What is an overly emotional person called: choleric or empath?

Greetings. The surrounding world, events, every little thing are reflected in the human soul. Something pleases, gives pleasure - the aroma of coffee in the morning or relaxing music in the evening, good news, pleasant company, an interesting film, a blooming flower... Others upset, irritate or anger - noisy neighbors, cloudy weather, a hole in a favorite sock, sour milk, unfulfilled a promise, an unheard alarm clock... That same response in the soul is human emotions, manifested in different people to varying degrees. Some people know how to control themselves, while others react to everything very violently - they squeal with delight at the sight of a chocolate bar, cry over the endings of children's cartoons, explode at the slightest failure, or, conversely, withdraw and remain silent for weeks if they are offended. Such personalities will be discussed on the blog. What is an overly emotional person called, what is emotionality in general, how does it manifest itself in temperament, who are empaths and how do they differ from ordinary people?

What is emotionality and its reflection in temperament

Emotionality is, according to the dictionary of practical psychologist S. Yu. Golovin, a human property that characterizes the manifestation of emotions: their content (the most significant phenomena and situations), quality (attitude to what is happening) and dynamics (appearance, course, cessation and expression). Emotionality is one of the main components that make up temperament.

Based on the type and intensity of expression of emotions, psychologists have identified four types of temperament:

1. Melancholic people seem calm to others, but passions are always boiling in their souls. It’s just that such people do not know how to express their emotions, they keep them inside or show them very sparingly. Outwardly, it is almost imperceptible that the melancholic person’s mood has changed. He always seems sad, and all because negative emotions in people with this type of temperament are more stable than positive ones. Melancholic people are easily upset or offended. They empathize with others, although they do not show it outwardly. Among the famous melancholic personalities were Alexandre Dumas and Sergei Yesenin, Frederic Chopin and Honore de Balzac.
2. Sanguine people are the opposite of melancholic people. Emotions in their souls arise more slowly, but also remain for a long time. At the same time, sanguine people know how to control their expression. They are capable of bright flashes, but only if they want it. People of this temperament are strong and stable, prone to dominance. They are not easily angered, but they will hold grudges for a long time. Famous sanguine people are Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and Giordano Bruno.
3. Phlegmatic people are the most balanced type. Their emotions are born with difficulty and find their way out even more difficult. At the same time, phlegmatic people store their feelings for a very long time, often for the rest of their lives. For those around them, such people are a mystery, because what they think and feel always remains sealed. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky had exactly this temperament.
4. Choleric people are the opposite of phlegmatic people. Their emotions arise quickly and manifest themselves violently, but change very quickly. The mood of choleric people fluctuates, but more often remains on a positive wave. These people do not hold grudges, but can explode over some trifle. They grab onto every task, but quickly lose interest. They fall in love at first sight, but also quickly change the object of their adoration. The famous choleric person is the French writer Victor Marie Hugo.

Representatives of one specific temperament are rarely found among people. Usually everything is mixed up in the human soul, but a certain type is expressed more intensely. Under the influence of life factors, different aspects of character appear, and the personality itself can change over time. For example, if they find themselves in a stressful situation, phlegmatic people can produce a fireworks display of emotions that is unusual for them, and when it’s all over, they can return to their previous balanced state.

Managing Emotions

In the process of interaction, it is not easy for many people to overcome barriers of mutual understanding. To avoid problems of misunderstanding with others, you need to know the basic psychological rules of communication, and first of all, learn to manage your own emotions, which most often become a source of interpersonal conflicts. The peculiarity of our feelings is that we can consciously control them. This makes them a powerful tool for successfully achieving any goal. To do this, first of all, you need to realize your emotions as early as possible, develop your innate ability to manage them, accumulate sensory experience and begin to consciously use it in your activities. In order to find out how consciously you use your emotions, we offer you V.V. Bondarenko’s test. “Do you know how to manage your emotions?”

What is another name for overly emotional people?

An emotional person is no matter how they call it, the following synonyms are common in everyday life:

• hypersensitive;
• hot;
• ardent;
• passionate;
• temperamental;
• excitable;
• pathetic;
• zealous;
• gusty;
• empathic;
• affective;
• gusty;
• expansive.

The adjective emotional has noticeably fewer antonyms - it is insensitive, callous, dry, cool or balanced.

Signs of hypersensitivity

You can understand that you or someone is a hypersensitive person by several signs:

