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Hypersensitivity is now a mass phenomenon
Loud noises, bright colors, touches or voices: Every day we are literally "flooded" with innumerable stimuli. While some get along well with this, others react extremely to the excess of sensory impressions and find this very stressful. In this case, experts speak of high sensitivity - but this is not a disease, but rather a disposition of the nervous system, explains the psychological counselor Brigitte Küster on the news platform "20minuten".
More responsive to stimuli
"The alarm riples you abruptly from sleep, the ringing feels like a knife that drilled in the head. You open your eyes, the sun is burning brightly on your retina [...]. "This is how Brigitte Küster, herself affected, describes her normal everyday life with her high sensitivity. People who suffer from this phenomenon react much more intensely and more intensively to stimuli than the average. While there is no clear and accepted scientific definition of "hypersensitivity" yet, many sufferers report the effects - such as low exposure - that result in high sensitivity to them. Also Michael Jack from Dortmund, describes in a message from the news agency dpa his experiences and problems and how to deal with the phenomenon.
More and more people are suffering from noise, stress and pressure to perform. Image: Artem Furman - fotolia Around 20 percent of the people affected
He found it always extremely exhausting when he used to go to the disco with his school friends. "I could stand it for five minutes without earplugs, and no more than 30 minutes with earplugs," says Jack. The loud music, the babble of voices and the glaring lights were just too much for him. "I always had the feeling that something was wrong with me". This feeling only gets a name years later. Since he was already a law student. At that time, he tried to find out on the internet, why he was so busy with events with many people or conversations with loud background music, but his fellow students apparently not.
In his research, he came across the term "high sensitivity". It was coined by American psychologist Elaine Aron, who published her first study on the subject in 1997. According to her theory, up to 20 percent of people perceive sensations more intensely and intensively than the average.
"Very good sense of interpersonal tension"
As the psychologist Hedi Friedrich from Frankfurt said, this can be expressed in very different ways. The expert has been dealing with the topic for many years and among other things also offers discussion groups for the highly sensitive. This makes it too loud for some, while others find it difficult to block out noise in the environment, for example from telephone colleagues.
Others, on the other hand, have a particularly sensitive nose, do not tolerate scratchy clothing on the skin, or are more sensitive to pain. In many cases, the senses are sharpened for signals that are invisible at first glance: "Many highly sensitive individuals have a very good sense of interpersonal tension, analyze themselves and others very accurately, and are valued for their empathy and compassion."
Perception of perception - no illness
According to Friedrich, however, sensitivity is not a disease, but a gift of perception. However, the consequences of the sharpened senses made many sufferers to create. Because without rest periods tired of the constant input body and soul. In addition, those affected by the constant avoidance of crowds easily become outsiders. "You put yourself under constant pressure and try to adapt. This will put you in situations that do you no good, "explained Michael Jack.
Peter Falkai from the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Munich also regards the high sensitivity as a personality trait. In his opinion, "neurological peculiarities" are responsible for the fact that more information than otherwise unfiltered reaches the brain. As a result, the memory is full faster, so the physician to the "doctors newspaper".
"Just as certain people are very tall, very intelligent or very shy, these people simply perceive a lot of their environment," explains psychotherapist Esther Huser on the news platform "20minuten". Affected persons should therefore take the responsibility and learn appropriate handling of this characteristic feature, e.g. by providing regular rest periods to process the stimuli. For Michael Jack, too, it had been "existentially liberating" to learn that there was a reason for the feeling of discomfort "and that I could develop strategies against it".
Critics speak of a trend diagnosis
The lawyer Jack, who has a doctorate in law, initiated the information and research network High Sensitivity and is also its president. In addition to the public relations work, it is about initiating research on high sensitivity and networking scientists with each other. In the meantime, there is a whole series of books on the phenomenon of high sensitivity and a few points of contact for anyone seeking advice, but also many voices speaking of a trend diagnosis without a scientific basis. Their argument is that it is a truism, that people process sensory stimuli differently and that an excess of impressions tires. Friedrich explained that it is not easy to make other people understand what high sensitivity means: "Does that mean that I am insensitive?" Is then often heard as a reaction. Highly sensitive people would quickly be labeled as thin-skinned and sensitive. Their particular strengths and abilities, however, would easily be overlooked, since many highly sensitive people are rather reserved.
Questionnaires are based on self-assessment
"So far, there is a lack of scientifically proven diagnostic tools," said Sandra Konrad, a psychologist at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg. She is currently preparing several studies on the subject of hypersensitivity as part of her dissertation. The German versions of the questionnaires currently being used were based solely on the self-assessment of those affected and were not scientifically tested. "Here I am trying to remedy the situation." In her opinion, there is a great need for research, since one knows little about the causes and mechanisms of high sensitivity: "Twin studies indicate that it is a genetic peculiarity of the stimulus processing systems ", Konrad says.
For the most sensitive, certain areas of the brain may be more aroused and sensory stimuli more often considered "significant." Michael Jack sees the whole discussion pragmatically: "You can not buy anything for high sensitivity", so a reliable diagnosis would have no immediate consequences, "said the Dortmunder. "But the term can help those affected shape their life more according to their predisposition - and also benefit from the positive side of sensitivity." (Ad)