A hypersensitive person and emotional hypersensitivity exist and with the times that run, even more. This is confirmed by psychologists who work in consultation and feel day by day those emotional problems that have been on the rise lately. Of course, it is important to differentiate that being a sensitive (or very sensitive) person is not the same as being hypersensitive. “A sensitive person could be differentiated from a hypersensitive one by the intensity of the involvement with the emotions of others and their own and their impact on their daily life. A sensitive person would be a person who, faced with a situation x, be it their own or that of others It affects you emotionally. Vividly feeling their own emotions or feeling and living those of others, but being able to continue their life adequately. In this case it would be an intense emotional peak but it is not followed by limitation. In hypersensitive people, this peak is maintained over time and limits the person’s life,” explains Pilar Conde, psychologist and technical director of Clínicas Origen. Sara Noheda ‘s response, psychologist and founder of Happy Change, goes along the same lines., a new platform for psychological help at home with professionals in the field of development and personal growth. “We must differentiate hypersensitivity from highly sensitive people. High sensitivity refers to a high ability to perceive and feel, without having to go hand in hand with hypersensitivity. However, hypersensitive people react disproportionately intensely depending on what they are presenting or this way of responding affects them significantly in their daily lives, limiting their well-being and experiences,” says the expert.
What traits characterize hypersensitive people?
It is difficult to summarize in a few lines the traits that identify a hypersensitive person, but in general they are people who tend to have great insecurities, are very susceptible to what others say or do, have a hard time making decisions and have a hard time managing their emotions. In certain situations they explode in an exaggerated way, they even think that some of the things that happen to others are directed toward them and they have an extreme degree of emotional impulsiveness that causes them problems. Even, Ana Gutiérrez points out, they can use emotional blackmail strategies in their personal relationships to get what they want and communicate aggressively because “They feel continually attacked and they lack the skills to do otherwise.”
Nor can we limit the fact of how to know if we are hypersensitive people to a few lines, but there are certain situations that can give us clues. “If any of these phrases, or similar ones, seem to have come out of your mouth or you think about them frequently, you may be a hypersensitive person: ‘I feel things more than others, it seems that I take everything more to heart’/’ My emotions are on the surface and I am unable to control and manage them’/ ‘I live with the feeling that those around me almost always attack me’/ ‘It is difficult for me to find someone who really understands me…”
How to deal with hypersensitivity on a day-to-day basis?
Although the experts with whom we have spoken recall that all these characteristics of a hypersensitive person have an impact on all levels of their life and, therefore, psychological support from a professional is usually recommended “When we live with the feeling that the world is against us, life weighs a lot”, points out the Happy Change team, there are certain things that can be done on a day-to-day basis to deal with this hypersensitivity: