Do you have anxiety? I do, and I struggle with it every day. Not only do I struggle with it, but it is sometimes made worse with empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and/or share the feelings of another person. I always knew that I really took in other people’s emotions and never understood why until recently. Have you ever heard of a Hyper Sensitive Person (HSP)? Hyper sensitive people pick up on people’s sadness, anger, loneliness and even happiness. Due to having a sensitive nervous system affected by the environment, they pick up on it and feel it ‘for’ the person. Apparently, this is not a disorder or a condition but rather a personality trait. When a person has intensified reactions to their surroundings, it can add more stress and anxiety to the mix.
There are a lot of symptoms if you are looking to be diagnosed but for me, these are the ones that stood out: feelings of overwhelm in crowded places, affected by other people’s moods, avoid violence, feeling drained more than others after spending time with people and sensitivity to certain medications. I finally realised that I get too anxious when I’m around people that are not happy, and my mind doesn’t stop. All I can think about it why is this person sad or angry and how can I help or fix it. Consequentially, I get so affected by my friends or family’s stories as I feel for them when they either complain or vent. Only now do I understand that being an HSP causes me exhaustion too as HSPs process a lot of stimuli and process them more deeply.
The worst part of being an HSP for me is seeing people in pain. My condition was more complicated before but after realising my situation and working on myself, it has become much better. For example, if I see someone in pain, I automatically feel the person’s pain and can eventually pass out from the overload of emotions and stimuli. The most recent experience was when my husband rolled his ankle and I heard it pop, I saw him struggle with the pain and suddenly felt nauseous and then fainted. Can you imagine how that must feel? When I woke up, I was so embarrassed, frustrated and angry with myself. I shouldn’t have felt that way but now I understand myself more and am able to calm my nerves down bore they get the best of me.
Another issue with my HSP is trying too hard to please others. According to my research and cross refencing the data to my situation, I noticed that HSP is an underlying reason to my high levels of concern for others and their welfare. When I see people getting yelled at or being put in an awkward situation, my stress levels increase as I want to save them and defend them, or when I see the news and how children in war zones aren’t getting food, I get depressed and feel an abundance of sadness alongside the guilt for having food while others in need don’t. Moments like those also cause me anxiety and play with my emotions daily.
In conclusion, yes, there is such a thing as hyper sensitivity and it could affect you too. Even if you don’t suffer from HSP and only struggle with a few of the symptoms, just remember to do your research, try to understand yourself and your triggers as well as your symptoms and work on it. They say there is no cure or solution but we as humans were blessed with brains and our brains are here to help. So don’t let your sensitivity, emotions, stress and/or anxiety get the best of you and start working on yourself.
The author is the wellness advocate and influencer @keys2balance.
