Research about high sensitivity seems to be only decades old though remnants of the idea can be found in earlier history. Studies conducted and information gathered by select professionals like Dr. Elaine Aron and Dr.Ted Zeff give comfort to a growing number (an estimated 15-20%) of awakened sensitives. Sensitives are people born with an evolved nervous system which affects all aspects of life. Not only does the nervous system affect the body leaving many sensitive to light, touch, taste, sound, etc but also immensely affects the mind. Sensitives take in ten times the amount of information than a non-sensitive when introduced to the same situation. As you can imagine this all has great potential to overwhelm and leave these sensitive people in fragile emotional states which they are often recognized and ridiculed for by those closest to them. I (luckily) came upon this information when I researched “too emotional” on Google during one of my episodes of deep devastation. This is the first site I found and I completely identified with it- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roya-r-rad-ma-psyd/highly-sensitive-people_b_1286508.html. Along with psychological traits, I have had ongoing unexplainable (until now) physical phenomena. I’ve seen 3 doctors about the swollen turbinates in my nasal cavities I’ve had ever since I can remember and although they found a high level of histamine in my blood, they could not find an allergy to anything specific. The specialist concluded my sinuses are “sensitive”. I also have a swollen lymph node that has been since childhood. Many tests were taken for that, all inconclusive. I require at least 9 hours of sleep a day to feel rested, my digestion is poor on a regular basis, and my pupils are often very dilated.
Beside difficulty, there are also wonderful gifts associated with being sensitive like a strong intuition to guide you away from harm, creativity that provides many possibilities in life, the ability to empathize and give others true understanding and love along with many more I have yet to uncover. Since this discovery I have found a huge community on the web (and even a group of 46 who meet up in Minnesota!) who share shockingly similar philosophies and stories to mine. From their stories I’ve come to feel extremely blessed for having made this discovery at the young age of 23, when I have plenty of time to adjust, learn to cope, and develop my gifts.
I do believe I have a life purpose and responsibility. We all do. The variance in trait combinations we see from person to person makes us a perfect match to a job to do as unique as we are. Life is all about finding it. The more you know yourself, the closer you are. Now that I know about my sensitivity, obstacles that were once in my way on the right path will be much more manageable for me to overcome.
For more information regarding high sensitivity, please visit these resources:
http://www.hsperson.com/
http://www.sensitiveperson.com/attribts.htm
http://profoundhealingforsensitives.com/