MENSA BULLETIN - Personal Growth Can Be Found in the Discomfort of Intensity - Lisa R. Veroart by Annette Hassel Hilary Moore

Oct 3, 2026

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MENSA bulletin article explores intensity as an everyday, recognizable quality—an inner mismatch that creates discomfort, pain, and heightened sensitivity. Drawing on Kazimierz Dabrowski’s theories of excitability and hyperexcitability, it explains how emotional, imaginational, mental, sensual, and psychomotor overexcitabilities can trigger inner disintegration, repeated conflict, and eventual reintegration. It argues intensity is not easily “cured,” but can become a catalyst for authenticity, creativity, guidance, and personal growth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Personal Growth Can Be Found in the Discomfort of Intensity

Intensity as Discordance and Not Fitting In

Dabrowski’s Excitability and Hyperexcitability

Five Areas of Excessive Excitability (OEs)

Implications for Children, Adults, and Self-Education

20| MENSA BULLETIN # PERSONAL GROWTH CAN BE FOUND IN THE DISCOMFORT OF INTENSITYBY LISA RVEROART BY ANNETTE HASSEL 8HILARY MOORE iStockphoto,bees, stars,finger, pin,and fish by Annette Hassel. ntensity is a quality thatis easier to recognizethan to define.We knowit when we experienceor see it,such as withMarshall,42,who is obsessed with ideas,words and routines.“Sporadicthoughts will pop into my head and I'll have to gowrite something down,"he said.While always good atEnglish,he repeated ninth grade before dropping outof high school,but that didn't stop him from learningor creating at an extraordinary level.He describeshimself as a "sponge."A shy child who was frequentlybullied,he has battled addiction and admits to comingout on the other side of recovery a changed man.Hisstorytelling shows a relentless pursuit of authenticityas well as artistic growth and experimentation-vacillating between profound insight and childishhumor-regardless of whether others always approve orunderstand.He says he thinks about words all the time:"I actually drive myself insane with it." For the unusually intense,life is a wild ride thatis rarely smooth or easy.Intensity is the antithesis ofcool,the enemy of blasé.But that same intensity canalso be a catalyst for a life of meaning and personalgrowth.Beyond IQ scores or traditional measures ofacademic success,intensity is a key to understandingthe difference felt by many highly intelligent andcreative people. Much of the current discussion about intensity(used here synonymously with excitability)as anaspect of giftedness stems from the work of Polishpsychologist,psychiatrist and writer KazimierzDabrowski(1902-1980),whose works include,among others,The Theory of Positive Disintegration(PD)and Personality-shaping Through PositiveDisintegration(PS).Dabrowski's terms “excitability”and “hyperexcitability"refer to “a strong,uncommonsensitivity to external and internal stimuli”(PD,p.81).Often neglected is the fact that excitability is only onerelatively small part of his larger theory of personalitydevelopment. Intensity in the Dabrowskiansense is more than passion orstrong interest but rather signalsa mismatch or disturbancebetween one's innerexperience and outerworld,which leads toinner conflict betweenwho we are andwho we want to be.It is this mismatch,this disturbance,that brings bothpain and extremesensitivity to allaspects of the inner ATTS ESSENCE IS DISCORDANCE,A PERMANENT STATE OF"NOT FITTING IN." Finally,those with what Dabrowskiterms PSYCHOMOTOR EXCITABILITY(psychomotor:physical action related to mentalactivity)have a "sharpness,speed,and animmediacy of reaction and capacity for action... and outer environment.Intense people notice morea ‘permanent'psychomotor readiness”(PS,p.81).keenly,whether they want to or not,and this noticingIn children,especially,psychomotor excitabilityoften triggers internal disintegration.We fall apartcauses responses “far beyond what is appropriate toover and over again,only to come back together withthe stimuli of his environment,"leading to inner andmore integrity and wisdom.outer conflict (PS,p.98).What does Dabrowski's idea of intensity lookand feel like?Five different areas of “excessiveexcitability”(often referred to as overexcitabilitiesSo far,excitability may seem more of a burdenor OEs)indicate an unusual potential for personalthan a blessing,and it can often feel that waygrowth:emotional,imaginational,mental,sensual andfor both excitable adults and parents of excitablepsychomotor.children.Excitability at its essence is discordance,aEXCITABLITY OF EMOTIONS results inpermanent state of “not fitting in.”Intensity cannot"states of agitation and depression,sympathy for orbe cured.Excitable children in particular requiredislike of oneself and the world,dissatisfaction withmuch understanding and guidance on the part ofoneselfand the environment,strangeness in relationparents and other adults if they are to achieve self-to oneself and the envir

FAQs

How does the article define intensity?

Intensity is described as a quality easier to recognize than define, connected to strong responsiveness to internal and external stimuli and often felt as discomfort in life.

What role does Dabrowski’s concept of excitability play?

Dabrowski’s excitability and hyperexcitability point to an uncommon sensitivity to stimuli and are framed as part of a larger theory of personality development, including inner conflict and growth.

Why does intensity lead to personal growth according to the article?

Intensity is portrayed as discordance between inner experience and the outer world, which brings pain and extreme sensitivity; through inner disintegration and reintegration, it can support authenticity, wisdom, and meaning.

Oct 3, 2026

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