Understanding the highly sensitive person
20% of the population are highly sensitive known as HSPs for the remaining 80% of the population this minority can often be misunderstood and thought of as 'weak' due to their high sensitivity, which of course is not true.
Typical traits of HSPs are they are prone to anxiety, startle easily,sensitive to pain,affected by other peoples moods,does not like change,reacts strongly to sirens or extreme noise,become over whelmed easily,sensitive to caffeine and being hungry,cannot watch violent films and fall in love very easily.
Growing up it is likely they had a lack of self confidence and belief in themselves as they were told 'you are too sensitive for your own good' and would be accused of being 'over dramatic' being judged this way by others particularly loved ones who they cared for and respected would therefore make them view their sensitivity as a bad thing and would result in children becoming very self critical of themselves as adults because their families and friends did not understand that they were some how 'different' to their siblings or other friends and would be made to feel guilty that they were not like the perfect ideal of what was considered a 'normal child'.
There is a huge difference between neuroticism and high sensitivity which is often confused which leads to negative stereotypes of HSPs that they are always in a state of anxiety and depression which simply is not true. They are however extremely sensitive to triggers which will affect their moods very easily and suddenly which can cause non HSPs to feel uneasy if they do not understand this leading to conflict simply due to looking at the initial reaction instead of the person as a whole. Due to this HSPs can often make the best friends and partners as they are very loyal and once they feel understood and accepted for who they are they cherish that relationship.
Self development is therefore essential for HSPs so they can get a better understanding of themselves and love to accept themselves the way they are and not how others would like them to be, this really is essential for their wellbeing that they accept that it is ok to be different and that in doing so does not make them in any way inferior to their counterparts.
They often are highly intuitive and intelligent people with a rich and conscious inner life, they are very consciousness and instantly aware of the moods of their friends and will notice differences in situations that many others will fail too see. They can concentrate and focus very intuitively are highly creative,deeply compassionate and therefore make excellent therapists or teachers..
I myself am a HSP I grew up in a busy family environment and often had inner battles with myself as to why I was so much more sensitive and emotional in the way I reacted to situations then my siblings and friends this continued through out my life and relationships with others until through continued self learning I have learned to embrace my sensitivity and not too see it as a weakness but an incredible strength which has helped me to understand myself better and realize that its ok to feel different, I no longer am self critical about my high sensitivity but actually now view it as a huge benefit both in my work and personal relationships as due to the complete acceptance of how I am the relationship with myself has changed dramatically and I have realized that the best relationships and the ones that I hold closest to my heart are those that do not judge or criticize the differences but instead recognize and cherish the characteristics that make me who I am, this form of total self acceptance is now something I teach to my own clients,to remove the mask of who you would like to be seen as and just feel safe to be your true and authentic self only then will you find the stillness and calm in your heart of complete self acceptance that we are all searching for.
Nobody has a right to judge anyone else especially when you do not know what is going on in their life and yet the people who are often the most critical of who we are are ourselves! Understanding and truly accepting both ourselves and others without trying to change who they are to fit your own concept of who you feel they should be is the greatest gift you can ever give and can actually make the world of difference to someone which may seem very subtle to you but to them can radically change the way they view themselves and their life. Be kind always and take the time to understand that we are not all the same, embrace the differences it is what makes us unique and really does a huge impact on not only the way we view the world but our relationships with ourselves and others too.
Comments
Post a Comment