BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie

The Extreme Ectotonic - Reflection
The outstanding characteristic of the ectotonic is his finely-tuned
receptive system. His spread-out body acts like a giant antenna picking up
all sorts of inputs. He is like a sonar operator who must constantly be wary
of a sudden loud noise breaking in on the delicate sounds he is trying to
trace. He likes to cross his legs and curl up as if he is trying to minimize
his exposure to the exterior world. He tries to avoid making noise and
being subjected to it. He shrinks from crowds and large groups of people
and likes small, protected places.
The ectotonic suffers from a quick onset of hunger and a quick
satiation of it. He is drawn to a high protein, high calorie diet, with
frequent snacking to match his small digestive system. He has a nervous
stomach and bowels. He is a quiet sleeper, but a light one, and he is often
plagued by insomnia. He tends to sleep on one side with his legs drawn up,
and his sleep, though slow in coming, can be hard to shake off. His energy
level is low, while his reactions are fast he suffers from a quasi-chronic
fatigue and must protect himself from the temptation to exercise heavily.
His blood pressure is usually low and his respiration shallow and rapid
with a fast and weak pulse. His temperature is elevated slightly above
normal and it rises rapidly at the onset of illness. The ectotonic is resistant
to many major diseases, but suffers excessively from insect bites and skin
rashes. His hypersensitivity leads not only to quick physical reactions but
to excessively fast social reactions as well. It is difficult for this type to
keep pace with slow-moving social chit-chat. He races ahead and trips
over his own social feet.
Self-awareness is a principle trait of ectotonia. The feelings of the
ectotonic are not on display, even though they can be very strong, and so
he is sometimes accused of not having any. When they are in a situation of
dealing with someone who has authority over them or with someone of the
opposite sex whom they are interested in, they often make a poor first
impression. They are uncomfortable in coping with social situations where
overt expressions of sympathy are called for or where general idle
conversation is the norm, for example in parties and dinners where they
have no intimate acquaintances.
The ectotonics are hypersensitive to pain because they anticipate it
and have a lower pain threshold as well. They do not project their voices
like the mesotonics, but focus it to reach only the person they are
addressing. They appear younger than their age and often wear an alert,
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