High Sensitivity And Mental Health. Dr. Juan Moisés De La Serna
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population. Several scientists from different countries have provided contrasting data on this particular way of feeling, thinking, and acting.
Up until now, science has shown us through studies conducted, that approximately 20% of the population has High Sensitivity (Aron and Aron, 1997). These are people with an innate ability to observe the smallest details and they do so unconsciously. They also need more rest time as they are easily overstimulated and must learn to manage their emotions in the face of excessive noise or crowded places. They show strong emotional responses and sometimes require more downtime. Likewise, the authors affirm that of this percentage of people who possess the trait of high sensitivity, 70% are introverts.
The development of the Highly Sensitive Child scale and identification of sensitivity groups (Pluess, 2017), published in Developmental Psychology is also a statistical study. Among its results is the existence of three different groups with different levels of environmental sensitivity. It indicates that all living beings must be sensitive to their surroundings and classifies 25-35% as highly sensitive, 41-47% as intermediate, and 20-35% as low.
The Highly Sensitive Person presents characteristics from birth that accompany them throughout their lives. These characteristics affect their well-being and as a result, their mental health. Elaine Aron, a pioneer research psychologist in the United States, highlighted the following particularities of HSP people: they can unconsciously show a heightened awareness of and strong reaction when encountering stimuli in their surroundings, even when these are subtle. This intense emotional reaction is because everything, both positive and negative, affects the HSP more. They also experience high levels of arousal due to sensory stimulation to noises, smells, and other sensations. A high capacity for empathy and increased sensory sensitivity to stimuli, which is manifested by a heightened ability to differentiate sensations is also found in the HSP.
The highly sensitive person and highly sensitive children are individuals who come by these personality traits naturally. They could focus these traits toward a positive outcome avoiding a negative path provided they have an awareness of their uniqueness and the proper tools to cope with the difficulties that may arise along the way, as well as knowledge of how to enhance their strengths. They are people with a gift because of their great creativity and their ability to process information. But they are also people who can easily become stressed or who tend to avoid certain social situations. Hence, the importance of knowing whether or not you are a Highly Sensitive Person and whether or not your child is a Highly Sensitive Child.
The highly sensitive person can be identified by the high levels of sensitivity he or she exhibits. These are people who are easily excited by the stimuli around them. Other characteristics to take into account are empathy and the ability to grasp information from their surroundings.
Those who possess the trait of high sensitivity, process information in a peculiar way. They analyze everything more thoroughly. They can understand how the other person feels and take the emotions they perceive to the extreme. Therefore, when day-to-day emotions are positive (joy, calmness, optimism, etc.), the HSP can control what he or she feels to his or her benefit. In this case, it is an advantage to be a highly sensitive person. Although, since it is a genetic trait, it’s not something you can choose to be. You are simply born or not born with the trait of high sensitivity.
On the other hand, when the person is faced with a complex routine full of negative emotions (anger, sadness, anguish, etc.), psychological problems may appear. It is common to encounter difficult situations throughout life. That’s what living is all about, having all kinds of experiences and learning how to deal with them. However, for the highly sensitive person, it is often difficult to make decisions because of emotional factors that are difficult to control.
The most common difficulties that arise after mismanagement of high sensitivity are low self-esteem, anxiety, stress, phobias, depression, and even borderline personality disorder. Some of the symptoms that indicate the need to seek professional help are insomnia, muscular pain, low mood, emotional tension, anger, etc. In children, symptoms such as insecurity, shyness, attention deficit, and irritability stand out.
This is not to say that highly sensitive people are more likely to experience psychological symptoms just because they were born with the trait of high sensitivity. We want to say that perhaps having greater sensitivity to stimuli may increase the activation of the person in general. That is, if a highly sensitive person has many experiences that generate extreme or negative emotions, he or she is exposing him or herself to more pressure. Their body is stressed by situations that may go unnoticed by people who are not highly sensitive. It is also possible that the sum of stressful experiences may cause physical symptoms in the highly sensitive person that would not even affect anyone else.
The brain of the highly sensitive person pays more attention to sensations in his body that could be considered insignificant whereas other people do not perceive these sensations. It remains to be seen whether highly sensitive people go to the doctor more because of problems or complaints that cannot be diagnosed as a specific disease.
One thing we do know is that highly sensitive people become more saturated with less stimulation than other people. Their sensory threshold is lower. That is, they are more affected by stimuli and therefore are more easily overexcited or overstimulated. No one works well under pressure or under the effects of overstimulation nor do we all perform equally well at work or school when faced with tasks that involve too much emotional stress.
It is, therefore, imperative for the highly sensitive person to learn to manage this intense influx of information when it causes problems in their routine. This will allow them to carry out daily tasks with peace of mind and naturalness. The solution should not be to refuse activities, but rather to get to know oneself well and develop psychological strategies. Social skills can also be learned or encouraged. It’s is especially important to do a self-assessment in line with one’s own emotions.
The emotional reaction of a highly sensitive person is more extreme or notable than that of any other person, even in the same situation. For example, two brothers of similar age are watching a dramatic movie, one of them cries desperately and the other does not. These situations need not be traumatic for the highly sensitive person, as long as they have learned to identify with their trait and accept what they cannot change about themselves.
A fairly common repercussion for highly sensitive people who have not identified their trait is to try to change the way they are. Fighting against one’s nature is impossible and inadvisable. The perfectionism and self-criticism developed by the highly sensitive person must be aimed towards self-benefit. The key to healthy self-esteem for highly sensitive people lies in preventing these two traits from becoming disadvantages or psychological problems.
Therefore, good management of high sensitivity consists of taking advantage of such sensitivity thus avoiding the usual inconveniences that arise so that they do not lead to psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, or stress.
In short, highly sensitive people perceive stimuli more intensely, generating greater vividness in their emotions. The emotions that any person generates in their daily life can be positive or negative. The positive ones are, for example, joy, happiness, or enthusiasm. Whereas the negative ones can be sadness, apathy, or anguish. The highly sensitive person is more sensitive to stimuli. This means greater activation in general and, therefore, greater pressure and discomfort in the face of negative emotions. Increased emotional stress, coupled with not knowing how to manage one’s emotions, can lead to psychological symptoms and even the onset of health problems. Therefore, people who identify with the trait of high sensitivity must learn to manage their emotions. Achieving this can sometimes be a challenge, or it can simply come naturally. By managing this skill, psychological problems, such as anxiety or stress, can be avoided.
References
Aron, A., Ketay, S., Hedden, T., Aron, E. N., Rose Markus, H. and Gabrieli, J. D. (2010). Temperament Trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity Moderates Cultural Differences in Neural Response. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(2-3), 219-226.
Aron, E. N.andAron, A. (1997). Sensory-processing Sensitivity and its Relation to Introversion and Emotionality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 345–368.
Aron,