Overexcitability

Overexcitability is a term that covers the increased activation of senses, emotions, movements, imagination, and/or curiosity, which is found in some children and adolescents. Gifted children and adolescents are overrepresented in this category.

What is overexcitability?

Overexcitability is a way of talking about the type of behaviors that can create issues for an individual during, for example, a school day. It can be difficulties regulating emotions, fluctuating attention span, or having trouble sitting still and waiting for your turn. When we are talking about overexcitabilities we are both talking about what is difficult as well as what can turn out to be a strength hidden within the weakness. An overactive imagination can create a fluctuating attention-span but can later show up as a gifted artist or architect. An overactive curiosity can create an inflexible attention-span, as the person might only be able to pay attention to things related to their own very narrow field of interest. This can later turn out to be a resource in a research environment.

There exists 5 types of overexcitabilities

Five types of overexcitabilities have been identified: The emotional, the intellectual, the sensory, the creative, and the psychomotor.

The psychomotor overexcitability is a need for physical movement, quick speech, impulsiveness, need for action, and restlessness.

The emotional overexcitability is characterized by an attachment to people, things, or places, a strong affective memory, increased empathy and sense of responsibility, self-evaluation, and attention to others.

Intellectual overexcitability shows up as an insisting curiosity, a wealth of questions, and a hunger for knowledge and discovery. But it also includes theoretical analysis, independent thought, critique, and symbolic thinking. It is not the same as being good at problem solving, but loving problem solving.

The creative/imaginative overexcitability is characterized by a vivid imagination, the ability to create associations, using metaphors in communication, and inventiveness. It can also exist as detailed dreams/nightmares, anxiety about the unknown, and poetic creativity.

Studies indicate that gifted children and adolescents are overrepresented…

A part of a larger theory

Overexcitability is a part of a larger theory, which Dabrowski worked on for many years: The theory of positive disintegration. Kazimierz Dabrowski (1902-1980), was a polish psychologist that worked, studied, and researched in Poland, Austria, Canada, and the USA. Over the course of his career, he developed his theory about personal development.

The theory of positive disintegration has many nuances and can be difficult to ‘get a handle on’, but here is an abbreviated version.

Overexcitability can, as mentioned, create big challenges in the day-to-day life of the affected. There can for example be situations where a person is expected to display self-control and fixate their attention on a specific thing. This creates a conflict or an “opposition” to the requirements day-to-day living imposes. For example, emotional overreactions to something others would characterize as “minor problems”. There can also be greater difficulties ignoring sounds or smells that others might not notice. Over-activation of senses, curiosity, or emotions are experienced because of their intensity as disintegrated parts of the personality.

This disintegration, Dabrowski argues, is positive. It is considered as such because it is only in these situations where our surroundings “hurt us”, that we can find ourselves. Dabrowski even goes so far as to say that a personality cannot be established unless it is on the basis of inner frustration and disintegration.

In the theory of positive disintegration, five developmental levels are described, which are differentiated on the basis of integrated/non-integrated and is what Dabrowski calls unilevel and multilevel development.

An integrated personality is calm and thriving and has no desire for things to change.