Who are the highly sensitive people, and how to deal with them?
You’ve probably met a highly sensitive person. Perhaps it’s that quiet guy hiding behind the computer in the corner. Or talkative aunt Mary, prone to excessive introspection. Maybe it’s you, pondering every decision and spending dark, restless nights.
High Sensitivity is a feature of the psyche that manifests itself in intense, deeply emotional reactions to events. A highly sensitive person reacts sharply to obsessive physical stimuli. A raised tone of voice, clattering dishes, unpleasant music, meaningless conversations can quickly drive them crazy. On the other hand, such people experience the positive moments of life more vividly – travel, the taste of their favourite food, sunsets, and sunrises, meetings with people dear to heart. At such moments, a highly sensitive person is literally in the seventh heaven with happiness, blissfully contemplating this world. However, one single negative detail, for example, the angry cry of a passer-by or the sound of a loudly slamming door, immediately returns them to earth, a mortal place of torture and suffering.
High Sensitivity is both a gift and a curse. Just imagine the day when:
- you read the emotions of the opposite person unintentionally and deeply imbue with empathy for them,
- you drink a cup of coffee, after which you become hyperemotional,
- you couldn’t sleep all night because you analyze your day in every detail.
Both introverts and extroverts can be highly sensitive. Such a mental feature lies in the peculiar functioning of the brain: level of dopamine is low, mirror neurons are more active, the prefrontal part of the brain, which is responsible for the receptivity of emotions, is highly sensitive to impulses. These mysterious personalities are incredibly attentive, very vulnerable, and prone to emotional absorption – highly sensitive people so intensely respond to the emotional reactions of the opposite person that they feel these experiences as their own. They also have a lower pain threshold, and therefore they experience more pain. If such a person has a headache or is very hungry, internally, they balance on the brink of insanity. At times like these, the best thing is to give them a pain killer or a piece of sugar and move away to a safe distance.
To maintain the balance of the High Sensitive’s world, it makes sense not only to carry candy with you just in case to satisfy a sudden urge to eat something. But also:
- Get enough sleep. The nervous system of a sensitive person is already very fragile; it should not be tortured by sleep deprivation.
- Drink less coffee. Caffeine causes a storm of emotions in the hypersensitive and leads to severe mood swings.
- Find time for yourself and things you love. Put your nerves in order, turn off your phone or escape to the nearest island.
- Surround yourself with pleasant things, sounds smells. The need for positive physical sensations should not be ignored. Otherwise, the behaviour of highly sensitive people becomes very unpredictable to everyone around them.
Approximately 20% of the world’s population consists of highly sensitive people. Heightened emotionality, acute feelings, deep understanding, and attention to detail are just a few aspects that characterize this unique personality type.