Handling and Managing Sensitive Emotions

The sensitive personality is very common, usually more common in females than males. It has many positive and negative traits, which we will learn about in this article.

Definition of Sensitive Emotions

They are exaggerated feelings about certain things, places, people, or events. The sensitive personality carries a lot of tenderness and strong feelings, and tends to think more emotionally than others. People who have sensitive feelings are divided into three groups:

The first group

Individuals who are sensitive towards themselves. They are characterized by the following:

1. They often suffer from anxiety or stress and feel anger and resentment towards society or common life situations. They face great difficulty getting rid of these negative thoughts and feelings, and they are always afraid of being rejected, even in the simplest situations.
2. They tend to blame themselves when they do not achieve what they want and always criticize themselves, even if the blame is on others.
3. They compare themselves to others a lot in terms of appearance, work, social status, or financial condition and feel resentful as a result.
4. They often suffer from physical symptoms, such as an eating or sleeping disorder, fatigue, insomnia, or a headache, when they go through a bad situation. They may suffer from all these symptoms combined.

The second group

Individuals who are sensitive to others. They are characterized by the following:

1. They often feel embarrassed in social situations and are unable to act normally or as themselves; they feel shy in emotional or intimate situations; and they are irrationally afraid of disapproval or criticism of their emotional partner.
2. They are easily provoked and react quickly if they are insulted or if they think that someone is insulting them, because their feelings are hurt very easily. They find it very difficult to ignore the offense, even if it is minor and can be overlooked. It is difficult for them to take criticism, even if it is constructive and logical, and they often feel that others are being critical without justification for this feeling.
3. They often hide their negative feelings and believe that it is weak and embarrassing to admit them, so they keep them inside.

The third group

Individuals who are sensitive towards their society, environment, or surroundings. They are characterized by the following:

1. They feel uncomfortable in large gatherings of individuals or areas where many people are conversing with one another. They get upset when several things happen at the same time.
2. They feel uncomfortable when exposed to bright lights, loud sounds, or even when they smell strong, tingling odors.
3. They are afraid of sudden sounds, movement in quiet times, or fast traffic.
4. They become sad and resentful when hearing bad news, even if it is not related to them, or when reading news or seeing people's posts on social media.

Positive traits of a sensitive person

1. They hate violence or cruelty, so they are greatly affected when someone is abused in front of them and they feel bad hearing heartbreaking stories and incidents. Often, they cannot watch scary, bloody, and terrifying movies, and they are affected by cruelty to animals and consider them to be brutal acts.
2. They have a high level of empathy for others, even if it is for a stranger. This makes them very vulnerable to emotional fatigue. They are considered good advisors to those around them.
3. They are greatly influenced in an exaggerated way by beautiful things, like a landscape, a painting, a beautiful song, or even a delicious meal. They get dazzled to the point of shock when no one else feels as strongly about the same things. They are often creative in various forms of art and literature. Most of the writers and poets are sensitive people.
4. They are strongly intuitive and feel for others because they focus on all the details, such as the tone and the eye gaze. They are the first to spot things because of their strong attention.
5. They are sentimental with a lively conscience, as they always do what comforts their conscience.
6. They are peaceful individuals who avoid disagreements and conflicts because they are greatly affected by them. When they have a disagreement with a loved one or experience stress at work, for example, they suffer physically. We find them always keen to please others. Therefore, we can say that they are neutral people in many matters.
7. They scrutinize their past experiences a lot, learn from them, and are keen not to repeat the mistake.

How to control sensitive emotions?

The sensitive personality has numerous benefits, but there are also more drawbacks than advantages, as we have already discussed. These negatives reflect on the sensitive person and those around them because their nature makes their life hard and dealing with them difficult, which limits their ability to practically succeed and their happiness in personal life. Therefore, psychologists recommend controlling these feelings by doing the following:

1. Breathe deeply amid strong emotions

Repeated inhaling and exhaling, ranging from 5 to 10 times, have been proven to be effective in managing the emotional moment. This technique lowers elevated heart rate, particularly while experiencing emotional outbursts (e.g., seeing a loved one with whom you have argued). Breathe deeply until your emotions subside.

