or IQ, they seem to be experiencing their emotions on a much deeper level and may have high Emotional quotient (EQ) too.
Also Read: Empathy in Action: Helping Children Navigate Big Emotions
Many people who are gifted of such quality of getting moved by their emotions, don’t seem to look at it that way and may often questions it’s existence and the reason behind them not being in control which makes them think that they are not normal or something is wrong with them. This kind of behaviour or perception could only lead to a stressful mind set and the switch from ‘giftedness’ to ‘a real time problem of feeling too much.’
Some are naturally gifted with emotional sensitivity while others may develop it if they had undergone through some past traumas, early life experiences, Post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) or any other mental or even physical illness. Mental health conditions like depression makes the person go through low, sad, helpless emotions on extreme level as compared to a normal human being. Bipolar disorder in which episodes of mania where a person feels extremely high, elevated, excited emotions with lots of energy and depressive episodes which is opposite of mania, can be seen where there is heightened perception of emotions are involved.
Also Read: How Emotions Play an Important Role in Decision-Making
Experiencing Intense emotions could be a result of having been diagnosed with Intense emotional disorder or Borderline personality disorder.
Other factors which makes people feel emotions in an intense way
- Genetics: The reason behind feeling intense emotions can be due to genetics and biological factors that means a person feels intense emotions because they are born with that ability of feeling too much.
- Emotional overload: Emotional overload could be a possible reason as sometimes people feels emotions in such extreme manner that they don’t really know how to cope with them or manage them conveniently.
- Lack of coping skills: Many people don’t know how to tackle such emotions as they’re never taught coping skills or how to experience and manage them the right way. It is also believed that Girls express more emotions than men who were asked to suppress emotions in order to appear strong and rigid no matter what.
- We are human: One of the most important reason we feel emotions is because we are humans and humans are designated to ‘feel’ their emotions the way they do, be it even intense, as it’s their greatest gift and Feeling emotions or responding to them is what makes human a ‘human’.
Embrace the gift of feeling emotions too deeply. It’s not something to be fixed or treated with medications, therapy or pressures, but to be happily accepted and appreciated once mastered successfully. It would be a shame to try to suppress or get embarrassed by something that is so beautiful and intrinsic to human being.
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