How To Turn Your Sensitivity To Its Greatest Strength

According to researcher Elaine Aron, about 15 to 20% of the population are highly sensitive people because of the nature of their nervous system. These people, who generally have a penchant for hyperstimulation, emotional reactivity and empathy for their extreme sensitivity are not always understood by society.

Denial of sensitivity is a problem of our time, and it is often associated with weakness. Therefore, most people hide their sensitivity, not realizing that well-developed and refined it is an invaluable virtue.

Denying sensitivity and suppressing one’s feelings, especially negative ones, causes them to persist and turn into unresolved problems. However, being aware of one’s sensitivity and expressing it correctly allows us to release emotional energy that can be channeled creatively and constructively.

Sensitivity is something natural

Sensitivity is the ability to gather sensory information through the nervous system. It is neutral and therefore it is neither good nor bad. It’s like a sensitive microphone that picks up the most subtle sounds.

The sensitive nervous system can pick up on people’s emotions, weather, lighting, sounds, smells and much more, and then process the thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions that have been generated within it.

accept the emotions

To transform sensitivity into strength, it is necessary to accept oneself and control emotions so that they work in our favor and not like a runaway horse. These reins are not for repressing or denying sensitivity, but for releasing emotions in the proper time and manner.

The denial of emotions often results in what are known as meta-emotions, ie emotions about emotions, such as being angry because you are sad or feeling guilty because you are excited.

Many people hide a range of conscious or unconscious behaviors that prevent them from experiencing both negative and positive emotions. Your sensitivity can make it seem like the experiences are too frightening and so people intentionally avoid them.

This can be something as simple as turning on the TV after work to avoid thinking about the day’s problems, drinking, or using certain substances to numb the stimulation of complex social environments. These are some ways to ignore or intellectualize emotions, an excuse for not having to deal with them. But they are not the only ones.

To counteract this tendency, we must recognize an emotion when it is there, accept it as it is, feel non-judgmental, and accept the physical reactions it causes in us. It’s the only way to let her go.

Sensitivity, passion and creativity

A trait that often accompanies sensitivity is being passionate and creative. Sensitive people are often great artists as they are more aware of their emotions and are able to communicate with others through their work.

Unfortunately, education places more value on scientific or economic-related skills from an early age, which deprives children of artistic expression, leaving it as a mere complement that can be dispensed with when other “more important” issues demand more. time.

However, we all feel passion for something despite what others think. We need to recognize any strong feelings that come up, which will serve as a compass to tell us what we want to do with our time.

rest and reflect

Sensitive people often tend to be very reflective, especially if they spend a lot of time in environments that are potentially frightening for them. A good tip is to find time to practice reflection, and even write in a journal, thus getting more time to lower the saturation level of stimulation from the outside world.

When we stop to think, we become more aware of our situation and the subtle nuances that affect our daily lives. Do the reflections constantly: they will act like a drop of water falling on a rock.