Exalted personality type: features, causes, diagnosis and treatment

Emotions are an integral part of the life of any person. People rejoice at certain events, are sad for some reason, laugh, cry, get angry, and all this is a manifestation of special mechanisms in the psyche that are responsible for the uplift and decline.

But it happens that the emotions of a certain category of people are so strong and vivid that it is considered a deviation from the norm and in psychology is called exaltation or affectively 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 personality is in an extremely excited state, and the very reason for such a spiritual uplift is usually disproportionate to the violent reaction to it.

If the violent reaction becomes part of the personality, that is, a well-established model of behavior, a character property associated with a vivid expression of emotions, then we are talking about accentuation. A similar extreme was first considered by the German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard. He described the meaning of the concept of exaltation, calling it the "temperament of anxiety and happiness."

A person with such an accentuation is able to passionately rejoice at something and after a second mortally yearn, and a sharp change in mood can cause only spilled tea on trousers or bad news on TV.This means that from joy to grief (and vice versa) the exalted type of personality has an extremely small emotional distance, therefore the change of mood occurs in sudden leaps. In other words, this is a kind of cult of emotions.

Interestingly, approximately fifteen percent of all people have such accentuation. At the same time, a man with this type of temperament can be met much less often than a woman. This is logical, because a woman, in fact, is prone to a greater manifestation of strong emotions.

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

• The main feature is considered to be sharp emotional leaps from joy to sadness and vice versa. Such a person always weeps over a touching film or book.
• An exalted personality type usually speaks a lot and loudly, laughs contagiously.
• Often he turns on animals and sincerely touches, looking at them, experiencing the most tender feelings for them.
• 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 has extreme dislike, even hatred.

• Negative features include a tendency toward exaggeration, unjustified panic and dramatization of a particular situation, and high anxiety.
• This category of people, as a rule, often falls in love, while clearly expressing their feelings. Exalted personalities are real romantics, their feelings are sincere, but their manifestation can often be annoying 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’t work, they can quit the business they have begun halfway, without returning to him anymore. For example, a girl with a similar accentuation, having fallen in love with a guy, can suffer from insomnia at night and hardly eat.

• The ability to perceive oneself and others also depends on the mood. One and the same person may seem sweet and pleasant, and in a minute he will be boring and repulsive. The same goes for memories. Sometimes exalted personalities 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 they are even in the foreground, while not specifically seeking to be in the spotlight.
• It is worth noting that these personality types never use their excessive emotionality for the purpose of manipulating other people. If these are tears, then they are not for the sake of obtaining 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 such signs, it is impossible to accurately form a conclusion about his exaltation from them. For the most correct diagnosis, there is a special questionnaire on Shmishek, which is based on the theoretical principles of the psychiatrist Karl Leonhard. This is a kind of testing, in which about a hundred questions suggesting monosyllabic answers “yes” and “no”. The final figure obtained reveals the type of accentuation, and it does not necessarily end up being exalted. Such a test exists in children and adults.

That is, such behavior is firmly entrenched in this person, and perhaps he is not even aware of his problem. Based on the results of testing, specialists can give recommendations on adjusting the intensity of expression of emotions.

Exaltation is not a bad or dangerous condition.It is even considered the norm in childhood. There is no such child who, at two or four years old, does not cry loudly or even roll up real tantrums to his parents. At the same time, young children are characterized by an exaggerated and joyful mood with rampant laughter and intense gesticulation.

Adolescents are also prone to exalted behavior due to hormonal changes in the body. It is difficult for them to control their emotions, their mood is inconstant, they become maximalists, not recognizing the golden mean in the expression of feelings.

The following stages of manifestation of accentuations can 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 character trait. Factors that contribute to its strong strengthening in the human psyche:

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

• Some people with accentuations simply do not have the concepts 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 you often pay attention to well-being and a particular chronic illness from childhood, you can also later become the owner of an exalted temperament.
• Exaltation depends on professional factors. For example, doctors, military, representatives of creative professions are more prone to vivid manifestations of emotions.

People with exaltations most often prefer creative professions. Not for nothing that many representatives of the literary or artistic sphere and in adulthood have not lost their childish character. Some geniuses were considered "big children" because of their sharp mood swings and unstable emotional background. Many paintings were painted in a state of passion. The same goes for creating artwork.

They try to realize themselves in the creative sphere, because they are not without good taste and sensitivity. Such people have very touching works and deep paintings. The path of acting is another area for a person with accentuations. The ability to vividly express emotions there is valued above all. These types of personality are good at playing in the movies or in the theater, because their impact on the viewer with the help of experiences is enormous.

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

Exalted personalities most often have problems interacting with society. Especially difficult 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 this or that situation will have on an exalted family member.

Society is more likely to avoid such people, hence:

• frequent conflict situations occur;
• a person with a similar emphasis on work is not given 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 also do not happen because of mistrust, because a person with such an explosive and unpredictable emotional background is difficult to trust.

Most often, these individuals, getting out of the custody of parents and other relatives, can not cope with life tasks, even with everyday problems, so some of these people just get drunk or even find themselves without a roof over their heads. Usually these psychotypes are lonely. Among famous actors and other creative personalities, there are many examples with a similar fate. Many of them, despite their talent and popularity, were dying poor and lonely.

But if you understand and realize the problem in time, then with the help of certain techniques you can to some extent curb your character by stabilizing the emotional background.

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

How is the treatment carried out?

• Individual conversation. The psychologist talks in detail about the strengths and weaknesses of the character of the exalted type of personality, gives advice on reducing the significance of events, and provides ways to respond to certain situations.
• Group training. Unlike an individual conversation, here the psychologist recruits several people with a similar accentuation, there is a massive discussion of the problem. A similar technique includes psychological training, during which the psychologist gives clear guidelines for the correct model of behavior in a given situation.
• Conversation with family. This method is aimed at resolving conflicts of an exalted person with family members, as well as improving the overall family situation. Typically, this work is carried out with children and adolescents.
• Psychodrama. A group technique where the psychologist creates fictional situations and helps people with accentuations find the right way out of them.

See how to learn how to manage your emotions in the next video.