It is critical to recognize that sensitivity represents a personality characteristic. Being very perceptive is not a disease. Similar to being quiet or contemplative, it is not always a terrible thing, although each has its drawbacks. There are several possible reasons for sensitivity. For instance, you may be more susceptible to specific stimuli, especially if you are suffering from a neurological problem such as autism or ADHD.
Extremely sensitive versus highly emotional
The terms “sensitive” and “emotional” are frequently used synonymously. Indeed, those with high levels of sensitivity have greater emotional awareness. Being very sensitive is different from being unusually emotional in that the former refers to an individual’s acute awareness of both their own and other people’s feelings.
In addition to being more sensitive to internal cues like hunger and discomfort, highly sensitive persons also have a tendency to be more sensitive to exterior stimuli like lights, sounds, and colors. Another distinction is that although being extremely sensitive is a trait of your nature, being extremely emotional might be fleeting.
Also Read: What is Emotional Intelligence?
A Highly Sensitive Person: What Is It?
An extremely sensitive person (HSP) is extremely perceptive to environmental cues, other individuals in social interactions, and sensory input. Furthermore, HSPs have excessive self-doubt and frequently express it in an unreasonable and judgmental manner. Since HSP is not a clinical mental illness, it is challenging to assess a person’s sensitivity without considering the level of suffering they are experiencing.
An individual who is very sensitive will exhibit traits such as:
- People pleasing: You have a tendency to put the needs of others before your own.
- Overstimulation: Anything unexpected, hurried movements, loud noises, and crowded areas may easily cause you to get overstimulated. Loud settings can make you feel hot and sticky when it’s not warm, make you want to run away or avoid the situation, or make you want to cover your ears, close your eyes, and just be by yourself.
- Emotion dysregulation: You can have trouble controlling your emotions and frequently feel uncontrollably angry without understanding how to center yourself.
- Rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD): RSD is a condition in which you feel intense emotional suffering as a result of being rejected or failing. You want to learn, therefore you may wish you could take constructive criticism better, but sometimes a small remark might sting too much like a slight.
- Procrastination: You consistently experience self-doubt, which causes you to put off activities. For instance, you could spend an hour getting dressed because you’re self-conscious about how you look, or you might constantly redo something at work out of concern that a superior would think less of you.
- Imposter syndrome: In spite of your degree, you always believe you’re not good enough for a job and that you’re misleading people. You become unsure of what is fair for you, so you continually downplay kindness and success.
- Lack of trust: You assume that flattery and praise are undeserved attempts to win you over. You get the impression that those who admire you are just saying good things.
Everything regarding the HSP – Highly sensitive people
People who are very sensitive frequently experience emotions and have significant reactions to stimuli in both themselves and other people. It is estimated that 15–20% of people are extremely sensitive. Even though a lot of extremely sensitive people are written off as being “too sensitive,” their insight can be an asset.
Also Read: Emotional Attachment with School Memories at Adult Age
How to put an end to your emotional sensitivity?
To be clear, you can control how you react to your sensitivity, but you cannot (and may not want to) stop being sensitive. It’s vital to remember that being emotional sensitive is not an illness and is not anything to be embarrassed of, despite the fact that many individuals may wonder, “Am I too sensitive?” Like being tall and having light hair, it is merely an individual characteristic. For some people, being an HSP can be challenging and overwhelming, particularly if they are unaware of their sensitivity.
Using psychotherapy to manage your sensitivity
You may develop the good aspects of your sensitivity while learning how to manage the difficulties of being an HSP with talk therapy, commonly known as psychotherapy.
Therapists, coaches, and medical experts who are familiar with highly sensitive people can be found in directories on the official website for highly sensitive people. If you’re searching for a therapist for a loved one who is extremely sensitive or for yourself, this might be useful.
Also Read: Signs of Emotional Manipulation and How to Respond to It
Coping strategies
There are techniques you may employ if you’re a very sensitive person to deal with anxiety along with feeling overwhelmed in specific circumstances.
- Takeout some time for yourself. Try Avoiding events that overwhelm you. ‘No’ is a complete sentence.
- Step back from difficult circumstances and situations by setting up boundaries. Be “okay with setting boundaries” It doesn’t require justification.
- Establish intimate connections with other people. HSPs is frequently viewed as encouraging friends and have a tendency to form close ties with certain individuals in their lives. But it’s also “OK” to spend less time with those who we find to be too demanding.
- Everyday consider three things for which you are thankful as soon as you wake up and remember to repeat them before you go to bed.
High Sensitivity – Positive aspects
Empathetic:
People who are sensitive frequently have empathy for other people who have similar sensitivities. As a result, they could establish lifelong connections, interact with others effortlessly, notice anxiety in others quickly, and choose professions that assist people. Furthermore, hypersensitivities to visual and aural stimuli may promote the growth of artistic and musical skill or the enjoyment of such endeavors.
Ability to make decisions:
Making decisions is a second quality that makes sensitive individuals strong. Sensitive individuals—those with gene variants linked to sensitivity—perform better than others on a range of cognitive tasks in both human and monkey studies. This is especially true for tasks requiring pattern recognition and application to prediction and decision-making.
Also Read: Psychology Behind Emotional Needs
Boost effect:
Relationships aren’t the only context for the Boost Effect. Researchers have repeatedly discovered that any kind of guidance or assistance amplifies the abilities of sensitive individuals. Creating a supporting network of friends or family around oneself, as well as pursuing services like coaching, counseling, training, or mentorship, can help you harness your sensitivity.
What Happens If People Think You are Too Sensitive When you are Not?
It’s crucial to keep in mind that even if you’re a highly empathetic person, you could not be overly sensitive, and someone in your life is deceiving you into thinking you are.
You may not know how sensitive you really are. If so, you’ve undoubtedly experienced pressure to keep it a secret. However, that is a trap. It is impossible to downplay your sensitivity; attempting to do so would simply separate you from your gifts. The single most crucial thing you can do for yourself instead is to stop running away from your sensitivity. Accept it and let the world see it.
References+
https://psychcentral.com/health/why-am-i-so-sensitive#summary
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/highly-sensitive-person
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/why-am-i-so-sensitive/
https://time.com/6259002/why-sensitivity-is-a-strength/
https://www.wellandgood.com/productivity-benefits-walking/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6108093/
https://bpded.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40479-018-0091-y
https://www.newharbinger.com/blog/self-help/help-for-the-emotionally-sensitive-a-qa-with-karyn-d-hall-phd/
