The Difference Between Being Highly Sensitive And Hypersensitive

Although very often these two terms are confused or understood in the same way, being highly sensitive and being hypersensitive are two very different things:

• Hypersensitivity corresponds to emotional fragility, to the delicacy of feelings;
• High sensitivity is a biological predisposition that allows you to identify some sensations more easily.

An example of a hypersensitive person is a co-worker who once misinterpreted a gesture of yours and, in addition to being angry and having a scene, even complained to the boss. Conversely, a highly sensitive person, when something negative happens, usually cares more about the other person’s reaction.

Biology Vs Emotions

As we said earlier, high sensitivity is a biological predisposition. This means that, in reality, it has little to do with emotions.

As with other biological factors, high sensitivity is very complex and does not depend only on the environment in which we grow up. We can be highly sensitive, but we cannot be hypersensitive. In the first case, it is often very difficult for someone to be able to hurt our feelings, if we have good emotional skills.

The idea that highly sensitive people are able to sense the mood of others is also true. This can help them harm others if they want to, but it has nothing to do with whether it is easy or difficult to emotionally manipulate or harm them. If they have developed positive emotional skills, they can be very helpful people to their friends and family.

A hypersensitive person, on the other hand, usually becomes hypersensitive due to certain experiences or teachings. If she hasn’t gotten emotional support to make her a strong person and she doesn’t have the skills to deal with the outside world, she will always be influenced by the opinion she believes others have of her.

Features

Since it can be difficult to distinguish hypersensitive from highly sensitive people, here are some of their main characteristics.

Hypersensitive people:

• They are insecure, because they cannot correctly distinguish when someone is attacking them and when they are just making a comment, without the will to attack them.

• Very often they are unable to manage their emotions. This leads them to repress what they feel, until the moment they can’t stand it anymore and they burst.

• They may use negative strategies, such as emotional blackmail and verbal aggression, all in order to feel superior.

• They are very sensitive about what others do or say.

• They had negative experiences in childhood and adolescence, and they did not get over them. These experiences could range from parental divorce to overprotection, from bullying to domestic violence.

Highly sensitive people:

• They have a great capacity for empathy. While this seems like a positive trait, it can be very confusing for them if they haven’t had a good emotional upbringing.

• They can emotionally distance themselves from those around them. This especially happens when they haven’t learned not to get too involved. All the emotions they experience, therefore, make them feel confused and clouded.

• They are very intuitive with everything around them. From people to animals or appliances, they are able to understand everything very easily.

• They prefer solitary activities, because they focus better on their goals. In addition, when they work in groups, they may feel more stressed if they have not learned to manage their high sensitivity.

• They are great observers. If you have highly sensitive friends, they will certainly be the first to notice any changes. Whether it’s your room, your mood or your appearance, a highly sensitive person will see that change right away.

What do they have in common?

One thing hypersensitive and highly sensitive people have in common is that they can learn to be stronger. Remember that even if we can’t change our genetics, we can learn skills that make us better people.

Although hypersensitive people have a hard time distinguishing certain emotions or intentions, they have a great ability to understand stimuli that other people don’t even notice. In fact, our emotional education must always be the one that best suits us.

One method that always works, for example, is to simply talk to people around them. Whether you are a hypersensitive person or a highly sensitive person, dialogue can help them understand others better. If this method doesn’t work, psychological therapy can be another solution. Thanks to the advice of the psychologist, in fact, it is possible to learn vital behaviors to live with the people around us.