Are you tired of the fast pace, noisy companies and bright lights of the big city, but at the same time you are open and sociable? Would you probably consider yourself an introvert if it weren’t for your sociability and propensity for empathy? If this is all about you, then most likely you are truly an extrovert, but hypersensitive.
Such people are called sensitives, and today we will talk about their characteristics, which will help you better know and understand yourself and other sensitives, and also share simple ways to quickly restore energy in the modern world.
Reasons for appearance
There are a number of reasons for the appearance of sensitivity:
- heredity;
- organic brain damage;
- features of upbringing;
- age periods.
By heredity we need to understand the temperament that is passed on to the child from the parents. The strength and speed of the nervous system (this is temperament) affects a person’s susceptibility to various life situations.
People with a melancholic type of temperament are most prone to display sensitivity. They are highly impressionable, suspicious and anxious. It is difficult for them to experience grievances and failures; they tend to blame themselves, first of all, for all troubles. Phlegmatic and sanguine people, on the contrary, react less to life's ups and downs.
There is a concept of “family anxiety,” when increased sensitivity is characteristic not only of one person, but of the entire family. Here concerns and fears relate to health, conflicts, and long-term absence of family members.
People with organic brain damage are also characterized by increased sensitivity in various situations. Sensitivity is one of the symptoms of their underlying disease. It manifests itself along with irritability, fatigue, dizziness, nausea and other symptoms.
Peculiarities of upbringing should be understood as emotional rejection of the child by parents, excessive severity, various types of moral violence in the family and other incorrect methods of education.
The child’s psyche is too susceptible to such situations. They can be a psychological trauma for him, which, taking root in the subconscious, leads to the development of increased sensitivity to certain life problems. When too many demands are placed on a child, he experiences fear of not meeting them. Such experiences can become fixed in the character of a little person, manifesting themselves through increased sensitivity.
Many scientists (Vygotsky, Ananyev, Zaporozhets and others) spoke about sensitive age periods when a person is susceptible to environmental influences. Here this phenomenon is characterized from a positive side, since it means a period of increased perception of the child and adult towards the development of certain qualities and skills.
For example, at 2-3 years old, a child actively forms new words, he learns to speak and form sentences. If such periods in a child’s life are used correctly, he will be able to fully understand the reality around him with the help of a significant adult.
Sensitivity in psychology
The concept of sensitivity in psychology is a person’s experience of increased sensitivity, vulnerability and self-doubt. Sensitive people often complain that no one perceives or understands them. When contacting a psychologist, sensitive clients talk about the unfriendliness of others towards them, which makes it difficult for them to establish a communicative connection. They often consider themselves unworthy, bad, and think that they are worse than other individuals. It is difficult for them to cope with problems on their own because they are too constrained and shy.
The concept of sensitivity concerns the personal characteristics and qualities of an individual; it is expressed in excessive sensitivity and slight vulnerability, conscientiousness, a tendency to doubt actions and focus on experiences. This sensitivity may be a permanent characteristic of a person or appear from time to time.
Sensitivity, what is it in psychology? High sensitivity hinders social adaptation, since such a person believes that the whole world is opposed to him alone. Social sensitivity is a fear of a variety of social situations. People who have too much social sensitivity often consider themselves defective, therefore they are afraid of meeting new people, do not dare speak in public and try to avoid any social activity.
If you experience such symptoms, you should consult a psychologist. An experienced psychologist will conduct an individual psychological conversation and determine the correct treatment strategy to alleviate the condition of a client with severe sensitivity.
Sensitivity can be the result of various mental disorders (neuroses, stress conditions, organic brain diseases, depression, anxiety disorders, endogenous mental disorders).
Sensitivity can vary depending on temperament.
The level of sensitivity is expressed by the strength of external influences necessary for the occurrence of a certain psychological reaction. For example, certain circumstances may not cause any reactions at all in one person, while in another they cause strong excitement. Thus, melancholic and choleric people are more sensitive and impressionable, therefore they are more sensitive than sanguine and phlegmatic people, who do not attach much importance to situations that could affect them.
Manifestations of hypersensitivity
Among the main symptoms of increased impressionability are:
- shyness;
- impressionability in small situations;
- timidity;
- a feeling of inadequacy, the formation of an inferiority complex;
- prolonged experience of events that are about to happen or have already taken place;
- anxiety;
- barriers to communication with other people;
- isolation;
- sensitivity to the feelings and character manifestations of people around you.
A sensitive person can display this character trait in different ways. He evaluates speech, behavior, and can draw correct conclusions about the mood of the interlocutor. From the first minutes of communication, a sensitive person pays attention to the appearance, speech, and behavior of other people. Such people are able to predict the feelings and thoughts of others. They accept the individual characteristics of those around them.
Such moderate manifestations of sensitivity are not deviations in human behavior. But if hypersensitivity is observed, a person cannot sleep before an exciting event, cannot fully rest after it or any difficult conversation, this has a bad effect on his mental and physical well-being. In this case, consultation with a specialist psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist is necessary.
A feeling of inadequacy, inferiority, minimal social activity, anxiety, prolonged painful experience of life changes are the first alarm bells that indicate the need for consultation with a specialist.
Increased sensitivity and impressionability can prevent a person from obtaining a profession, self-realization, establishing a happy personal life, and adapting to society. Therefore, sensitivity is a pathology that is best dealt with.
Sensitivity as a property of temperament
Temperament is understood as a complex of stable individual personality qualities, which are determined by the characteristics of higher nervous activity and leave an imprint on all human behavior. These features primarily include the strength and speed of nervous processes, as well as the ratio of excitation and inhibition. Sensitivity is one of the manifestations of temperament, associated, on the one hand, with the sensitivity of the nervous system, and on the other, with instability and weakness of nervous processes. Therefore, a slight irritation is enough for a reaction to occur.
