Meaning/example of having an "intense personality"?

I would say a person who is very emotionally expressive and demonstrative. They generally come right out with what they think in any discussion, no holds barred. They get very passionately involved in telling a story or debating an issue. They might be very ambitious and goal driven but not necessarily. Whatever it is they are into, at the moment they are, it is with 100% of themselves!

I would say it is someone who seems to have their spring a bit tight.
My example would be Quenton Tarantino

@filmfann oh, great example… yeah he’s kind of intense

It depends. It could be a way of saying “this person is just too much for me to deal with”, which could be for any number of reasons.

I’m told I ‘think too much” sometimes by a friend. I think it is their way of saying, “I don’t want to deal with this.” I agree with @augustlan, this could also be true of someone calling someone else “intense.” Basically, I think it means that one sees and feels things deeply and is inclined to be serious about life and emotions.

It can be all the things you have listed and it can also mean that the person is a giant pain in the ass. ;)

As @filmfann said, one extreme is Tarantino. The other end of the spectrum definitely includes Charlie Sheen and Mommar Gadhafi. And my uncle.

Baby mama drama

I come from a family of intense people. We dive into most topics in an extreme way (depth and breadth). Some of us can get passionately sad, mad or happy. Life is never dull or boring.

Intensity is related to sensitivity. When your senses pick things up as “too” as in: too bright, too loud, too rough etc. it becomes a challenge to reign those reactions in and respond appropriately. That is a learned life skill.

My mind runs at high speeds all the time. My life’s work, it seems, is to figure out ways to give myself a break though meditation, yoga, targeted activities etc.

I have passed this characteristic on to my kids. I’ve learned a lot about myself through raising them.

And my most intense child is intensely silly. You can’t shut intensity off all you can do is learn to hide it.

When I think of an intense person(ality), I think of someone who’s got something coming out of them. Where feelings/thoughts/intentions feel almost tangible they’re so strong, or so present.

Like there’s an energy, in a sense, emitting from them that you pick up on. It can be comforting or frightening or saddening or anything, that part doesn’t matter; it’s just that you can feel it.

I like @tranquilsea‘s description, “too”— the why they’re intense. I hadn’t ever thought of it like that.

People often call me intense.
It’s usually after I say some deep things, varying from emotional, to philosophical, to rational.
But I guess it can mean an array of different things….

I’ve always been known as intense… I think it means that I’m a deep thinker… (that’s what I choose to interpret it as anyway…) and would quite happily consciously or sub-consciously think deeply about any given subject

it could be a polite way to describe any asshole?

thanks!

not you! We were composing at the same time and it just worked out that way! LOL

I take it to mean that when you are with the person, they involve all of your energy and attention.

Overall it sounds like “intense” means earnest, serious, thoroughly self-involved. Not necessarily inflexible.

Say, for example, staunch PETA advocates would generally have an intense personality, being the folks who think deeply about life, suffering, morality, and the “serious” issues.

@tranquilsea I guess being intense and being laid-back don’t mingle—at least during the intense mode.

I’m a very intense person. I think its because I’m very literal, and I’ve got trust issues. When I feel like someone has been disloyal to me, I really overreact. I’m also unnecessarily defensive.

I usually refer to myself as very “passionate”. Intense has a bad vibe to it, I think :P

@meagan that is how I refer to my son as well.