If you are, join the club. If you are not, I am sure you know people who are, and they would appreciate the fact that you are reading a blog that concerns their condition. I hesitate to use this term - condition - because it is so serious, but to those of us who identify ourselves as highly sensitive (a crowd of about 50 million according to my admittedly limited research), this sensitivity thing is serious business.
The term sensitivity is complex and misunderstood, as are the people who exhibit it. How many times have all of us said, while rolling our eyes, "Don't be so sensitive!"? How many times has someone said this to you? I do not pose these questions to test your sensitivity level; I pose them because they prove that sensitivity is not something that is or isn't - it always is. No matter how insensitive a person seems to you, he or she may be considered highly sensitive by someone else. Perception dictates judgment, and judgment, sadly, dictates reasoning. If we all understood that sensitivity exists on a spectrum rather than a see-saw, we would understand ourselves and each other better.
Indeed, all humans are sensitive to some degree because we have senses. When our bodies respond to stimuli, we have no control over this response. We all learned early (hopefully with minimal injury) that hands and hot stoves do not mix. After the initial bodily response occurs, our subconscious mind takes over, reacting not only to the stimuli, but also to our own response to this stimuli. In this way, emotional sensitivity and visceral sensitivity are intrinsically linked. If a person with low to average sensitivity hears a loud siren, the bodily response will be momentary discomfort at the heightened noise and the emotional response will be minimal; perhaps the person will think "That was pretty loud" or even "I wonder what happened?" and then go back to his or her business. The highly sensitive person, on the other hand, will biologically react more strongly to the stimuli; thus the emotional response is stronger. He or she will likely be unable to concentrate on the task at hand during and for several moments after the stimuli appears. To the subconscious, this strong visceral reaction signifies cause for a strong emotional reaction; the person may worry that someone he or she knows, or even someone he or she doesn't know, is seriously hurt. As a highly sensitive person, I am prone to this kind of jumping to conclusions. After a few minutes, the individual likely returns to equilibrium, but again, I can only speak for myself through my limited perception.
Speaking of conclusions, here's mine: I am not an expert on sensitivity, or on anything. I am struggling with my own sensitivity - its presence and influence on every aspect of my life - and I hope that this blog will serve as a forum for like-minded and/or interested individuals. My plan is to share my observations of daily life, pop culture, heavy issues, etc. in a way that facilitates the acceptance of sensitivity as an asset rather than a curse or an excuse to live a sheltered life.
Let me know how I'm doing. And more importantly, let me know how you're doing.
