This week, in Le Club Bonheur, we had the pleasure of welcoming Saverio Tomasella , psychoanalyst, author and doctor in psychopathology and human sciences.
During this interview, he talks to us about hypersensitivity , how to recognize it, how to welcome it and how to make it an asset, in particular through different exercises or eating tips to learn to better welcome your emotions.
What is hypersensitivity?
Hypersensitivity is defined as a higher than average sensitivity. This concerns 30% of the population (adults and children over 10 years old). In reality, all children are born ultra sensitive. Our society, our culture, prohibits us from expressing our sensitivity, which makes us less sensitive adults.
How to recognize hypersensitivity?
Hypersensitivity manifests itself in 4 poles:
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That of sensations : a person who may be bothered by noises, lights, smells, certain tastes, scratchy labels, etc.
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That of emotions: person with emotions stronger than average, but also more varied, and who can sense the emotions of others.
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That of thought : person who thinks a lot, who reflects a lot, who can doubt and who is a perfectionist.
- That of hyperstimulation : a person sensitive to stimuli (sensory, emotional, cognitive), who tires more quickly, who needs rest when doing several things at once, quickly impacted by too much information.
Most hypersensitive people pay attention to the smallest details and are extremely meticulous.
The perception of hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity has long been seen as a source of suffering. However, the latest studies show that 50% of hypersensitive people experience their hypersensitivity well compared to 50% who say they experience it poorly.
Those who experience it well have 3 very strong qualities: a sense of empathy, a very strong intuition and are very creative. These people are called the ultra sensitive , they have found how to live well with their hypersensitivity.
While people who have difficulty coping with their hypersensitivity are called hypersensitive . They feel out of step with those around them, as abnormal, and sometimes even devalued, suffering often induced by those around them.
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Saverio's advice and exercises
Accept this reality as a deep nature, a temperament even deeper than character. The person who suppresses his emotions and who cuts himself off from part of his sensitivity later regrets it.
However, when the time is not ideal (at the office, for example), become aware of your emotion and express it later. Go home, write, draw, then when the big one has left, the next day, the day after, tell the person what is important to you without too much emotion.
Some exercises:
- Write, have an emotion box : write/draw your emotion, what comes to you, crumple the paper and put it in the box. This allows you to get rid of the emotion through an action, the emotion needing the body to discharge itself.
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Return to the body and feel what is happening in the body : feel what the emotion produces physically in me (dry throat, knotted stomach, tingling in the hands). Simple attention in the body after 2-3 minutes allows the brain to regulate and assimilate the emotion.
- Observe your breathing and slow it down : breathe slowly and for a long time (the most important thing is exhalation).
- Being in a new space and getting moving : Leaving the room, taking a walk in the street, 5-10 minutes, changing your arrangement in the space, allows the emotion to calm down.
- Place your elbows on the table , eyes closed in the palms of your hands for 1 to 3 minutes, watching your breathing. 30 seconds with eyes closed.
Saverio also advises paying attention to your diet and ideally taking food supplements for good intestinal functioning.
To finish, Saverio took part in our little game of quick questions and quick answers, the “ Tonic Quiz ”. Here are his tips and recommendations:
- A book to recommend : “ On edge ”, by Saverio Tomasella
- A place to fully experience your sensitivity : The great outdoors, the forest
- A particularly sensitive food : Sweet potato and spices
- A sentence to repeat to yourself : “I love myself, I love myself very much”
- A gesture to do every morning : Rub your hands to circulate the energy and then place them on your face
- Next person to interview : Elise Bouskila, life coach
- One last piece of advice : “Take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones”
If you liked this episode, find Saverio on his Instagram account @saveriotomasella and in many podcasts. Saverio is also the author of several works, notably “ À fleur de peau ”, published by Leduc.S and “ Attention Coeurs Fragiles ”, published by Eyrolles .
Very good listening and see you next week for a new episode of Club Bonheur!
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