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Seeing more, feeling more - when a whisper becomes a shout - part II

Anna Góra - psychologist, journalism graduate of UW

You can read this text in 3 min.

Seeing more, feeling more - when a whisper becomes a shout - part II

Panthermedia

Sad boy

The music is too loud, the light too harsh, the smells too intense. When does sensitivity to sensory stimuli turn into a problem?

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Contents:

  1. Diagnosis ... and what's next?
  2. "Sensitivity is my strength"
  3. The sensitive child
  4. Tomorrow

Diagnosis... and what's next?

Once we have established that hypersensitivity is indeed our problem, we need to take care of ourselves accordingly. If possible, avoid places where our senses will be exposed to a cacophony of stimuli. Of course, this is easier said than done: we cannot always choose the environment in which we work or the means of transport that take us there. Difficult conditions for sensitive people include not only a noisy production hall, but, for example, so-called open space, i.e. a large hall where many people work. It is worth taking this into account when, for example, planning a change of job.

The level of sensitivity is an intrinsic part of ourselves. It is therefore worth realising that if we do not take proper care of this sensitivity, we do ourselves a disservice. Permanently "flexing" one's endurance will result in bad moods, nervousness and irritability; in the long term, it may also have more serious health consequences. Pathological hypersensitivity is seen in schizophrenia, where patients suffer enormously from, among other things, the sensory impressions they experience.

"Sensitivity is my strength"

However, there is also very good news: high sens itivity can be a real gift if we just start to work with it. By receiving more stimuli we are in better contact with the world, we see it more than those who function at the so-called optimal level. High sensitivity often goes hand in hand with artistic ability, allowing us to feel more, to perceive more of what others cannot perceive. It is only one step from sensory sensitivity to emotional sensitivity: although we are more susceptible to injury, we also find it easier to empathise with others. If we look at many famous people - painters, musicians, scientists, therapists - we can see that maladaptation often occurs in youth and that careers flourish later in life. Of course, this does not have to be the case in all cases, but high sensory sensitivity is certainly behind some of the successes.

Sensitive child

At this point, it is worth pausing for a moment with children and their sense of the world. Toddlers already inherently react more strongly to stimuli received from the environment: firstly, their nervous system is not yet fully formed. Secondly, they are not "anaesthetised" by the many situational experiences that have hardened us adults. It is worth bearing this in mind in our everyday dealings with children: a glance or a carelessly spoken word can really hurt them deeply. If you notice that your child is hypersensitive, it is definitely worth consulting a specialist - perhaps it is the high sensitivity that is behind the frequent crying, tiredness or unwillingness to interact with peers. The earlier we show a sensitive child the right "instruction manual" for himself, the better he will function - and so will we as parents.

Tomorrow

Modern reality is hardly conducive to (over)sensitive people. Bombarded from the morning with sounds, information, we blend in with the flow of it: to keep up to date, not to stand apart from the rest. We all need to switch off from time to time, but especially the (hypersensitive) ones: maybe it's time to not only receive, but also transmit?