The pressure a person uses in their handwriting determines personal determination and intensity. To determine the pressure; we actually feel the paper to see how much of an imprint the writer left on the paper.

People who write with heavy pressure are forceful, have strong will power, and self-determination. This is one of the most positive traits in handwriting. Heavy pressure is one of the indicators of leadership. If the writing has plenty of angles; then not only is the person forceful but is also firm and resolute.

Pressure can determine a person's willpower to carry projects to completion or the lack of this ability. However, it is important to remember that physical disability or injury can greatly hamper and affect this reading. Other signs are utilized to determine the general mental and physical health of the person's handwriting.

Light pressure in handwriting betrays the writer as one who lacks willpower and determination. These are the followers rather than the leaders. They lack the ability to stand up to peer pressure and will often acquiesce. They rely on others for support and decisions.

Juvenille delinquents will often have light pressured handwriting, and are often found "joining gangs". They don't feel strong enough to make it on their own. Criminal handwriting traits along with very light pressured writing is the telltale sign.

Overly heavy pressure belongs to people who push their will onto others. This is one of the most negative traits in handwriting. If there is overly heavy pressure in a sample of handwriting; then chances are very high that there will be other graphology traits that determine anger and hostility. This is one of our danger signals in graphology, so beware of anyone who writes with excessive pressure.

In graphology; the "world" is the paper. Your impact on it is the pressure. When your pressure is so strong, you actually "rip the paper"; then how do you think this person treats the "world"? Just a reminder, Jack the Ripper's handwriting was overly heavy pressured. He ripped the paper as well as the women he killed.

Besides the overall pressure, we look for pressure consistency. This is one of the indicators which shows a person who tends to be more even keeled and reliable. Consistency in graphology traits equates to consistency in their personalities overall. The person with pressure changes throughout the sample of writing, either has a physical disability or has emotional instability. It is important that in order to determine some form of emotional problem that there are other signs in the handwriting pointing to this. I often see that a variable pressure will coincide with variances in other features, like slant, middle zone size, and a sinuous baseline; these being the most common other inconsistent traits. The more graphology traits that are overly variable and the greater degree of this habit; the more unstable the person is.

Along with the overall pressure and consistency; we look for the pressure pattern. This is the constant tension and release of the handwriting. A normal pattern will show more tension or pressure on the downstrokes and about half as much pressure on the upstrokes. This is very significant as this indicates how well a person is able to cope with stress and tension in their lives.

The person that never releases in the writing is absorbing all the stress and tension in life and has an inability to find ways to aleviate such stress. They can be workaholics who never enjoy life. These are the candidates for nervous breakdowns. If the person is under such stress and tension; expect the rhythm to be jerky and letter width and spacing also to be narrow. The lack of release in writing is one of our "red flag" warning signs for mental health.

People that release a little but do not quite release the normal amount fall into the category of the responsible; able to handle tough situations and tasks. Many even thrive on these challenges. The difference between this type of workaholic and the one mentioned above, is that these people will take a little time off for themselves. They do release stress and tension, but don't necessarily need to release everything. They thrive with a certain degree of this in their lives. Form level will dictate whether this is the case, or they still lack the ability to release the build up of stress. High form level writers with the low level of release in their handwriting will be the "doers" and "thrive on challenge and deadlines"

Conversely, the person who has too much release than is the type who whenever there is tension or stress will release it completely. If you are in the path of one of these types; you can expect a verbal or possibly a physical conflict over even the smallest issues. They have an inability to handle stress at all and therefore find their own resolution in the complete and immediate release. These are people who can not handle responsibility well either. The pressures of life are too much for these writers.

Overly released strokes so faint that they are invisible or close to being invisible is another "red flag". This indicates too much of a need to release any kind of tension and stress. Destructive and suicidal handwritings have been known to have overly released strokes. Marilyn Monroe's handwriting would be the perfect example of this.

Pressure of writing determines willpower,determination, intensity
Inconsistent pressures will show hostilities, anger and emotional instability
Heavy pressure indicates the writer is forcefull and self determined
Light pressure is a warning sign of a submissive follower
Junvenille deliquents and gang members have overly light pressure
Excessive pressure is a warning sign of hostility and potential bodily harm
Mental and physical conditions can affect the pressure consistency
Writers with normal pressure pattern release stress well
Writers that lack release have an inability to release stress
Writers with high form and little release thrive on challenge and stress
Handwriting that is all release is someone who is destructive and suicidal

Important Note: Remember this is just a very basic explanation of this particular aspect of handwriting. It is expressly for the purpose to show the validity by explaining this complex science in simplistic terms.

Do not attempt to analyze a person's handwriting with just the information stated above. Graphology is a hollistic science; one characteristic on its own is fairly meaningless unless an extreme or coroborated with other graphology traits.

Leave handwriting analysis to the experts like us. It takes years to be highly trained and skilled in this field, and to learn, study, and recognize all the graphological traits that incorporate this science.