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| Are you emotionally aroused easily? |
| Yes |
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20% |
[ 10 ] |
| Yes |
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20% |
[ 10 ] |
| Yes, but it's mostly only positive emotions. |
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2% |
[ 1 ] |
| Yes, but it's mostly only positive emotions. |
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2% |
[ 1 ] |
| Yes, but it's mostly only negative emotions. |
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12% |
[ 6 ] |
| Yes, but it's mostly only negative emotions. |
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12% |
[ 6 ] |
| No |
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14% |
[ 7 ] |
| No |
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14% |
[ 7 ] |
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| Total Votes : 48 |
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NeantHumain
Phoenix
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Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 3852
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
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 Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:39 am Post subject: Ease of Emotional Arousal |
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Perhaps this is related to degree of introversion/extraversion (or maybe it has more to do with neuroticism): ease of emotional arousal. I do not take offense particularly easily; in fact, sometimes I've let people pretty much walk all over me without becoming angry, which probably isn't a good thing. I prefer to stay in the positive emotions: happiness, curiosity, amazement, love, empathy, compassion, wonderment, silliness, and those sorts of things. I do my best to avoid falling into the negative emotions of anger, fear, anxiety, hatred, envy, jealousy, inappropriately impersonal seriousness, boredom, depression, sadness, annoyance, etc. I try to take the quotidian hassles in stride: For example, Sunday night my mom, stepfather, and I went to a dairy/ice cream place to get ice cream. They served my mom and stepfather's ice creams first and told me the shake would be out soon. I waited patiently, but eventually my mom figured they forgot it. I went up and asked them if it was coming out, and they did forget it among the orders, but that was fine with me. We weren't in any rush, and my mom and stepfather usually take longer to finish their smaller desserts than I do anyway. When people insult me, I usually ignore them or sometimes make an angry face to show them that was unwelcome and let it go at that. I really dislike getting so worked up over trivial things. On the other hand, a sudden noise does cause my pulse to go up for a brief moment, but I have trained myself to rapidly let my heartbeat go back to its resting rate. That probably was helped along from the bullying I received on my baseball team as a kid when people pretended to throw baseballs at me to watch me "flinch." I learned to inhibit immediate emotional responses from that abuse, for better or worse.
I prefer the emotions of happiness, love, and silliness; but those don't come especially easy, either. I relish them and hold onto them when they do, though. I prefer to focus on rolling with the punches and finding positive aspects in even the worst of situations because it works best for me. I can also easily separate a calm, intellectual discussion from a more emotionally laden conversation and avoid becoming offended or disgusted while discussing a wide range of ideas that may be controversial. |
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Sophist
Professor of Pedantry
Joined: Apr 24, 2005
Posts: 6172
Location: St. Louie
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:46 am Post subject: ... |
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I get aroused in either direction fairly easily due to hormone inbalance (stupid hormones). But normally, without that complicating the picture, I would be more likely to become negatively aroused more quickly. Especially anger with inanimate objects and just little frustrations.
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vetivert
gagged, but never silent
Joined: Sep 18, 2004
Posts: 5768
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:47 am Post subject: Re: Ease of Emotional Arousal |
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| NeantHumain wrote: | | I learned to inhibit immediate emotional responses from that abuse, for better or worse. |
hmmm.. what you're describing is emotional expression, or emotional response rather than emotional arousal. you are just as emotionally aroused as ever, but have learned to control your responses. in which case, yes - i do that too. when it happens without training oneself, it's called "flat affect", which is NOT the same as not having emotions - people are always saying that aspies lack emotions. they DON'T, but their responses and expression of emotions can be lacking or unlike those of others. makes me cross when people get that wrong.
i think that "polite" society in general (certainly in the UK) tends to frown upon open a lot of emotional expression, mostly. it's a girly thing, see  unless it's anger, but anger still has to be suppressed, so as to keep society running smoothly, without everyone rushing around sticking axes in other people's heads.
interesting and thought-provoking post, as usual, neanthumain...  |
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pyraxis
Phoenix
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Joined: Mar 26, 2005
Posts: 1527
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:16 am Post subject: Re: Ease of Emotional Arousal |
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| vetivert wrote: | | hmmm.. what you're describing is emotional expression, or emotional response rather than emotional arousal. you are just as emotionally aroused as ever, but have learned to control your responses. |
Really? My experience has been that if you control the response long enough, the arousal disappears from awareness too (why feel something if there's nothing you can do about it?).
If it's related to introversion/extroversion (which seems unlikely, but I'm open), which one does easily aroused correlate to?
