Chapter+8

Chapter 8. Emotional Intensity
How does your emotional intensity manifest itself? Are you easily angered? Do you cry a lot? Do you just want to scream at people? Do you //feel// more or differently than your peers? Ellen: I feel very emotional at times. I feel as if no one understands me. Emily: I feel very different from my peers, sometimes as if no one thinks the same as me. At times I will get very frustrated, yet refrain from the screaming. I can be easily angered, but it takes a lot to get me truly angry. cam I don't get mad easily. I don't cry a lot.no.ya some people act like idiots but sometimes i do also. Tyler: I get angered easily but not that angry....... I feel differently yes.. Devyn: I can get angered by people who want to anger me, I don't normally scream but I find it easier to physically hit something. This normally doesn't help and just ends up in me breaking something. Carrington: I do get really frustrated at times but takes me a lot to get really angry. I do feel different from my peers. Grace Z: It doesn't take much for me to get mad, but it does take a lot to get me really angry. yes, i do feel different from my peers and i do want to scream at people sometimes. It also takes a lot to make me cry. Grace: A lot of the time my emotional intensity shows its self in the little things that shouldn't matter but can set me off for no apparent reason. I get annoyed and mad frequently, but usually I'm able to hide it while I get over it. A lot of times I feel like I just need to cry it out, but at the same time I won't let myself so I don't really cry. Sometimes I get frustrated with people, but a lot of time the annoyance turns into sympathy/pity instead of true anger. I definitely feel like I experience things differently from most of my friends. Things have a deeper meaning to me, and I hold on to comments or actions longer. Noah: yes i really hate when people make fun of everything you do or wear - **//__Dawson R.__//** Megan: I get really mad when I get mad and can't do anything about it. It drives me crazy. I feel like I get effected by things more than other people. Grant: Sometimes I just take things too literally. Something that others laugh at I take to heart and it makes me feel like less of a person. I guess I actually listen to what it means and I let it sink in and bother me, when I shouldn't.

How does your emotional intensity affect your learning? Ellen: I don't let it affect my learning. cam it doesn't, I usually don't want to learn anyways so i am always emotionally under control. tyler:when people make me angry i could care less about school.. Emily: I think it is easier to learn if I am emotionally under control. Devyn: When people make me angry, the last thing I'm thinking of is school. I just ignore tests and don't want to cooperate. Carrington: I can't concentrate on school when I get frustrated with people. Grace Z: Being mad makes it difficult to concentrate in school. Grace: If I think the teacher is displeased with me, or am not satisfied with the job they are doing of teaching us it is harder for me to pay attention, and I am more moody in their class. Noah: I agree with tyler alot Megan: If something bothers me, school becomes very insignificant. Grant: Sometimes when teachers single you out or you feel as if the teacher doesn't like you right from the start, it is very hard to pay attention and take them seriously. Some teachers simply shouldn't teach. Some do not have the skills to deal with children appropriately, such as compassion. Some teachers are the perfect mix of strict and understanding. This all affects how I interpret the material that they teach.

How does your emotional intensity affect your relationships? Ellen: I have close enough friends that understand me well enough. Tyler: It doesn't affect me that much. cam I am not in a relationship Emily: It makes me feel different or odd. Devyn: It makes it hard to not get angry at someone else. Carrington: It doesn't affect me. Grace Z: It never really affects me. Grace: Sometimes I think it makes it harder for people to understand why something bothers me so much, when to them it's not really anything. It makes it harder to talk about things that bother you because they can't really understand the level of hurt that that inflicted on you, because most people would be over it. Noah: Physical contact either among friends or more serious physical contact if it is someone you don't like. Megan: Sometimes it makes it easier to understand people, but harder for them to understand me. Grant: I chose my friends carefully. I don't care who they are, what they look like, what gender they are, etc. I chose friends that truly care about me and understand my feelings and opinions.

Can you think of and describe an instance where your emotional reaction to something surprised you? If so, why do you think that you had that reaction? What did you do about it? Ellen: I overreact sometimes, and sometimes I have meltdowns. cam no except for when I yell at my mom Tyler:When my dad asks me a simple question, sometimes i overreact and then i feel bad later. Emily: I cannot think of an time when that happened. Devyn: I've actually been excited by someone trying to make me angry and challenging me, if I know I can overcome an obstacle it excites me. Carrington: I got really mad at my mom one time and yelled something I probably shouldn't have. I felt really bad for a long time! Grace Z: Sometimes I yell at my parents when Im really really mad at them. Grace: It happens to me a lot. Someone will make an innocent comment and even if I know they are kidding or that it is an insignificant thing I still get upset. Usually I just tell myself to calm down and get over it. Noah: Sometimes surprised by how aggressively I respond. Megan: I started freaking out in P.E. because the other team was //cheating// //and// //nobody was doing anything about it.//  Grant: Sometimes when people get competitive, they say or do things that degrade you. In PE or sports I tend to take things such as criticism too seriously and personally.