How to live better as a highly sensitive person
That being in the middle of crowds with loud noises and intense lights becomes an experience that causes you discomfort, reflect too much about a subject or feeling other people's emotions as your own are some of the signs that you could be a highly sensitive.
High sensitivity is a personality trait with which two out of 10 people identify, so support the research of Elaine and Arthur Aron in the 1990s, who describe it with certain neuropsychological and personality characteristics, explaining this phenomenon by defining it as people who have a finer nervous system.
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How are highly sensitive people?
Changes affect them a lot., more than other people, it can take them a long time to accept them and rejoin them again, they go around a lot in their minds to understand and justify those changes.
They think and reflect deeply, and also It is difficult for them to observe a situation objectively and detach themselves from their emotions that they generate in order to have a clearer vision, which is why it is difficult for them to make decisions.
They are interested in topics Personal development, they are drawn to conversations about psychology, philosophy, and spirituality.
They relate with great empathy, due to this, the perception of different situations and the emotional states of other people are triggers of emotions that they even feel as their own.
They suffer more than necessaryDue to this way of living and feeling life in general, they develop very deep feelings, nothing more than the mere fact of relating to other people and situations of daily life.
They feel great admiration for art and everything that exposes the creative and romantic side of the world and humanity, they admire the intelligent way in which nature exists, as well as the creative expression of emotions embodied in the different forms of art.
They do not tolerate violence, they reject any form of violence or abuse, both in real life and fictional in series and movies.
They find intense smells and noises very annoying, as well as places where there is a lot of light; this saturates them, even arousing physical discomfort. For this reason, they need a lot of moments in solitude and tranquility, which, although they help them to repair themselves, also leave them isolated and with little desire to socialize because they know the wave of emotions that they are going to feel again when they go out again to "deal" with the reality.
So, understanding that all these reactions and behaviors come from an intense experience of feeling, in addition of the perception of life by the model of reactions and ways of relating to the family and the society where we grew up, they can learn to create the environment that helps them and suits their needs so that they can live more fully, as well as open their minds to get used to a new way of experiencing emotions, since this is possible.
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What can you do if you are highly sensitive?
Here are some helpful tips:
1. Learn from yourself by inquiring into self-knowledge
Put the focus on you to understand you better, knowing what upsets and triggers you, as well as knowing what you need to do to manage and repair yourself. Self-knowledge is the conquest of your true self.
2. take care of yourself
Avoid what affects you and resort to what repairs you when you have had to go through a disturbing situation.
3. Prioritize yourself and say no
This involves telling someone that it is not going well for you to help or listen to them on some occasionsSince there are many people who, due to your great listening and empathy skills, come to tell you about their problems, and this ends up affecting you greatly. Learn to say no, understanding that doing so is not being a selfish person, it is being a person who chooses to maintain their emotional well-being.
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4. Train self-awareness of your emotions
Do your best to keep an objective view of situations. High emotionality triggers overflowing reactions, you can become irrationally angry, acting unfairly towards other people.
For it, record three situations that trigger an intense emotional reaction, and ask yourself: Is it necessary for you to suffer in this way? Is it necessary to exploit in this way? And mentally explain why it is not necessary. I remind you that: it's not about not feeling, it's about what you choose to do with it. So explain to yourself that intense emotions do not necessarily have to create intense situations and discomfort for others. Breathe and act from love, respect and patience towards yourself and towards others.
Not everything they tell you or what happens to you is intended to hurt you, think of another interpretation of what is happening. Ask yourself: What is the use of thinking like this? And don't let emotional hijacking happen to you.
5. always ask
Presupposing is one of the things that makes us suffer the most, because we are getting ideas that harm us internally, so always ask, even if the question is not comfortable, remember that ideas or what we think are not necessarily the truth.
6. Involve the body in creating that right environment for you
Make it help you feel good, having a balanced diet, respecting the hours of sleep you need to recover and find yourself lucid during the day.
7. Incorporate physical exercise
This will stimulate the generation of hormones that will generate a feeling of well-being, exercise also helps us increase self-confidence and feel capable and strong to do things, having a better attitude towards different life situations.
Other tips for highly sensitive people
- Avoid the consumption of substances that alter the nervous system such as coffee and chocolate, as well as alcohol and other drugs.
- Use noise canceling headphones, especially from big cities when going down the street or on the subway.
- Consume foods high in omega-3 and phosphorus, some studies point to benefits at a cognitive and emotional level.
- Always have your safe place, that room where you can isolate and recover, where you find peace of mind.
- Make sure that your habitable spaces where you usually are, have adequate luminosity for your comfort.
- Give yourself the necessary time to do things, stop scolding yourself or feeling frustrated for not being on time, be patient with yourself to complete your tasks satisfactorily.
- Go to psychotherapy, to have an adequate accompaniment in the management of emotions and learn other ways of thinking, acting and responding to the different situations you encounter disturbing.