Professor of psychology ECPI university
Psychologist Elaine Aron writes in her book
The Highly Sensitive Person
that about 15 to 20 percent of the population is characterized as
highly sensitive (HS). She adds that about 30 percept of people are
moderately sensitive, while 50 percent of people think of themselves as
being sensitive while they are "not at all sensitive."
What being highly sensitive is NOT:
1. Emotionally immature
2. Self-centered
3. Unpredictable and unstable emotions
4. Over-dependent
5. Demanding and attention thirsty
Characteristics of highly sensitive people:
1. Have great imagination
2. Have great intellectual abilities
3. Are creative
4. Have a curious mind
5. Are hard workers
6. Are good problem solvers
7. Are extremely conscious and compassionate
8. Are intuitive, caring and spiritual
9. Have a strong sense of aesthetic awareness
10. Respect nature, art and music greatly
11. Have profound and intense sensations
12. Can access important information from the unconscious mind
13. Have a depth of understanding and feelings
14. Are objective and can see the bigger picture
If these individuals don't learn to handle their high sensitivity,
they may suffer greatly. Some of these are a loss of balance when it
comes to a self-sacrifice schema, which always leads to emotional
deprivation. For instance, Jeffrey E. Young links high sensitivity, or
as he calls it, the "highly empathic temperament" with the
Self-Sacrifice Schema (Young, 2003, pp. 246-251), which in turn is
almost always related to the Emotional Deprivation Schema. In his
opinion, these individuals need to learn to focus on themselves instead
of or before focusing on others and to learn to get their own needs met
fist, needs they typically are not aware of. After that self
understanding, they will have a clear picture of what they want to do
with their life to make a difference.
Some ways that can help HS people manage their abilities:
1. Emotionally, highly-sensitive individuals are easily
overstimulated up to a point where they may experience great pain or
great joy. They can have a combination of an introvert and an extrovert
personality traits due to the fact that they need to be by themselves
to become centered, and they also love connecting to other people and
their environment. As reported before, many of these people learn to
mask this gift of sensitivity, intuition and creativity because they do
not know how to deal with the overstimulation. Cognitive modification
can be helpful.
2. Physically, highly-sensitive people need time and space to be by
themselves to process the amount of input they absorb. They may have low
tolerance to noise and anything too strong when it comes to sensations.
They also seem to have more body awareness and can feel when their
body is not comfortable in an environment. Therefore, nutritionally
they have to stick to simple foods that are full of nutrients and have a
healthy balance. They also have to connect to nature and do regular
exercise, relaxation, meditation and any other activities that go with
their nature to calm themselves down and recharge after the over
stimulation.
3. Socially, sometimes HS people may feel like misfits and have to
learn ways to tolerate imperfections they see in the depth of others.
They need to learn to connect while having clear boundaries as to when
to say no and how far to go with something and someone. In addition, HS
people need to become assertive and have regular "me" times. When it
comes to their social personality, these individuals are usually shy,
but their shyness is not because they are weak but rather is based on a
need to survive. Since their nature is oversensitive, biologically they
are designed to be shy as a self-protection mode. However, if the
shyness is too much and is affecting their need to be social and to
connect, then they can modify it through behavioral and cognitive
modification.
4. Additionally, they have to learn to give and receive love and they
have to realize that the process has to have a balance point. They
have to understand that self sacrifice that leads to emotional
deprivation is not healthy. They have to allow themselves to be
vulnerable, face problems rather than running away from them, relate
positively to life, and learn from their experiences. Some of these
individuals avoid some areas of their life and some of the challenges
because of their oversensitivity not realizing that in some of these
challenges lies great opportunity.
5. And last but not least, these individuals have to find a meaning
in their life. All humanity desires this but for HS people, this is a
need. It is their innermost desire to help others be happy, and they
can use their abilities to bring their creative side out and make this
world a better place for all, even if a small step.
Overall, many of our writers, creators, inventors, imaginaries,
discoverers, and people who have contributed greatly to this world may
fall in the category of highly sensitive. We need more of these people
and we need to encourage them to unleash their potential. For those
people who want to become more sensitive, they have to learn ways to
overcome society's encouragement to be overly analytical, materialistic
and competitive and to encourage themselves and others to cherish this
trait and make the best of it.
Sources:
1. Aron, Elaine. The highly sensitive person.
2. Young, Jeffrey E. et al. 2003. Schema Therapy: a practitioner's guide.
Some suggestions to read:
"The Highly Sensitive Person's Survival Guide" with foreword
by Elaine Aron, and "The Highly Sensitive Person's Companion" by Ted
Zeff, PhD.
Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD
Self Knowledge Base & Foundation
A non-profit dedicated to public education
www.SelfKnowledgeBase.com
For more by Roya R. Rad, M.A., Psy.D., click here.
For more on spiritual development, click here.
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