Not sure how to answer your primary question:
On one hand, I'm very easily aroused, oversensitive to emotion in both myself and others. I find myself reflecting the ambience of most environments I enter, and conforming my speech and behavior patterns to it. This is something I work hard to prevent but seem to have far more difficulty with than others. In a debate, I'll more often than not find myself seeing the other person's view more clearly than my own - as they talk, I'll start thinking how they're making perfect sense, then my mind will start coming up with justifications why what they're saying must be right, and I'll end up agreeing - then afterwards, alone, it'll be What in the world was I thinking???
On the other hand, I inhibit emotional response unless I'm with someone I trust. This goes for both positive and negative - if I feel myself getting a little out of control, I just freeze and go quiet. So to most people it seems like I don't get aroused, and I used to be accused of not feeling anything. But if you know me, you can look close and see the signs. |
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nirrti_rachelle
Go Tigers!
Joined: Jul 22, 2005
Age: 34
Posts: 1188
Location: The Dirty South
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:55 am Post subject: |
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Over the years, I've had to train myself not to cry or have any response at insults or critism thrown at me lest I become a target for more abuse. It resulted in me bottling up so much anger and sadness it contributed to depression and anxiety. I try not to suppress my emotions whenever it's appropriate but it's hard, sometimes, to discern if a situation permits me to be more candid or if it's better to be discreet.
I think that's why Aspies find emotional expression harder because we don't know how to interpret surroundings for the "right" response, thereby playing it safe by showing none at all. Speaking up for myself when treated disrespectfully was difficult as I couldn't find the right words to express my discontent, not because I felt any less offended.
And to come off as a stuttering "fool" was worse than the ill treatment. Now, as I age, I find that I get so ticked-off and impatient with other people's behavior I don't care what they think of me, removing the insecurity that made my brain freeze in mid-sentence.
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PaulB
Sea Gull
Joined: Jun 29, 2005
Posts: 217
Location: Chicago, IL, US
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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My emotions are so malleable it isn't funny. I don't normally take offense at something someone says to me, but that is mostly conditioning from High School when kids would make fun of me and I would just ignore them while saying to myself "remember the humility of St. Francis." Other things, however, often affect me quite easily.
I will get tears in my eyes if I hear a piece of music that I consider beautiful, even if it is the 5th or 6th time I've heard it that day. This is really embarassing when it happens to me on the bus. If I accidently bump into someone, I'll feel guilty for the rest of the day. In some ways I'm glad I didn't go into the millitary like I was going to. While I know that the structured millitary life is actually good for Aspies, I can only imagine the guilt complex I would have gotten. (I feel guilty when I massacre a bunch of peasants in the game Warcraft!) Fortunately for me I was going to school for physics, and the millitary didn't want me because at that time the first George Bush was trying to move most of the millitary's research into the private sector.
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SINsister
Phoenix
Joined: May 26, 2005
Posts: 586
Location: .somewhere out of my mind.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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Always raging...frequently devastated. 
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.see I've already waited too long, and all my hope is gone. |
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NeantHumain
Phoenix
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Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 3852
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject: Re: Ease of Emotional Arousal |
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| pyraxis wrote: | | vetivert wrote: | | hmmm.. what you're describing is emotional expression, or emotional response rather than emotional arousal. you are just as emotionally aroused as ever, but have learned to control your responses. |
Really? My experience has been that if you control the response long enough, the arousal disappears from awareness too (why feel something if there's nothing you can do about it?). |
I agree. Often, I don't really even feel all that much in a situation where most other people are emotionally beside themselves; that doesn't mean I can't experience strong emotions. Sometimes I do experience strong emotions without showing any visible affect, or so I think. Strangely, at work one time when I was quite depressed (seriously, I was developing a major depressive episode after being rejected by a woman I was in love with) and stressed out over something not work related with stress from work just putting me over the top, a female coworker noticed my sadness and that I was near tears. I was amazed that my emotion, which I was trying to hide, was read so easily! An example of my emotional underarousal is my first argument on #wrongplanet; three other people were becoming quite worked up, and I was still calm. If anything, I was experience a little confusion; curiosity; and, yes, a little amusement too.
| pyraxis wrote: | | If it's related to introversion/extroversion (which seems unlikely, but I'm open), which one does easily aroused correlate to? |
Well, positive affect is correlated with the personality dimension of extraversion. Negative affect is not--as one might easily assume--correlated with introversion; actually, oit is correlated with neuroticism! An emotionally stable extravert is usually happy and outgoing; a neurotic extravert is prone to have a flash temper, bouts of anxiety and depression, and over-the-top dramatic behavior. An emotionally stable introvert is quiet and collected; a neurotic introvert is prone to anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and social withdrawal. |
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SINsister
Phoenix
Joined: May 26, 2005
Posts: 586
Location: .somewhere out of my mind.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:09 pm Post subject: Re: Ease of Emotional Arousal |
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| NeantHumain wrote: | | ...a neurotic introvert is prone to anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and social withdrawal. |
Hehehe - *really*?! 