1. Deep, intense, complex and persistent emotions. Such people are unusually lively, sometimes “painfully alive.” They feel everything so acutely that they often cannot cope with the release of emotions, they simply cannot control themselves. Their mood changes instantly. They can feel very good, and five minutes later incredibly bad. They perceive music as wave-like streams that awaken feelings corresponding to the motive - joy or sadness, delight or despondency. The plots of books and films captivate you, and the paintings of great artists bring you to tears.
2. High sensitivity. For hypersensitive individuals, there are practically no people who are mysteries. They see through everyone, recognize intentions and read the moods of others. Plus, such individuals notice every little thing, instantly grasp the meaning, as they say, “see to the root,” not paying attention to the superficial husk. This is not always good. It's hard to control yourself when you see injustice and hypocrisy. It is difficult to adequately communicate with unpleasant people if it is impossible to avoid such communication (for example, with your superiors). This causes torment or even trouble for emotional natures.
3. Rich inner world and developed imagination. Hypersensitive people have dialogues with themselves, have imaginary friends and dive inward, closing themselves off in their own little world. They can live imaginary lives, feeling like heroes of incredible stories. Imagination for them is a lifeline in especially difficult life moments. They hide behind fantasies to make it easier to survive difficulties. Emotional individuals grasp everything on the fly, they quickly collect grains of important information from the world around them, digest them and put the picture together into a single whole. They see the essence of things, not the shell. They persistently try to get to the bottom of their essence. Therefore, they are characterized by ardent self-criticism. They are often dissatisfied with themselves. They are characterized by such qualities as criticality, perfectionism and the “excellent student syndrome.”
4. Indifference to the experiences of others. An empathetic person is what they say about those who read other people’s emotions on a subconscious level and experience them together with the owner. Sympathy, empathy, the desire to share grief or joy with someone, the inability to say “no” are the key characteristics of empaths. Empaths are always hypersensitive, but not every emotional person is empathetic. It is worth talking about who empaths are in more detail, which is done below.
5. Existential anxiety. Emotional individuals are characterized by worries about the global - the transience of time, the finitude of life, the purposelessness of existence and other incomprehensible things. They are annoyed that others do not care about all this and do not think about the future, do not try to leave a mark in history. Therefore, they themselves strive to continuously develop, move forward and worry about how others will remember them.
6. Self-expression in creativity. The emotions of hypersensitive individuals are expressed in creativity. Their products are not necessarily displayed publicly. They can gather dust on the closet and be shown to those closest to you. But even among famous writers, poets, musicians and artists there are a lot of hypersensitive people.

The presence of all or several signs (some may be implicit) indicates a person with increased emotionality and hypersensitivity.

Bibliography:

1. Vilyunas V.K. “Psychology of emotional phenomena” / Vilyunas V.K.; p/ed. O.V. Ovchinnikova - Moscow State University, 1976 - 143 p.
2. Gozman L.Ya. “Psychology of emotional relationships” / Gozman L.Ya. – M., 1987 – 176 p.
3. Dodonov B.I. “In the world of emotions” / Dodonov B.I. – K., 1987 – 140 p.
4. Dodonov B.I. “Emotion as a value” / Dodonov B.I. – M., 1978 – 272 p.
5. Ilyin E.P. “Emotions and feelings” / Ilyin E.P. – St. Petersburg, 2002 – 752 p.
6. Nemov R.S. “Psychology” In 3 volumes. T. 1. / Nemov R.S. – M.; VLADOS, 1995 – 688 p.
7. Olshannikova A.E. “Experience in studying some individual characteristics of emotionality” / Olshannikova A.E., Rabinovich L.A. – Question. Psychology. 1974 - No. 3. pp. 65-73.
8. Raigorodsky D.A. "Psychology and psychoanalysis of character." Reader on psychology and character typology / Raigodsky D.A. – Samara; BAKHRAH, 1997 – 640 p.
9. Petrovsky A.V. “Psychological Lexicon” Encyclopedic Dictionary in six volumes / Ed.-comp. L.A. Karpenko. Under general Ed. A.V. Petrovsky. – M,; PER SE, 2005 – 250 p.

Pros and cons of hypersensitivity

Is it good or bad to be an overly emotional person? In fact, it is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. First the good:

1. Such individuals build deep and lasting relationships. They give themselves to their other half without reserve. They love sincerely, express it in every possible way, feel their partner, empathize with him and live with their chosen one all their lives.
2. Highly sensitive people always know what they feel. They do not have average unrecognized states; if they are sad, then they are sad, if they are happy, then they are happy. In this regard, it’s easy with him: you don’t need to sit and guess what’s in a person’s soul.
3. They strive for balance and perfection, so they are not afraid of change. If they feel bad, they try to make it feel good.
4. People who are too emotional understand perfectly well what mental pain is, so they try not to cause it to anyone; they are not capable of meanness and betrayal. They do not plot and do not manipulate people.
5. They are critical of themselves, so they avoid judging others.
6. They never hypocrite and always say what they think, although it often backfires on them. But such straightforward individuals can be trusted one hundred percent.
7. They are adventurous and inventive. There's never a dull moment with them.
8. They easily do good and do not expect anything in return. This is a plus for those around them, but sometimes it becomes a minus for themselves, since self-interested people quickly understand what’s what and, without a twinge of conscience, begin to take advantage of their kindness.
9. Emotional individuals value attention and every little detail. You don't have to go out of your way to please them. It is enough to say a few kind words or give, for example, a chocolate bar or a bouquet of daisies from the yard.
10. They are positive and look for the good in everything.
11. They find a common language with everyone, can carry on a conversation on any topic and do not know what awkward silence is.
12. They are always ready for adventure. It’s easy to start a new project, hitchhike to the ends of the world, change your image to support a friend, move to another country for your loved one!

