SUPERPOWER SENSITIVES
They’re the ones who can read the room in an instant. With just one glance they can pick up on the subtlest of body language or emotional nuances. They feel colours, are overwhelmed by smells and lights, and can tell when a thunderstorm is coming or if it’s going to rain. Highly sensitive people often say they are overwhelmed by their senses, but far from it being a flaw, researchers now say that the 20 per cent of the population with this ability should see it as a superpower.
High sensitivity is something you are born with, and it means you are simply more supercharged to understand the world – and people – around you. It crosses gender, culture, and nationality and helps you pick up on the subtleties that others miss. Psychologist Dr Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person, describes it in our feature on page 46 as ‘a primal kind of survival skill that involves being hyper-observant’.
So along with noticing the light is changing – indicating a storm is on its way – or a momentary grimace on a colleague’s face during a meeting – people who are hypersensitive are also assets to teams and companies.
‘Every business needs highly sensitive people on their payroll,’ says Elaine. They pay attention to details and are in tune with colleagues and clients. They can also spot the big picture, and so can see all possible outcomes of a decision. If businesses tapped into that, they could gauge markets and trends and assess big mergers and moves. And as friends or family, who better than a highly sensitive person with their incredibly loving and supportive nature?
Elaine says that these are the ‘tribe’ who make the world a better place, so seek out your highly sensitive friend, colleague or member of family and let them know how much you appreciate them this Diwali. They’ll be overly excited!
Happy Diwali,
HIGH SENSITIVITY is something you are BORN with, and it means you are simply more supercharged to UNDERSTAND the WORLD – and people – around you. It crosses gender, CULTURE, and nationality