The four main types of temperament are well known, although they are rarely found in their pure form. So, sensitivity, especially at a high level, is inherent to a greater extent in melancholic people. This is the most sensitive and at the same time the most vulnerable type.
There is also a quality of temperament that is opposite to sensitivity, which is called resistance - this is resistance, increased resistance to influences, including emotional ones. Resistant people are found most often among phlegmatic and sanguine people; they are not only calm and balanced, but also distinguished by their stubbornness and willingness to go towards their goal even over the heads of their friends. They simply do not notice their experiences.
Therefore, both are slightly outside the norm, both need correction, but life is undoubtedly more difficult for the sensitive.
Drug therapy
Sensitivity is not a separate nosological unit (mental illness), but refers to one of the symptoms of complex mental illnesses, as well as a pathology of personality development, if you do not work on this characterological feature.
When are medications used? Doctors prescribe medications for severe manifestations of hypersensitivity. If a person has severe anxiety or a tendency toward depressive behavior, a psychiatrist (psychotherapist) prescribes antidepressants and sedatives. In cases where a person is worried about an upcoming event, sleeping pills may be prescribed to help the person relax and have a good rest.
What are sensitive periods
The concept of “sensitivity” is associated with another important mental phenomenon, this time in developmental psychology. Human development is a progressive process; it is associated not only with physical growth and maturation, but also with the formation of new mental functions, with the mastery of new types and techniques. This is most pronounced in childhood.
But, as scientists involved in the problems of child psychology have noted, development, although progressive, is uneven. There are periods in it when the child’s psyche is most sensitive to the influence of the surrounding world and the formation of certain functions. These periods in development are called sensitive or sensitive.
- The sensitive period for the formation of speech skills is the age from birth to 5-6 years. Precisely from birth, since the foundations for mastering speech activity are laid in the baby from the moment of birth (and possibly earlier). By the age of 5-6, children not only speak fluently the language in which their relatives communicate with them, but also master the rules of phonetics and grammar, and even begin to master written speech.
- 6-10 years is a sensitive period for educational activities. Children at this age are not only open to everything new, their brains are plastic and receptive to a higher type of thinking - abstract-logical, conceptual. Younger schoolchildren also master operations with signs (counting and writing) and learn reflective activity.
- Adolescence is a sensitive period for self-discovery, and it ends with the formation of self-esteem. This period is also characterized by the development of communication skills and social functions.
- Early adolescence is important for the formation of a worldview, a system of life and guidelines.
Sensitive periods are important not only because at this time the formation and development of mental functions is easier, but also because the lack of conditions for development during this period can lead to serious mental problems. For example, if a child aged 1-4 years does not have the ability to master speech or is simply interacted with very little, then he will most likely develop mental retardation. If a teenager is deprived of the company of his peers, he will have serious communication problems.
Sensitivity: treat or develop?
To summarize, I note that sensitivity is an ambiguous phenomenon, like many things in our psyche. Sensitivity to external influences, including emotional ones, is necessary for a person to live a full life.
And if we are talking about social sensitivity, then the quality of our personal life depends on it (is love possible without the feeling of a partner?), and the success of professional activity, and simply communication with friends and loved ones. Therefore, communication skills training must include exercises to develop sensitivity.
But, on the other hand, high emotional sensitivity is destructive to our psyche; it threatens depression, neuroses and panic attacks. Therefore, this phenomenon needs to be taken seriously. And if you have problems with excessive emotional reactions and increased feelings of anxiety, then it is better to consult a good psychotherapist.
Sensitivity (self-doubt) is a mental phenomenon expressed in the increased sensitivity and impressionability of people and the mechanism of their entry into conflicts. Because of sensitivity and vulnerability, sensitive people carry anger and resentment within themselves without expressing it. The condition is aggravated by emotions, and defense mechanisms do not work. When suppressed aggression stagnates, such individuals have sudden emotional outbursts.
Understanding the terminology
Before we talk about the features of sensitive periods, let's get acquainted with the term “sensitivity” itself. The Latin word sensus is translated as feelings, which should be understood as the ability to perceive the surrounding world. Thus, sensitivity is the ability to perceive and respond to external stimuli. All people inhabiting our planet can be divided into two conditional groups: individuals with increased or decreased sensitivity. Belonging to one of these groups is determined by the influence of the following factors:
- education and personal self-development;
- close environment (parents and relatives);
- hereditary factors;
- social environment;
- age and disorders in the central nervous system.
All of the above factors have an important impact on the development of human personality.
Throughout human life, the degree of emotional sensitivity and perception of the world around us changes. These changes in personal perception occur during certain phases. Experts say that in the model of personal development, two periods play an important role - sensitive and critical. Knowing their characteristics allows one to cope with various life difficulties that a person faces during the process of growing up. In addition, timely intervention in the process of personality development makes it possible to correct deviations in the development of the psyche.
Kinds
From a psychological point of view, sensitivity as a personality trait is interpreted through the ability to perceive the character traits and feelings of different people and predict their behavior. Interpersonal sensitivity is divided into the following types:
- 1. Observational, based on the ability to immediately notice all manifestations of the qualities of other people: appearance, speech, behavior.
- 2. Theoretical - the use of different theories that explain and predict the thoughts, sensations and behavior of another person.
- 3. Nomothetic - identifying the main features of a representative of a social group, predicting the behavior of people belonging to this group.
The concept of intercultural sensitivity includes the ability to make perceptual assessments, structure the characteristics of representatives of different national groups, and effectively predict people's behavior.
- 4. Ideographic, characterized by the skill of understanding the uniqueness and individual characteristics of a particular person.
