Written by: Peter Paul Parker, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The word sensitivity is rather like the word meditation. It does not really give you the full understanding of what you are actually talking about. For instance, when you talk about meditation, what does that actually mean? The original meaning is ‘To think deeply about something.’
Anyone who has looked into meditation and the whole genre of the mind, body, spirit arena knows that the practices offered in this field are linked with meditation. Meditation is a vast umbrella for many practices and rituals, and it also falls under the category of simply saying ‘to think deeply about something.’ To me, meditation can also describe Mindfulness, Yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi and all the other wonderful practices we have out there for us to discover. But if the mind is not involved with these practices, they can be just considered as exercise, and far from being a meditation.
Sensitivity is now being looked into in the same way. We often think of sensitive people as being touchy, over emotional and difficult because they are prone to react irrationally at the slightest provocation. Everybody has a level of sensitivity, but the highly sensitive people seem different. This is true and is now being backed up by science.
Michael Pluess, who is a professor of developmental psychology and sensitivity researcher at the Queen Mary University of London, is starting to make some amazing discoveries into being highly sensitive. It was Carl Jung who got the ball rolling on this subject, who diagnosed certain people with an innate sensitiveness. This research has come on leaps and bounds since then, which personally, I am so relieved to hear. For instance, one way of testing to see if you are highly sensitive is to really take a long hard look at yourself and see if you’re creative and open to new ideas, but your emotions often change without warning. There’s a good chance you would test as high in sensitivity if your answer is yes. It is much deeper than this because of the complexities we experience as human beings, but that is a good starting point.
People who are strongly affected by the experience
People who are strongly affected by their experiences of life are highly sensitive people. Many studies came about around the turn of this century where empirical evidence was collected to see that being highly sensitive is part of the human condition. The links to autism and other neurological issues were finally being understood, and not being bundled up with high sensitivity. Highly sensitive people stood in a category of their own and were being recognised by that fact. Being a highly sensitive human myself, I felt all my life there was something wrong with me, because of the peer pressure I used to be under to be like everyone else. There wasn’t something wrong with me, I just had to learn how to process emotions, feelings and experiences in my own way, and not worry about what other people thought of me. I needed more time to process my depth of thought on experiences, especially emotions, and figure them out. And I also needed much more downtime, to really get to the bottom of something, and decipher whether it was harmful to me or not.
What are the symptoms of high sensitivity?
If you suffer from most or all of these symptoms, you are probably a highly sensitive person. We can all have some, half or all of these symptoms. That is why I like this research because I am a firm advocate of knowing who you are. Once you really truly understand that on a material level, as well as an energetic level, you are well on the way to living a successful life. Know thyself was written on every temple in the Indus Valley, which was said to be the cradle of today’s civilisation. Knowing yourself eases the feelings of ‘there is something wrong with me’ if you are highly sensitive.
Highly sensitive people tend to have problems sleeping, because of their depth of thought. If you are one, you need more sleep than most. You tend to suffer from emotional exhaustion and a feeling of numbness because you cannot process any more experiences. You look very deeply into social interactions and can’t seem to move on from them. You find it hard to take criticism or conflict. You will avoid these two scenarios at all costs. Pressure tends to bring the worst out in you. You simply don’t like it. Your boundaries are easily crossed as you find it difficult to say no to people. This can be particularly hard when it comes to your own enormous compassion towards others. You need a lot of ‘alone time’. You abhor violence and cruelty. And you are often misunderstood, not being able to find the words to express yourself properly.
Knowing the facts really helps
Research has shown us that when we know more facts about something, this really helps, even if the facts are wrong. The placebo effect is a great example of this, as we can give someone a sugar pill and tell them that this will cure their problem, and it actually does. I am not saying here that highly sensitive people are imagining it, because I am sure if you are one, you were told when you were younger to stop being so sensitive, stop thinking so deeply or stop imagining things. Being highly sensitive is now proven biologically, because of the different reactions in the brain highly sensitive people have to certain situations.
