Am I hypersensitive? | Five things to know about hypersensitivity

In a new book where his research on the subject is tied up, the philosopher Fabrice Midal dissects the characteristics of hypersensitivity, an elusive personality trait. Above all, he invites people who recognize themselves in these portraits to assume themselves as such; himself admitting to this species, a revelation that freed him from much torment. Among the countless facets covered in the book, here are five that caught our attention.

Sylvain Sarrazin
The Press

A difficult concept to define

What is a hypersensitive? Huge question. There would be as many hypersensitivities as hypersensitives, suggests Fabrice Midal, who tries to trace some characteristic traits, such as a more acute, marked and striking capture of his environment, causing discomfort in the face of rapidly excessive stimuli. : the hypersensitive person is quickly overwhelmed by an overflow of emotions, thoughts, noise, empathy, social interactions, which can cause overreactions, but above all a different and very enriching reading of the world, placing hypersensitive people out of step with social norms.

For him, hypersensitivity has gone through history wearing various masks and pseudonyms: “flayed”, “nervous”, “melancholic”… And if science has not yet clearly demonstrated the concept, the works of the researcher in psychochemistry Francis Taulelle or the neuropsychologist Antonio Damasio can provide us with leads, in particular thanks to medical imaging. The first assumes, for example, the greater development of “emotion receptors” in certain individuals, while the second revealed the presence of “somatic markers” in the brain, with emotional traces of experience reactivated during our daily activities.

Ignore or deny, a bad idea

If there is one central point of the book, it is this: to repress or deny one’s own hypersensitivity amounts to poisoning – not to say imprisoning – one’s life. The philosopher insists on the turning point constituted by the awareness of this character trait in him, and on the way in which he diverted into strength and joy what is generally presented as a weakness.

He therefore invites the readers concerned to recognize themselves and to take responsibility for themselves, and to smash any possible “false self”, a social shell tailored to fit social norms. This acceptance, however, is not a magic wand; it must operate throughout a lifetime and pushes to find ways to integrate into all its facets and challenges.

hypersensitive heroes

What do Spider-Man, Marcel Proust and the Norse god Odin have in common? All sport faces of hypersensitivity. The list drawn up by Midal could go on for miles, also including Aristotle or Jesus Christ.

Entire chapters are also devoted to the relationship between heroism and hypersensitivity, developing the astonishing example of Lucky Luke. He sees a solitary cowboy, but always quick to lend a hand (or a gun) to others, sometimes yielding to volcanic emotional reactions when he is stung, despite his false air of calm and phlegm.

Spider-Man is also part of the web depicted by the author: he would constitute a vibrant metaphor for hypersensitivity and the “superpowers” it can grant, such as very sharp senses, symbolizing the “overdeveloped antennae” with which would be equipped the hypersensitive.

Luxury, calm and voluptuousness

Grand banquets, constant television sound, inconspicuous neighbours, rumors of road traffic… many sound sources quickly become a nuisance for the hypersensitive, while ordinary mortals manage to worry about it like the year 40, not worrying about it. not even asking the question of their existence. This is a characteristic that is frequently found in theHomo hypersensibilis, eager for silence, while the latter is almost perceived as unhealthy in our societies: it is associated with boredom, death, cold, loneliness.

Another aspect: even if they remain important for a large part of the population, and corroborated by scientific studies and the biophilia movement, the benefits of reconnecting with nature are not simply an aspiration for the hypersensitive; it is, so to speak, a vital need.

figures and beings

Approximately 15% to 20% of individuals correspond to this profile. Am I hypersensitive? warns, however, against statistics and tests of all kinds that tend to create rigid categories, such as IQ tests or the establishment of “averages”. In fact, the book questions the concept of normality and dwells on the reasons why highly sensitive people are often relegated to the rank of “social misfits”. “The norm has become madness… the hypersensitive are particularly victims of it. He feels abnormal when he is simply another normal – we are all, in our own way, “other normals”. He is, in reality, the prisoner of a social lie. What to do to face the tyranny of Mr. Medium? The answers are in the book.

A free videoconference on the theme of hypersensitivity hosted by Fabrice Midal and author Nicole Bordeleau will be held on February 11 on Facebook.

Am I hypersensitive?

Fabrice Midal

Editorial

292 pages