Feeling overwhelmed & anxious? What if you were just highly sensitive?

Today, it is time to acknowledge the link between self-knowledge and mental health. I believe both are strongly connected. Knowing ourselves helps taking care of our mental health as well as discovering mental health issues we didn’t even know we struggled with. Just a little disclaimer: I am not talking about mental illness, but about non-severe mental health issues. However, you do not need to have a clinical pathology to struggle in certain situations or periods of your life. In particular, I want to talk about one trait that can cause you to struggle more than other people: high sensitivity, also called over- or hyper-sensitivity.

If you’ve ever heard sentences like: “you’re such a drama queen”, “why are you making a big deal out of nothing?”, “don’t take things so personally” or simply “you’re too much”, the following paragraphs might interest you. If you’ve never heard this type of sentences: congrats, you probably don’t suffer from high sensitivity. BUT, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read this article. It is estimated that as many as 1/5 people are highly sensitive. That makes it very likely for you to know several highly sensitive persons. You might even date one, raise one or live with one. Therefore, it’s very important you understand their perspective to give them empathy and adjusted treatments.

WHAT IS HIGH SENSITIVITY?

A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), is “someone who experiences acute physical, mental, or emotional responses to stimuli” (Source: highlysensitiverefuge.com).

Because 15 to 20% of the population is highly sensitive (that includes as many men as women), it is too common for it to be considered a disorder. However, it is not common enough for people to be sufficiently informed about it, and that’s why I’m writing this article.

In practice, what the previous definition implies, is that HSPs sense a greater number of nuances in their environment, causing them to be aware of more, but also causing them to get very easily overwhelmed. In some way, it is both a blessing and a curse. For example, HSPs are very empathetic which makes them great counselors, but they also tend to absorb other’s feelings and moods, causing them to be emotionally exhausted almost constantly. HSPs are more likely to get moved by music or visual arts, but they also get anxious when they hear a loud noise and frequently suffer from headaches caused by bright lights.

Back to our mental health argument from the beginning. What does high sensitivity have to do with mental health? Well, a lot of situations can cause HSPs to get anxious. Being so sensitive to stimuli, it is extremely hard for them to process too many at once. Partying or traveling can for example be seen as very stressful experiences for HSPs. Time pressure can also feel unbearable, and so on and so forth.

WHAT CAUSES PEOPLE TO BE HIGHLY SENSITIVE?

High sensitivity is caused by biology. It is a real, research-based psychological characteristic. Psychology considers anyone having a high degree of “Sensory Processing Sensitivity” as being highly sensitive. Sensory Processing Sensitivity is a genetically based trait that can be observed at the neural level. In a nutshell, high sensitivity is caused by a brain, that simply works a bit differently compared to the rest of the population. It cannot be developed from life experiences or trauma, as it is a genetic trait. Fun fact: high sensitivity can also be observed in many animal species!

Intellectual Giftedness (defined as an asynchronous development causing higher intellectual capacities (Source: educationaladvancement.org)) is also usually associated with high sensitivity. If you are gifted, chances are high you are also an HSP.

HOW TO DEAL WITH IT IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE?

I’ll split it into both perspectives: the one of the HSPs, and the one of the people that surround them.

If after reading the previous paragraphs you think you are highly sensitive – welcome to the club – you can start by taking this test, to proof check.

What can you now do with this information? Well, like any other self-knowledge discovery, it’s here to help you handle your life better. You cannot change yourself. High sensitivity is in your genes, and there is nothing you can do that will make it go away. What you can do however, is taming the bad and embracing the good side of it. When you feel anxious or overwhelmed, try putting your feelings into perspective and remembering that things feel this way not because they are horrible, but only because your brain interprets them in a very intense manner. Also remember that you are not going to feel these intense emotions forever, they are only a spontaneous response to a stimulus and within a few hours, you will be able to stabilize your emotional state again. However, my advice is only valid if you know enough about high sensitivity and its scope in the first place. So: start by researching it as much as possible. Then, talk about it with your loved ones, in order to teach them how they have to adjust their behavior to you. And finally, if things start to get a little too much, seek professional help, and try focusing on all the blessings that also come with being highly sensitive.

Now, if you are not highly sensitive, it’s still important to familiarize yourself with this trait. It will help you dealing with the HSPs you have or will have in your life. The most important, when you recognize signs of high sensitivity in someone, is to show empathy. Again, HSPs cannot stop being the way they are. Making them feel guilty by telling them some of the sentences I have shared at the beginning of this post, would only make things harder for them by increasing the number of stimuli they have to deal with. I can tell you from experience that being highly sensitive can make communication very hard, especially as a child. Feeling misunderstood is probably one of the biggest challenges HSPs have to face, so help them by being patient. Finally, if you think someone you know is highly sensitive, talk about it with them. Chances are high they don’t even know high sensitivity is a thing and they simply blame themselves for the way they are, while struggling to handle it. I used to be like that, and I wish someone would have informed me earlier about this trait. It would have made things so much easier for me, so please be this person for someone else and help raise awareness about this way too unknown topic.

I hope this post was able to inform you on high sensitivity, whether you have this trait or not. This shows you how important it is to know ourselves and the people around us. I cannot stress this enough: it is the only way you can take control over your reactions and you can successfully communicate them, in order to improve your relationships and your life in general! And if you are highly sensitive, don’t worry, so were Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mozart (Source: educationaladvancement.org).

Let me know in the comments below: did you know about high sensitivity before? Do you know anyone that probably has this trait? If so, how are you going to adapt your behavior from now on?

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And until then, take care!