How to Overcome Emotional Sensitivity?

Emotional sensitivity is healthy, but after a certain point it can start to hurt. Try to be a friend, not an enemy, with your strong feelings. Over-sensitivity can cause you to take offense at disrespectful or unintentional disrespect. Misinterpretation of constructive daily interactions can prevent living a happy and healthy life. Balance your sensitivity with common sense, confidence and strength so you don’t overreact to everyday events in life.

• Accept that high sensitivity is innate in you.

   Neuroscientists have discovered that part of our capacity for emotional sensitivity is linked to our genes. About 20% of the world’s population may be “highly sensitive,” meaning they have greater awareness of subtle stimuli that many people have lost and have more intense experiences with these stimuli. This high sensitivity is linked to a gene that influences a “stress” hormone called norepinephrine, which also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain that triggers attention and response.

   Some emotional sensitivities are also linked to the hormone oxytocin, which is responsible for people’s feelings of love and attachment. Oxytocin can also trigger emotional sensitivity. If you naturally have high levels of the hormone oxytocin, you may also have high “innate social judgment,” making you more sensitive to perceiving (and possibly misinterpreting) even the smallest signs.

   Different societies respond differently to hypersensitive people. In many Western cultures, overly sensitive people are often seen as weak and lacking in fortitude, and are often bullied. However, this is not true in all parts of the world. Because sensitivity allows for the ability to perceive and understand others, in many parts of the world, overly sensitive people are seen as gifted. How a character trait is perceived may differ depending on your culture, gender, family environment and the type of school you attend. While it is possible (and important) to learn to regulate your emotions effectively, if you are a naturally sensitive person, you must learn to accept this situation with yourself. You may be able to react less with practice, but you can never be a completely different person, and you shouldn’t try to be a completely different person anyway. You just have to choose the best version of you

   Try not to judge yourself when answering these questions. Answer the questions honestly. Once you know the extent of your sensitivity, you can focus on managing your emotions more beneficially.

Remember, this is not a matter of trying to be who you think you should be. Answer questions honestly to find out if you’re a sensitive person or someone who thinks they’re more sensitive than they really are.

• Explore your feelings by keeping a diary.

   Keeping a “emotion diary” can help you track and explore your emotions and reactions. This allows you to notice things that can cause you to have an overly emotional response. It also helps you learn when your responses are appropriate.

Try to write down whatever you’re feeling right now and review the situation from the bottom up to understand what’s causing it. For example, do you feel nervous? What happened during the day that could cause this situation? You may realize that even small events can cause major emotional reactions in you.

   For each entry you write in the journal, you can also ask yourself some questions such as:

How am I feeling right now?

What could have happened to cause this reaction?

What do I need when I feel this way?

Have I felt this way before?

You can also try writing in the diary by keeping time. Write a sentence such as “I feel unhappy” or “I feel very angry”. Set your watch for two minutes and write down everything in your life that relates to these feelings. Don’t stop to change your feelings and judge. For now she just named her feelings.

• Learn to recognize cognitive distortions that may be making you overly sensitive.

   Cognitive distortions are unhelpful habits of thinking and reacting that your brain learns over time. You can learn to recognize and counteract these distortions as they arise.

   Cognitive distortions do not usually occur alone. As you explore your thought pattern, you may realize that some of these distortions occur in response to a single emotion or event. Taking the time to thoroughly review your reactions will help you understand what will help you and what will not.

• Recognize and challenge customization.

   Personalization is a very familiar distortion that can cause extreme emotional sensitivity. When you personalize, you hold yourself accountable for things that have nothing to do with you or things you can’t control. You can also “personalize” and take on things that were not directed at you.

   For example, if the child gets a negative comment from the teacher for his or her behavior, you might think that the criticism is personalized and directed at you: Melisa’s teacher thinks I am a bad father! How dare he insult my paternity?” This comment may cause you to have an overly emotional response, as you perceive criticism as blame.

   Instead, try to look at it logically (it takes practice to do this, so be patient with yourself). Discover what it really is and what you know about it. For example, if Melisa’s teacher sent home a note about her being more careful in class, that doesn’t mean she’s accusing you of being a “bad” parent. This note informs you about helping your child do better in school. This is an opportunity for improvement; it is not something to be ashamed of.

