5 Signs of Hypersensitivity and How to Turn It Into an Advantage

Are you upset by the aggressive light, the noises, the strong smells, the crowds? Do you feel that everyone is talking only about you and not for good? 

That every word addressed to you contains a poisoned arrow? Do you feel the wave of emotions take over and you can't resist? Maybe (sure, rather) you're a hypersensitive person.

"Suffering" has, fortunately, a cure. Step one: unmask her. Step two: turn it from a handicap into a force.

5 signs that you are hypersensitive

1. You react "excessively" to what is happening around you

The small inconveniences that the outside world "provides" to you stretch your nerves on the wire. Noises attack you so much that you feel the need to hide in a soundproofed room.

Or you are bothered by too strong light. Or too weak. Or the congestion in the tram station gives you the feeling of suffocation - you feel as if your living space has been invaded and you have a desperate need to protect yourself. 

Finally, most likely, you are very sensitive to the environment and the energies of places and people.

2. You have a high body sensitivity

"Hypersensitivity is extremely reactive," explains Laura Marie on the blog Mind, Body, Spirit.

"Nervous information circulates very quickly, so people like that react to all stimuli without going through a filter."

This is how your body and skin feel very receptive to bodily stimuli such as caresses or massage. You may be susceptible to allergies and, due to the reactivity of the skin, may find it difficult to support clothing made of certain materials or clothing labels.

3. You have a very intense emotional life

Do you have the feeling that emotions are triggered out of nowhere, they take you up and take you where they want? Does overdeveloped empathy make you feel the emotions of others (suffering, in particular) as if they were your own?

It's also about hypersensitivity: you're the kind of person who lives deeply emotionally, his joys and sufferings can take on exaggerated proportions.

4. You are a very creative spirit

You have a strong aesthetic sense, you love the arts, and you are addicted to quality music.

You can show great creativity, you always have a quiver full of ideas and original thinking, which does not deviate from the path on beaten paths. Maybe you also have highly developed extrasensory abilities and a special openness to invisible worlds, such as the world of dreams…

5. Search diligently for "meaning"

For you, life is not limited to work, family, material security, or the simple pursuit of pleasures.

You feel that life is something much wider and deeper and you spend a lot of time reflecting on its real meaning. You try, like any hypersensitive person, to integrate coherently and positively in this world and to make your personal contribution to the confirmation of its meaning.

As this approach can become the meaning of your life, you may sometimes feel alone, out of step with those who do not share this view.

And 5 ways to capitalize on this gift

Don't blame yourself anymore

"Know thyself," said Socrates: becoming aware of one's own sensitivity is the first stage of action. So you start by observing yourself. Then stop telling yourself that "you have a problem."

Hypersensitivity can sometimes be a burden, but on the other hand, it is a huge advantage. For example, it brings great intuitive potential. What would it be like to sit down and put on paper a list of all the good things that this extreme sensitivity brings you?

2. Rely on empathy

Since you are still endowed with this unusual ability, why not use it positively?

You can use, for example, empathy to understand others, to "sense" what personality, expectations, and thoughts they have and to forge deeper and more sincere relationships with them - explains Christel Petitcollin, personal development trainer.

3. Protect yourself

"Once we become aware of our hypersensitivity, it is imperative that we protect ourselves.

The world will not change from one day to the next, so we have to adapt, carefully selecting everything we do, the places we go, the people we meet, the circumstances ", explains Laura Marie.

By protecting yourself from what "stirs" your sensitivity, you will conserve your energy and openness to others.

4. Stop absorbing the emotions of others

Hypersensitive people tend to absorb the emotions of others and experience them as if they were their own. This addition to their own emotional charge risks exhausting them.

Avoid the trap: ask yourself if the feeling that annoys you belongs to you or someone else. Doesn't it belong to you? Breakaway from him, through a conscious exercise: give him back to the universe, with all goodwill.

If it is a very strong emotion, give yourself a few seconds or minutes (as long as you feel it is necessary) to focus on your own breathing, to slow it down, calm down, and refocus.

5. Practice reaching the target

Meditation, mindfulness, mind-training exercises, yoga - many disciplines lead us on the path to inner transformation, and ultimately help us manage our emotions, take a step back when we are assaulted, and plunge into a state of serenity.

Other activities - sports, for example - help us to "clear our minds" and, implicitly, to get rid of all the emotions added during the day.

It is up to each hypersensitive to choose which type of activity would bring him closer to the target - the transformation of an apparent weakness into a real force.