More and more people talk about social desensitization and lack of empathy, but a certain category of people will always feel everything more intensely due to genes and certain biological predispositions.
Most likely, when we hear about Highly Sensitive People (HSP), we imagine someone who cries a lot, is nervous, easily agitated, and reacts emotionally. However, this is far from the truth. These are people born with the ability to notice more, understand others better and process information more accurately.
High sensitivity is not a medical diagnosis. If we talk about the scientific name of this phenomenon, it is an increased sensory sensitivity, inborn and genetically determined. It is one of the characteristics of a person, just like eye color or hair color.
Highly sensitive people notice more, but this does not mean that their senses work better. In fact, their uniqueness lies in their physiology. The WWO brain processes information more accurately and quickly. Research has also shown that they respond more strongly to other people’s emotions. In addition to this, such people have a high rate of reflex response, which originates in the spinal cord. Therefore, they are more sensitive to pain, drugs, stimulants and are more likely to have allergic reactions.
Strengths of highly sensitive people include:
With these abilities, they often show sensitivity to other people and living things. They excel at caring for those who cannot speak (infants, old people, animals, plants). They perceive cause and effect and can find unusual, out-of-the-box solutions to tasks. They see certain patterns that other people don’t. They also tend to reflect deeply, ponder and analyze everything.
They are very often pedants and perfectionists. They pay attention to details and do nothing superficially. They tire quickly because they react more strongly to external stimuli – noises, smells, colors, etc. They also unconsciously process more data and compare it to previous experiences. This means that during a conversation, they will not only hear the words and intonation of the interlocutor, but also notice his smell, clothes and stains on their surface, skin imperfections, facial expressions, the way his hair is arranged, etc.
They are different from everyone else. In childhood they are different from other children, they often avoid them and cannot communicate with them, they feel alienated.
They adapt to their surroundings. They rarely show their true nature for fear of rejection. Instead, they imitate the behavior of others and pretend to be the same as the people around them.
They have a constant sense of guilt. They are afraid of hurting, offending or worrying other people. They feel uncomfortable when they disturb someone and often take the blame for unpleasant situations.
They havemany images of the ideal person in their minds – when they can’t fit into these criteria and meet them all, they feel ashamed and develop complexes.
They are susceptible to the emotions and states of others. They strongly empathize and react to every emotion in their environment. They often have to deal with feelings that don’t even belong to them and experience everything more intensely.
They are unable to make decisions. They try not to make mistakes and thus endlessly analyze different solutions, trying to predict the outcome. The problem, however, is that the more options that come up, the more difficult the choice becomes. Therefore, they often get hung up on making decisions and fail to take action.
They take criticism and rejection very badly. Even trivial things can hurt or offend them. They are very bad at being separated from people they love, and they are very sensitive to breakups.
WWOs need to learn to live with their emotions, but they can’t suppress them or shut themselves away. Any person who hears from others that they are too sensitive should see this as an advantage and turn this sensitivity into their greatest strength.
Main photo: Nik Shuliahin/unsplash.com