• Be aware of judgment without understanding and challenge it.

   Judging without understanding is very similar to emotional reasoning. When you judge without listening, you make the mistake of making a negative comment with no reality to support your interpretation. In extreme cases, you can make the situation seem like a disaster by letting your thoughts spiral out of control until you find the worst-case scenario possible.

   “Mind-reading” is a form of judgment without understanding that can contribute to emotional sensitivity. When you read minds, you think people are reacting negatively to something that has to do with you, even though you have no evidence.

For example, you may think your partner is ignoring you when you don’t respond to a question about what he wants to have for dinner. You don’t have any proof that this is the case, but this hasty comment may cause you to be offended or even angry.

Making predictions about the future is also a way of making judgments without any other understanding. This happens when he makes a prediction that things will turn out badly without any basis in mind. For example, at work, you might not even propose a new project, assuming your boss won’t accept it.

   The most extreme form of judgment without understanding occurs when you “catastrophize” situations. For example, you may think that your spouse is angry with you when you do not receive a response to your message. Without understanding or listening, you may get the idea that he doesn’t actually love you anymore, but avoids talking to you because he’s hiding the truth. You may think that your relationship is over and that you will have to live alone in your mother’s basement. Although this is an extreme example, it illustrates the logical leaps that can occur if you do not prevent yourself from coming to conclusions without understanding.

Take Action

• Meditate

   Meditating, especially mindfulness meditation, can help you control your reactions to your emotions. This may even help improve your brain’s response to things that cause stress. Mindfulness focuses on understanding and accepting your feelings right away without judgment.   This is very helpful in overcoming emotional sensitivity. You can attend meditation classes, try online guided meditation, or learn to do mindfulness meditation on your own.

   Find a quiet environment where you will not be interrupted or distracted in any way. Sit upright on the floor or in a chair with a flat recline. Slouching makes it difficult to breathe properly.

   Start by focusing on one element of your breathing, such as the feeling of your chest rising and falling or the sound of your breathing. Focus on this element for a few moments while breathing deeply and regularly.

   Expand your focus to include more of your senses. For example, start focusing on what you hear, smell, and touch. This will help you keep your eyes closed as we tend to be easily distracted visually

• Learn to communicate assertively.

   Sometimes people become overly emotional because they cannot openly express their needs and feelings to other people. When you are overly passive in communication, you find it difficult to say “no” and do not express your thoughts and feelings openly and honestly. Learning assertive communication helps you communicate your needs and feelings to other people, which can make you heard and valued.

   Use “I” statements when expressing your feelings. For example, use phrases such as “I’m offended you’re late for our appointment” or “I prefer to leave early to go to my appointments because I get nervous when I think I might be late”. It doesn’t sound like you’re blaming the other person, and it draws attention to your feelings.

• Avoid acting before you calm down.

   Your emotions can affect your reaction to events. Acting while under the influence of a certain emotion can cause you to do things that you will later regret. Give yourself some time, even a few minutes, before reacting to a situation that causes you a great emotional reaction.

• Treat yourself and others with compassion.

   You may find that you avoid situations that stress you out and make you feel bad because of your emotional sensitivity. You may think that every mistake made in a relationship ruins the relationship, so you may avoid establishing relationships altogether, or you may only have superficial relationships. Treat other people (and yourself) with compassion. Think about the best thing about people, especially people who know you. If your feelings are hurt, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s intentional: Recognize that everyone, including your friends and loved ones, can make mistakes.

• Try to get professional help if needed.

   Sometimes you may not be able to handle it, even if you do your best to manage your emotional sensitivity. Working with a mental health professional can help you explore your feelings and reactions in a safe and supportive space. A trained counselor or therapist can help you find unhelpful ways of thinking and give you new skills in managing your emotions in a healthy way.

Author: Mr. Article

All rights of this article belong to www.pophaber.com

Bu Makale İngilizce Dil Eğitimine Katkı Sunmak Adına Yayınlanmıştır.

Bu Makalenin Türkçe Çevirisini Okumak İçin TIKLAYIN!