Sensitivity

[Gaze]

Is your sensitivity a strength or weakness in your view?

Do you feel it is something to be ashamed of?

When someone confuses sensitivity to others' feelings with oversensitivity, how do you respond?

Do you care what others think about your sensitivity? Why or why not?

What are the pros and cons of emotional sensitivity?

 

[endersgone]

1. Both

2. At times yes...blasted social "norms".

3. Sometimes, I put up a front/facade - a weak one at that

4. Yes

5. Pros - being sensitive/compassionate allows me to form deep emotional connections with a few select people (which I really enjoy/appreciate) - I can more easily sympathize with others' problems - Good at solving relationship issues/problems... when they're not my own.

Cons - It's not normal for males to be sensitive (we have to hide this side most of the time). -Being emotionally vulnerable, there's some serious lows with those highs. - Crying (which goes back to con #1) - Inability to let go/holding grudges or being clingy

 

[Gaze]

5. Pros - being sensitive/compassionate allows me to form deep emotional connections with a few select people (which I really enjoy/appreciate) - I can more easily sympathize with others' problems - Good at solving relationship issues/problems... when they're not my own.

+1

 

[Kgal]

Is your sensitivity a strength or weakness in your view?

My first impulse was to say it's both a strength and a weakness. But when I take the long view (of my life) I find it's a strength. The reason I thought it might be a weakness is because it causes me so much pain at times. Yet that's not a weakness - just a side effect of what it's like to be an INFJ. Sure I've given many people the benefit of the doubt - as it were - and have been taken advantage of. I've learned to adjust to those times. What can one do anyway? I cannot control others actions. And what if the person in front of me needed me to be sensitive and caring for them?

Do you feel it is something to be ashamed of? Absolutely not.

When someone confuses sensitivity to others' feelings with oversensitivity, how do you respond?

I stop for a moment and try to see what they're telling me by claiming I am being overly sensitive. This is good for me and my practice of mindfulness.

[shrug] In all honesty - though - there is no such thing as being "overly" sensitive. People feel what they feel. It's their shit they're going through - right? There is no way I could judge their pain or the circumstances in which they find themselves feeling their pain. We all have our burdens to bear upon our shoulders.

Do you care what others think about your sensitivity? Why or why not?

Nope. For the same reasons as I wrote above.

What are the pros and cons of emotional sensitivity?

It's a fact the human is more healthy - both mind/body/spirit - if allowed to functionally express their emotions. Being a sensitive person encourages others to recognize the importance of validating emotions - in others - and in themselves especially.

This is not to say that one should go around caught up in their emotional drama. One must pay attention to their emotions - fully recognize where(in the mind and the body) it is manifesting itself - and then allow it to unfold without judgment. This is where we learn compassion.

So I suppose a con to emotional sensitivity is those individuals who live only in their emotions without full awareness.

 

[Kgal]

1. Both

2. At times yes...blasted social "norms".

3. Sometimes, I put up a front/facade - a weak one at that

4. Yes

5. Pros - being sensitive/compassionate allows me to form deep emotional connections with a few select people (which I really enjoy/appreciate) - I can more easily sympathize with others' problems - Good at solving relationship issues/problems... when they're not my own.

Cons - It's not normal for males to be sensitive (we have to hide this side most of the time). -Being emotionally vulnerable, there's some serious lows with those highs. - Crying (which goes back to con #1) - Inability to let go/holding grudges or being clingy

Yes. This is a problem for the males in a Western culture.

It wasn't until I had a chance to really know some INFJ males from here that I began to grasp what a dilemma you guys are in. In the beginning I found myself almost resisting the emotional range expressed by one guy - and then it dawned on me - I was clinging to the Alpha male characteristics that had been imprinted on me from society. I am so glad I found this site and had a chance to really get to know some of you.

You guys Rock!

PS. I'd give you a hug....but [MENTION=3096]Stormy1[/MENTION] is holding my reins today. :tongue1:

 

[JGirl]

Is your sensitivity a strength or weakness in your view?

depends on what the sensitivity is...
emotional sensitivity has always been a problem for me, however to be sensitive to other things outside of myself is a real advantage

Do you feel it is something to be ashamed of?

no

When someone confuses sensitivity to others' feelings with oversensitivity, how do you respond?