You feel everything too strongly: a sudden noise makes you jump, a scene of injustice upsets you for days. Many people today speak of hypersensitivity, sometimes wrongly. Studies estimate that between 15 and 20% of the population have this temperament, or several million people in France. Without saying yet if this is your case.
This concept was described by American psychologists Elaine and Arthur Aron. For psychologist Johanna Rozenblum, “However, emotional hypersensitivity is neither a disorder nor a pathology. It is rather a temperament, a singularity, a way of being in the world”, she confided to us. It remains to identify the concrete signs that match what psychology and neuroscience show.
Hypersensitivity, a very reactive nervous system
A pioneer on the subject, Elaine Aron described four key dimensions of high sensitivity: depth of processing, overload, strong emotional reactivity, and attention to subtle details. Amélie Boukhobza, clinical psychologist, recalls: “It means living with a nervous system that is more reactive than average. Which implies more intense experiences… but also more tiring.”
In everyday life, many talk about overwhelming sensations.
“Bright lights, loud noises, strong smells… Everyday life can quickly become an overload for the hypersensitive,”
confides Amélie Boukhobza. It also evokes a hyper-perception of emotions: “Capturing the emotional nuances that others do not perceive is one of the key signs to identify”she says. “Thus, the slightest change in tone, outlook, atmosphere does not go unnoticed. The person concerned analyzes a lot, feels quickly, absorbs without always succeeding in establishing distance.”
Five concrete signs of hypersensitivity validated by research
The way of thinking is a benchmark: “Research also shows a greater depth of information processing. Highly sensitive people think longer, come across more details, which explains why they are sometimes perceived as ‘slow’ or ‘too complicated’. Whereas they simply observe more parameters than the average,” remarks the expert again. Also come emotions that overflow: “In hypersensitive people, emotional reactions are amplified. Good news can cause an inner excitement that is difficult to contain. Conversely, a trivial reproach can take on a completely disproportionate magnitude”, she warns.
Many describe a keen sense of right and wrong, both at work and in private life. Studies find this profile: “They react strongly to injustice, dishonesty or non-compliance with implicit rules. Which sometimes complicates social relations,” says the specialist. For Amélie Boukhobza, these different clues “allows us to better understand how this works. And no, not everyone is hypersensitive!”
You recognize yourself in these signs: what to do with your hypersensitivity?
When this sensitivity interferes with sleep, relationships or work, a discussion with a doctor or psychologist helps to put words into words and adapt your daily life.
“In summary, hypersensitivity is neither a fault nor a quality to brandish. It is not always a pleasure, but it is not a burden either. It is rather a way of being in the world, with its riches and its vulnerabilities… and understanding how it works already allows us to begin to make it a strength rather than a permanent injury”, concludes Amélie Boukhobza.