Interactions with others and just being in social situations can be challenging for those of us who are highly sensitive.
Although sensitivity is not the same thing as introversion or shyness, these experiences can interact with each other.
For more, see my post: Shyness, Introversion, Sensitivity – What’s the Difference?
Actor Scarlett Johansson has commented: “I think I was born with a great awareness of my surroundings and an awareness of other people… Sometimes that awareness is good, and sometimes I wish I wasn’t so sensitive.”
[From post Sensitive to others but staying safe.]
In her article Highly Sensitive People – Sounds, Smells and Sentiments, psychologist Susan Meindl notes that some highly sensitive people are extroverts.
“Usually these are people who have grown up in supportive extended families where social interaction was a source of comfort and the family ‘ran interference’ protecting them from over-stimulation and anxiety until they had the skills to manage the world themselves.
“They still typically report needing a lot of ‘down time’ to recuperate after social encounters.”
But, she adds, “Highly sensitive children born into less supportive families which do not recognize their special vulnerability and protect them often grow up to be anxious, withdrawn or emotionally avoidant.”
Those are more reasons to take emotional care of yourself – choosing, as much as you can, friends and work situations where you can flourish as a highly sensitive person.
Read more: Relationships and highly sensitive people
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