I will try and come back with something more solid on this question of ‘exaltation’. Please be patient. An initial question: does the problem lie really with the mystic him/herself or with his/her entourage, often possessing more imagination than real understanding of the mystical path? I'm told St John of Kronstadt had major problems here.
And with apologies to my wife and other lady friends, I would add the one of the pleasures of Mount Athos compared with other monasteries is the total absence of pious women...