When he became aware of his hypersensitivity, about ten years ago, the philosopher and successful writer Fabrice Midal sought to define it and learn to live in harmony with his reality. He is now convinced that it is a gift, an opportunity, and he invites people to discover and live well with this particularity in his new book, Am I hypersensitive?, published by Edito.
In this very interesting book, Fabrice-Midal conducts a personal and historical investigation into the true nature of this character trait. He interviewed dozens of specialists from various disciplines and relied on the most recent scientific discoveries on this subject to better understand the workings of hypersensitivity.
Better still: it gives concrete keys to tame it. Which will be interesting to apply if you feel jostled by an overflow of emotions, different, unable to play the social game. And if you feel guilty for not being zen, calm and reasonable. The author is of the opinion that hypersensitivity can be a real gift, an unrecognized power that can be very useful, instead of being a burden to drag around.
He wanted to write on the subject when he discovered that he was hypersensitive.
“It has changed my life so much! Helped me so much to understand myself, to stop blaming myself. I made a promise to share this treasure with others… and I then embarked on a great investigation to understand the secrets of the brain of a hypersensitive. After five years of work, the book was born! “, he explains by email.
30% of the population
Since he undertook research on the subject, Fabrice Midal discovered that he was far from being the only one to experience this.
“Almost 30% of the population is hypersensitive. And there are also forms of hypersensitivity in certain animals, such as great apes! This is a feature that has deep meaning for the balance of any community! Without hypersensitive people, no society could survive the various dangers. Because hypersensitive people perceive what others do not yet perceive. ! A danger, a new possibility! »
Hypersensitivity can easily be judged and considered a flaw, but it turns out to be an immense quality.
“A hypersensitive has the ability to feel things that others do not feel, do not perceive. This makes them precious beings in all areas. A doctor, a hypersensitive cook will obviously be particularly relevant! he observes. “Hypersensitive people also have a great ability to be empathetic and to promote peace, encounters, harmony! We need a little more! Our world would be better! »
Empathy
Nevertheless, hypersensitivity is not necessarily easy to live with, and even today, certain situations give him a hard time, among others, the fact of being sometimes overwhelmed by his empathy. “The suffering of the other overwhelms me. I am learning to accept being fundamentally human and to welcome my vulnerability. »
Surprisingly, the meditation specialist is of the opinion that the practice of mindfulness is “quite harmful to the hypersensitive”.
He explains why. “Telling a hypersensitive person to calm down, concentrate, clear their mind, all of this seems not only impossible to me, but very guilt-inducing! I believe mindfulness was invented by people who are not at all hypersensitive. I propose other practices that are much more effective and valuable for the hypersensitive. Not trying to be calm or zen, but learning to relate to what we are experiencing, with tenderness, warmth, listening… It is even one of my commitments: to offer appropriate meditations. »
“For a long time I remained a being without a shield, without a filter or protection from the outside world. A lively flayed man on whom the slightest incident had a frontal impact, capable of feeling intense jubilation, a rush of adrenaline at a word, of being affectively, cognitively, sensibly, emotionally upset by an idea. As an adult, I thought I was building a second skin if not a shell. Nevertheless, I continued to feel like a lobster thrown into boiling water. This was before I became aware of my hypersensitivity. »
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