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.see I've already waited too long, and all my hope is gone. |
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vetivert
gagged, but never silent
Joined: Sep 18, 2004
Posts: 5768
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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i haven't really cried since i had the year from hell in 2003. there've been plenty of times when i wanted/needed to, but i just can't seem to manage it, for more than a couple of seconds (literally) anyway.
can do anger, nooooo problem, though  |
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Sophist
Professor of Pedantry
Joined: Apr 24, 2005
Posts: 6172
Location: St. Louie
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 6:56 pm Post subject: ... |
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I don't believe "neurosis" is used any longer. It's an obsolete term. It would have mostly referred to those now diagnosed with Personality Disorders.
But nevertheless, point taken.
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GESTALT: An Autism and Psychology Discussion Forum
http://asdgestalt.com
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Taineyah
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 194
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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I get upset and angry easily, but thanks to horrible group therapy, I was taught to repress all my emotions, so no one knows. I just end up crying myself to sleep virtually every night. Fun, yes?
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NeantHumain
Phoenix
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Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 3852
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:16 am Post subject: |
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In personality psychology, Paul Costa and Robert McCrae developed a five-factor model of personality in 1987: extraversion (on a continuum with introversion), neuroticism (on a continuum with emotional stability), agreeableness (on a continuum with hostility), conscientiousness (on a continuum with impulsivity), and openness to experience (on a continuum with simplicity) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_five_personality_traits>. I found an interesting article describing extraversion, introversion, and neuroticsm in relation to sports:
| McKelvie, Lemieux, and Stout wrote: | According to Eysenck (1967), extraversion is a function of cortical arousal in the central nervous system. Extraverts are under-aroused and seek stimulation to increase arousal to the optimal level. Introverts, in contrast, are already optimally aroused or are even over-aroused so that they avoid stimulation to decrease arousal to the optimal level. Eysenck’s proposal has been supported by evidence that relates measured extraversion to brainstem auditory evoked responses (Swickert & Gilliland, 1998). Furthermore, it has been found that extraverts’ verbal ability task performance increased when arousal was raised to the optimal level with time pressure and caffeine whereas introverts’ performance was reduced. This is consistent with Eysenck’s theory and the Yerkes-Dodson law, also known as the inverted U-shaped function, according to which performance is best with a moderate level of arousal and poorer with both lower and higher levels of arousal (Revelle, Amaral, & Turriff, 1976).
[...]
Neuroticism is a function of autonomic nervous system arousal. Neurotics have a highly labile system, which means that they become emotionally aroused very quickly but return to normal very slowly (Eysenck, 1967). Perhaps athletes are lower in neuroticism than non-athletes because becoming emotionally aroused too easily may interfere with athletic performance. However, because all sport involves motor skill, neuroticism may not vary as a function of contact. If this means that neurotics avoid sport (the gravitational hypothesis), differences between athletes and non-athletes will show up early in participation and will not change over time.
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Source: McKelvie, Stuart J.; Lemieux, Patrice; Stout, Dale. "Extraversion and Neuroticism in Contact Athletes,
No Contact Athletes and Non-athletes: A Research Note," Department of Psychology, Bishop's University. <http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol5Iss3/ExtraversionNeuroticism.htm>. |
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vetivert
gagged, but never silent
Joined: Sep 18, 2004
Posts: 5768
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 2:45 am Post subject: |
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bloody interesting, neanthumain. but i find the last bit (re: athletes) a little simplistic - it's almost as though they gave up on the research at that point, and just suggested the first thing which came into their heads...
what about athletes having a modfied endocrine system, cos that affects mood, general health, etc. and cases of athletes having changes in processes affected by hormones (sex drive, menstruation, etc.) are common (or, at least, well known - might by apocryphal rather than documented - can i remember this morning...? sigh. need caffeine...). |
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Serissa
Ex-Moderator
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Joined: Jul 11, 2005
Posts: 4570
Location: A DEN OF INIQUITY!!!
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:13 am Post subject: |
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| I seem to get upset more easily than happy, but both are pretty easy to trigger in me. Anger, sadness, and happiness. I'm incredably moody. |
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