Here is one fact about a highly sensitive person which has been proven scientifically. Highly sensitive people have more activity in the insula part of their brain. Insula is the Latin word for Island, but this part of the brain is far from that. Neurological disorders are now being linked to this important area of the brain. And the new studies coming out on sensitivity are showing that this really is the seat of our consciousness. This area brings together our inner and outer experiences. This area of the brain can be shaped from childhood experiences. Unsupported childhood experiences can lead to being fearful, and being scared of trying new experiences and adventures. A supported childhood can lead to the opposite of this. The adult could be more adventurous and like to try new experiences without any fear.
Suffering from depression, being overwhelmed with life, or feeling exhausted by your emotions can all point to negative childhood experiences. These tend to be amplified if you are a highly sensitive person. You could be influenced to go on a way of life that is not good for you because you have been affected by childhood issues. Don’t think this to be the end of the world as this can be turned around, and your high sensitivity is actually a super power to help you do that.
Use your high sensitivity as a super power
Many entrepreneurs I have spoken to want to be their own boss. They do not really like to work for other people, for many different reasons. They don’t like being told what to do, they can see past what their boss may be saying, they can sense that they are in the wrong job and want to do something for themselves. There are many reasons why people want to work for themselves. I am the same. I did not realise that this drive inside of me to work for myself was because I am highly sensitive.
I was lucky enough in my younger years to be told that my sensitivity is a virtue and not a curse and I should develop this gift. I still felt there was something wrong with me for many years, and hid in my music career, because it was fun, highly absorbing and creative. Now I can see that there is nothing wrong with me because this is who I am. I was growing up in a time where sensitivity was looked upon as being weak and feeble, and you had to toughen up to survive. It felt like a highly unbalanced society to me, and I was right. Thirty years later, we can see where we are as a species, and we can see the slow move back to balance happening now. The green shoots of new humanity are emerging, where low, middle and highly sensitive people’s viewpoints are all considered, and all equally valid.
Having qualities where you feel more than others, like having a kind heart, seeing into problems in a deeper way, thinking deeply about situations and analysing all the outcomes, are all amazing gifts. When we do this in the wrong way, it is exhausting. When we do this in the right way, we set up an amazing business where people want to know more about you and what you offer. They can sense you are authentic and they want to get involved with you and your work. Highly sensitive people make amazing pioneers, visionaries and leaders. What we see from the highly sensitive people who have been leaders, visionaries and pioneers of our past, is just the surface. We didn’t see the problems they went through dealing with their highly sensitive nature that took them to such lofty heights. When we look a little deeper into many of them, we see struggles, heartbreak and even depression.
If you are a highly sensitive person, embrace that fact. See it as a super power. Your deeper insight, your depth of thought, and your ability to see many problems at once make you an incredible leader. Larger-than-life emotions make your life far more fascinating because there is so much more to explore. When you change your mindset from being a victim of your emotions to a master of your emotions, you will see the magic happen. You will become a visionary for yourself and the people around you. You will be such an asset to this world and bring balance back to all of our problems.
There seems to be no right or wrong answers to many of the issues we face as a species at the moment, and we are being polarised at many different levels. Accepting your sensitivity and your ability to put the dots together because of your incredible memory will help in the making of the new world we are moving into.
If you are struggling with your sensitivity, I have great compassion for you. I do run an online course called the Dream Method that helps with that. Click here and you can watch a webinar that will give you some more information on what I offer. Whatever you choose, go out and shine like the star that you are. Highly sensitive entrepreneurs are greater in number than you realise.
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Peter Paul Parker, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Peter Paul Parker is an expert in the mind-body connection, a sound healer, and working with both the energy body and the physical body. Peter is a Ki Gong champion, having entered a competition with the British Team in Korea in 2016, winning the International competition. Peter has run a successful coaching business for many years and has particularly done some amazing work with the elderly. He has set up a charity called Brighter Living to help the elderly with their health and well-being using Ki Gong and meditation. Peter has also worked with schools in his local area, helping people connect with themselves, from grandchild to grandparents. Peter has launched the Bright Beings Academy, which is his online business, which incorporates everything that he does to empower people to reach their full potential as human beings. Peter's motto is "If you don't own your future self, somebody else will!"
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