I venture to say that there has probably been no one more influential in the field of social and emotional aspects of "giftedness" than Dr. Kazimierz Dabrowski (1902-1980).  He was a Polish psychologist and psychiatrist who developed "The Theory of Positive Disintegration."  Dabrowski believes that inner turmoil is necessary for advanced development.  He goes on to suggest that the combination of ability or intelligence coupled with what he termed "overexcitabilities" allow an individual to advance to the next level of emotional development.  In other words, internal suffering resulting from how we experience the world is actually an intregal part of our growth.  

 

In his research, Dabrowski noticed that many, though not all, "gifted" individuals share characteristics of emotional intensity, sensitivity and awareness that he believes were actually a heightened response to specific stimuli.  The areas of overexcitability he identified were psychomotor, sensual, emotional, imaginational and intellectual.  

 

1. Psychomotor overexcitability is often centered in the neuromuscular system.  However it can also be expressed through rapid speech, nervous habits, restlessness and racing thoughts.  

 

2. Sensual overexcitability is a heightened sensitivity to sound, light, touch, texture, or smell.    

 

3. Emotional overexcitability is a deep, emotional responsiveness to people, experiences, thoughts and memories.

 

4. Imaginational overexcitability is often evident in a child who frequently daydreams, loves imaginative play and enjoys creating.  It is characterized by vivid dreams, creativity, love of fantasy, and inventiveness.

 

5. Intellectual overexcitability manifests itself through a natural interest in discovery, finding answers and problem solving.  This overexcitability is the area in which children are most often identified through the educational system as being "gifted."

 

Dabrowski's work offers us a great deal of insight into the "driving forces" of our bright children.  Some children may experience all of these overexcitabilities while others are highly focused in one specific area.  These overexcitabilities can manifest in unusual ways that may appear "weird" to peers.  The child with psychomotor overexcitability may hyperfocus on sports activities while the child with emotional overexcitability may have frequent crying spells.  

 

Hats off to Dr. Dabrowski for reminding us that internal suffering serves some benefit and that our area of overexcitability just might also be our gift.  How exciting!