Sorting Through Emotional Intensity

When emotions run high, there are strategies that you can put in place to rebalance and sort through your goals.

Quite a number of the neurodivergent students that I have worked with were gifted. I learned that gifted individuals can become very passionate about ideas. Sometimes, they need support in working through the intensity of those feelings. 

Hiccups in life can cause extreme peaks and valleys in many neurodivergent individuals. I was reminded of this while reading a dog-eared page of SENG’s Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted. In one of the essays, Christine Fonseca writes:

Emotional Intensity refers to the passion gifted people feel daily. It also refers to the extreme highs and lows many gifted people experience through their lifetime, causing them to question their own mental stability from time to time.  

When goals don’t work as planned or plans move more slowly than expected, emotions can run high.  And, when emotions run high, there are strategies that we can put in place. 

If you are a person who experiences intense feelings around goal-setting, remember to:

• Learn your tipping point - this will help you stay calm if the situation continues

• Clearly identify the emotion - knowing the cause of the intensity helps with self-talk to deescalate

• Redirect your feelings before they become too intense

• Plan ahead about what to do when you feel overwhelmed

• Take a break to get back to your calm

• Focus on the positives in the moment. 

Fonseca also notes, “Intensity is not a bad thing in and of itself. Intensity is passion, the kind of passion we use to create.” And creativity brings joy to ourselves and those around us!

If you need help with goal-setting, coaching can help.