Sensitive
What is it to be sensitive (as a person, i mean)?
The first thought that comes to many is to be soft, and weak (my feeling on this is that there is an inverse ratio between the level of this belief and the level of sensitivity in the person manifesting this opinion).
if our vision is 20/20, a measured level of focal sensitivity, then our eyes are considered strong ('strong' just for sake of maintaining the semantic flow. nobody really says they have strong eyes). Same goes with all the senses, though i'm unsure how to apply this to tactile response. Usually we think of feeling, i think, as an emotional or spiritual aspect, not the literal physical interpretation, but if these levels of sensory irritability and accuracy apply to the other senses, wouldn't it also apply to this?
Point is, more sensitivity equates to a stronger aspect.
i was going to shoot from the hip on this stuff, using what bits and pieces i've hoarded into the landfill between my ears, but wanting to error check my acronyms and such, i learned far more than i expected. as usual.
Psychologist and author Dr. Elaine Aron, in 1996 wrote a celebrated book called 'The Highly Sensitive Person'. I have not read this book, as i've just moments ago become aware of it (though i've probably seen her name and work referenced before by a brilliant mystic somewhere, and forgot).
The Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP (not to be confused with Henoch-Schonlein Purpura, a disease involving inflammation of small blood vessels, most commonly occurring in children), is at the extreme end of what Dr. Aron coins as Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). This is described as a temperamental or personality trait involving "an increased sensitivity of the central nervous system and a deeper cognitive processing of physical, social and emotional stimuli". (I'm glad i googled).
Apparently, and this is one very large double scoop of duh to the highly sensitive, HSP folks (and there are tests to qualify this, including typing within the spectrum) are far more susceptible to pretty much every mental and emotional malady on the menu. Depression, anxiety, et al.
When folks discuss this aspect of themselves, in my experience (though admittedly limited), it has always been female folks. I have read Alanis speak on it, in pride and dismay, as well as other beloved muses.
Men, or at the very least American men, do not speak on such stuff. Alpha males do not display weakness, and what American dude doesn't consider himself Alpha? This is, of course, a generalization. I have known many men that are/were a-ok with sharing their soft, but the ratio is abyssal.
Regarding Alpha...
To be Alpha in our culture is no longer defined by physicality. Technology and economic structure have changed what enables one to be a potent provider and protector. The brilliant Michio Kaku points out in 'Physics of the Impossible' that technology alone has fully leveled the playing field regarding Alpha; the least physically enabled human can command and control the same amount of horsepower as the strongest, quickest athlete, and the softest hands can squeeze a trigger. This applies to all gender polarities, races, and nationalities. It's simple physics, but try convincing the bearded brute at the gym 5 days a week of this. it won't work (probably).
Back to sensitivity...
Just for quick summary; to be highly sensitive is to sense and process more stimuli. the general concept of weakness (though i disagree with these semantics), relative to these hyper levels, can only be defined as an inability to create coping mechanisms, and be substantially disabled by everyday life. The HSP individual that can face each day head-on is probably the strongest type of person there is.
HSP folk suffer great damage, and bathe in joy, often simultaneously. Bipolar disorder is not uncommon with HSP. Ever see someone (or yourself) cry happy tears then somehow weep sadness?
I took this piece up not to define this aspect of sensitivity but to suggest what it is like to interact with a person of hyper-sensitivity.
To the highly sensitive, every eye contact is meaningful, every word carries weight, good and bad. All anger, threatening; every dance, an invite. If you tell someone like this that you love them, you better mean it, because that arrow flies deep and true. If you call them stupid, they will never forget. if you tell them that they are great, they will never forget. If you catch their fall once, you have saved them forever. If you sing a song of them once, they will carry it inside for the rest of their lives.
To the highly sensitive, all things have power. tread lightly, this gentle meadow.
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