These are all the advantages that lead to the disadvantages of emotional people. Sometimes there are “too many” of them, especially introverts and phlegmatic people feel this way. On the one hand, they are drawn to them to fill the gaps in their dull life. On the other hand, they quickly get tired and irritated. There are always those who want to take advantage of selflessness and the desire to help others. Intolerance to hypocrisy creates a lot of problems for them in communicating with the “right” people. But they cannot smile on demand, knowing that this guy, whoever he is, is a hypocrite and a scoundrel. In addition, those around them often mistake their hypersensitivity for hysteria, not understanding the nature of such individuals, and their easy-going nature for frivolity.

Human character types

The human nervous system, which determines his temperament, is responsible for the formation of character. Temperament distinguishes the types of human character. This classification was described by Hippocrates and Galen, doctors from Ancient Greece. Their theory is based on the fact that the character of an ordinary person can be divided into four types:

• a melancholic person
  is characterized by sensitivity, emotionality, and touchiness;
• sanguine
  – love of life, sociability;
• phlegmatic
  – seriousness, poise;
• choleric
  – persistence, nervousness, imperiousness.

Who is an empath

And now about empaths, what empathy is and why not every emotional person is empathic. Psychologists began to study empathy as a personality quality at the beginning of the twentieth century. The term defines a person’s ability to absorb emotional flows from the surrounding world (people, animals) and experience them as their own. In this case, the object does not have to be nearby. Just learning about someone's joy, and especially about someone's grief, an empath begins to worry. Such people do not watch or listen to the news, because it is emotionally difficult for them to cope with themselves after hearing stories about incidents, wars, disasters and other horrors happening in the world.

A little more about empaths:

1. An empathic person sympathizes with everyone - people and animals, acquaintances and strangers, and is easily moved. He is able to give his last to help someone. Therefore, it is better for empaths not to see messages from charitable foundations, such as “the child urgently needs surgery” or “the dog was hit by a car.” This is not stupidity. They just feel the pain of others fully and even more strongly and cannot do anything about it.
2. They have special knowledge, greater than intuition. They recognize lies and suffer when loved ones deceive them.
3. In crowded places they feel depressed, because other people's emotions roll over them like a wave.
4. If loved ones are sick, then empaths may experience the same symptoms, since they take everything on themselves.
5. They often become a “vest” for those around them, and their soul turns into a “dumping ground” for other people’s problems. This is a heavy load.
6. They are often used, so fatigue and emotional burnout are constant companions of empaths.
7. Loneliness is like medicine for them. Only by hiding from the world can these people rest.
8. They are always sincere and fair.
9. Empathetic individuals are constantly searching for answers and have a thirst for new knowledge.
10. They hate clutter and love cleanliness. But at the same time, strict rules for them are like shackles that deprive them of freedom.
11. Such people speak little, but are excellent listeners.
12. They don't buy used items because they feel the energy of the previous owners.
13. Most empaths are vegetarians, as they acutely feel the fear and pain of a killed animal or fish.
14. They try in every possible way to renounce the world, so they may seek solace in alcohol, tobacco or even drugs.

Empaths are considered by many to be strange, headstrong, overly shy or unsociable. After all, they avoid large companies, are always unaware of the news, do not like to discuss others, do not put a smile on their face and do not feign happiness. Almost all the time they look unhappy and depressed, which is not surprising when you feel all the emotions of those around you.

Do we need over-emotional people? Definitely yes! Without them, this world would be gray and insipid. Understanding such a person is not easy, and getting used to him is even more difficult. But if he is nearby, then it will definitely never be boring.

External factors

A great emotional impact on a person comes from outside. Depending on lifestyle, social circle, work and other aspects, a person experiences influences that can change his personal characteristics.

Of course, the main thing that we absorb into ourselves is laid down in childhood. So, upbringing determines who a child will grow up to be: a self-confident person or a hysterical and unbalanced person.

But even an adult individual experiences psychological stress that can turn his emotional processes around. These include:

1. Prolonged stress.
2. Emotional shock or mentally traumatic situation.
3. A state of helplessness and uselessness that occurs in the absence of self-realization.
4. Hormonal imbalance in the body.
5. Alcohol addiction.
6. Head injuries.

Quite often, these factors cause depression and apathy, as a result of which a person begins to be aggressive and embittered.

But it is worth noting that external factors can also restore tone to the emotional state. For example, a person’s experiences of entering a university ended when he saw his name on the list of applicants. In this case, a person’s ability to act proves to him that all his efforts were not in vain. This gives rise to euphoria and a feeling of joy.

This is a natural example when external factors bring events with a “+” sign into life.

But if a person is in this state for no apparent reason, this may mean a mental disorder.

Among the emotional characteristics of a person with a “+” sign, but pathological, one can name moria. This is a condition in which a person constantly fools around, feels no shame, acts chaotically, talks and laughs non-stop.

A person experiences a similar condition when intoxicated by alcohol or when there is damage to the frontal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for control and rationality.

Thus, a long-term change in a person’s emotional mood should alert his loved ones. This may be a serious cause for concern.