According to the research in this world about 15 to 20
percent of the population is characterized as highly sensitive (HS) and 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(Highly sensitive) 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.
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