2. Move from your place when you get furious

You should concentrate on using all of your senses—not just your intellect. For example, you can get up and walk for a short time. It is better to walk in nature because it has an effective role in calming the nerves. If you have enough time, you can practice yoga because it helps you relax.

3. Help yourself to relax the nervous system

by isolating yourself for a short time and looking in the mirror. When you look at yourself in the mirror, sympathize with it, think about the good things in your life, and accept your current circumstances to regain your positive energy. This method is great when you are under pressure at work or when you get nervous in public gatherings to relieve the stress you feel.

4. Think of a simple sentence that you love

and that gives you positive energy when you feel emotional exhaustion, and repeat it to yourself, such as “This time will pass.” This has a great effect on controlling emotions.

5. Choose an activity that helps you distract yourself

and keeps your mind occupied in a pleasant way, such as reading a new book, learning a new language, or pursuing a hobby you love. These activities reduce the chance of you being subject to your emotions. It is important that the activity you choose has a positive effect on you and does not make you feel stressed.

6. Avoid everything that triggers your feelings as much as possible

When you feel exhausted because of a certain task, you have to change it. When you feel that someone triggers your negative feelings, you should avoid the places where you can encounter them. If you get angry with yourself when you are late for an appointment, for example, or when you fail to do something, you should plan well and organize your time to avoid negative feelings later.

7. Think more rationally

When you think that someone is insulting you, ask yourself first, “Is this really true?” If you feel that someone you are romantically close to will reject you, ask yourself, “Is there any proof?” If you expect that you will fail in a job or a new project, ask yourself, "How can I know without trying? Is success possible without effort and hard work?" This way, you resist your negative feelings and prevent them from controlling you.

8. Deal with your feelings differently

When you get angry, for example, with a colleague at work because they did not complete their work as required, remember that this anger is because of your commitment and love for your work and your keenness on the success of your company. When you get sad because you see someone you are quarreling with, remember that this is because of your great love and sincerity; hence, you are a very good person, but the other person did not appreciate that so your relationship ended.

9. Refrain from becoming consumed by other people's issues

It is nice to help others and listen to their concerns, but make priority for yourself. If you are sad to hear about other people’s problems and this causes you nervous exhaustion, then you should put a barrier between you and other people’s problems and avoid listening to their concerns. You can tell your friend that you love talking to them but you are mentally exhausted and can't hear their problems or give them advice.

10. Focus on the present moment

instead of constantly thinking about the past, because you cannot change it or recover the opportunities or people you lost. Remember that disasters and the deaths of loved ones are part of life that cannot be escaped.

So you must focus on the present moment, starting with focusing on the five senses. Look at what you see accurately and feel what you smell, taste, hear, and touch, as this makes you feel very integrated with the current reality.

11. Get at least eight hours of sleep every day

to ensure that you wake up energized and ready to carry out your daily tasks with great energy. When your body gets enough rest, it makes you calmer and more emotionally stable during the day. This helps you to think more rationally, away from the control of your sensitive feelings. It reduces your nervousness towards the situations you are exposed to or the news you hear from others.

12. Avoid ways of calming feelings or relieving grief

such as alcohol, drugs, and even sedatives, because they are bad in the long run. Rather, you must maintain your physical health, face your grief, accept your circumstances, face the problems and pressures of life, work hard to solve them, and strive for the better in your life.

13. Embrace who you are

don't give up your rights to appease others, and get over your shyness or fear of other people or situations. To assert your rights, you must therefore be fearless, because people with sensitive personalities tend to be weak and reluctant to face others and assert their rights.

It is also necessary to boost your self-confidence, admit your mistakes, and apologize to those you have wronged, because an apology is a strength, not a weakness. We can all make mistakes, so learn to forgive others for their mistakes.

14. Avoid isolation

as it can lead to mental health issues and a negative outlook, making you more sensitive towards your surroundings. Therefore, it is important to develop social relationships and engage with your surroundings more.

In conclusion

Feelings and emotions play a big role in our lives; they are neither a concern nor a burden. All we have to do is understand our feelings and manage them when they surface so that they do not control our minds; rather, we have to achieve balance between our mind and our emotions in all aspects of our lives.