Sensitivity: personality types, their nature and relationships

We are all very different. Each person has his own individual traits, which form his character. Usually with character they are born, but much is formed both in childhood and in youth. Nevertheless, in psychology there is a division into types of accentuation. We will tell you more about this in our material.

Psychologists have long noticed that it is impossible to approach all people with one measure: what one considers normal does not fit into the ideas of the other. Sensitivity is a personality trait that manifests itself in increased sensitivity to certain events., information, experiences peculiar only to this type of personality. Each psychotype has a sensory landmark. Based on the general idea of ​​the difference in psychological types of personality, the world's first typology was created, based on which the doctrine of accentuation is easy. It happened in 1968. The German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard proposed to classify all people into certain types depending on their sensitivity.

The German expert claimed that approximately 50% of the population were accentuates, while the other half were normal people. Thus, Leonhard considered accentuation a certain deviation from the norm, however, in no way preventing a person from living. In 1977, the Soviet psychiatrist Andrei Lichko, taking Leonard's typology as a basis, created his own typology, which was intended to diagnose psychopathy in adolescence.Modern psychiatry defines accentuation as a variant of the norm, but emphasizes that in each case an individual approach and diagnosis are required.

Leonard identified 12 types of accentuation, such as:

• hyperthymic - people who crave activity and activity, constantly need fresh vivid experiences and emotions, great optimists, always oriented towards success;
• dysthymic - types of inhibited, worried, pessimistic, expecting a dirty trick and failure, often appealing to ethical standards;
• affective labile - combines the signs of an optimist and a pessimist, they mutually balance each other well;
• affectively exalted - an exalted person, highly appreciating all the sensual, emotional sphere for them in the first place;

• disturbing - fearful, very timid, not wanting to defend points of view, humble, malleable;
• emotive - a very compassionate, empathic, participating in the experiences of others, gentle and sincere person;
• demonstrative - very self-confident, conceited, boastful, often a liar and a flatterer;
• pedantic - a person who is difficult to make decisions, but very conscientious, a person with high ideals, personal standards and requirements;
• stuck - suspicious, touchy, vulnerable, very conceited with strong and frequent mood swings;
• excitable - A very quick-tempered person driven by instincts.

As for sensitivity, sensitive types usually include disturbing personality types. Once again, look at the presented typology of Leonhard, it will become obvious that sensitive people are very anxious people who are afraid of the new, anxious about the future, often shy and very impressionable, long and painfully experiencing setbacks. These include the stuck, disturbing, and partially dysthymic type of personality accentuation. Does this mean that a sensitive person is sick. Not always, he simply has a special sensitivity, which under adverse circumstances, however, may well become a disease.

A sensitive person can be recognized even in childhood: a sensitivity disorder can manifest itself either in the form of its exacerbation, or in the absence of sensitivity. Anything, or even a whole range of factors, such as heredity, possible organic lesions of brain structures, educational measures used by parents, and also certain age stages of life can affect the formation of sensitivity. Violations can occur at the level of temperament, which, in fact, is only the speed of reactions to the world aroundon nerve pathogens. It follows that sensitivity cannot be considered a disease. Melancholy more often than others are sensitive individuals. Their suspiciousness and anxiety are extremely high.

A sensitive person already in childhood has a tendency to low self-esteem, later it can develop into high self-demands (self-demands) against the background of a lowered level of claims. In most cases, children outgrow this condition without significant consequences. In a very pronounced form, sensitivity becomes psychopathy.

A sensitive person is alarming, and you should not forget about this, building relationships with him, taking such a person to work, entrusting him with something important or urgent. Sensitivity tends to manifest itself especially clearly in certain periods of life, for example, in adolescents. But in the absence of pathology as such, such a person has all chances to get rid of heightened sensitivity over time, which will significantly improve the quality of life of him and his people.If the traits of character accentuation (for example, anxiety or the power of negative reaction to events) are growing and stabilizing, then with a high degree of probability it is still not about sensitivity as such, but about personality disorder. There are two degrees of severity of accentuations in general: explicit and hidden. The first is expressed throughout life, is not compensated. The second is a variant of the norm, there is a likelihood of compensation and the disappearance of symptoms.

In children, sensitivity is usually observed as early as 2 years and a little older. Kids with increased sensitivity are very shy, more shy than their peers, they are incredibly impressionable in the most insignificant, everyday situations, timid. Often children with sensitivity feel insolvent, an inferiority complex begins to emerge. They experience trouble and grief for a long time, constantly mentally returning to unpleasant memories. They have psychological barriers in communicating with other people. Often such children prefer a solitary game to a noisy children’s team, they very clearly and quickly feel the mood of others, pay attention even to their slight fluctuations in one direction or another.

An adult sensitive person, regardless of gender and age, always evaluates speech, the behavior of another person, he very intuitively feels other people, their mood and condition at the moment. For them there are no unimportant details - in clothes, hair, work - in absolutely everything, a man and a woman with sensitivity will show special abilities. They were given a rare flair by nature: they can predict in advance the thoughts and feelings of other people, often they know how another will act in a given situation.

In short, the described model is the norm at which sensitivity will not go beyond the permissible limits. If a person is hypersensitive, crying soberly for no apparent reason, hysteria, cannot sleep before an important event, and even after important events, has problems with relaxation and falling asleep, since the nervous system is overexcited, if experiences for any reason are elevated to the category of universal tragedy, you need to consult a therapist.

If sensitivity is on the verge of norm and pathology, it will be very difficult for a person to adapt in society - to receive a profession, work in a team, and build personal relationships. People with unusual sensitivities should plan their lives taking into account those personal characteristics that are characteristic of them.

Disturbing accentuants usually intuitively choose professions in which they will feel most comfortable. They have good qualities that are appreciated by employers: they are responsible and will never take on what they can’t do, they will not take risks and put everything at stake, but if they take on something, they do it painstakingly, meticulously, honestly. In addition, sensitive people are very constant: to change jobs, to take adventures not in their spirit. They are generally wary of everything new and unknown. They do not need a dizzying career growth, they need stability, even if in one place.

Choosing a profession, you should avoid areas of activity in which teamwork is provided.Despite the special flair and mood of colleagues, a sensitive person prefers to work independently. Such people can be unbalanced if something is heating their nervous system to the limit, so you should stay away from professions that require endurance, will and high stress resistance. Thus, it is better to avoid management, control, work in the rescue service, fire department, police, business in key positions, diplomacy and politics.

The system of psychological tests can, even in school years, reveal a sphere in which a child with increased sensitivity will feel most in demand and useful. It is best to choose technical specialties associated with the repair, maintenance and operation of complex technical devices and devices. Sensitive, sensitive young people make very thoughtful engineers with a high degree of responsibility and great analytical skills.

If there is a keen perception of reality, you can become a famous artist or photographer, cameraman, decorator, writer, poet, actor or art historian, museum curator, archivist. Sensitive people sensitively feel not only other people, but also nature, animalsTherefore, such professions as veterinarian, zoo worker, gardener, ecologist, agricultural specialist, biologist, marine biologist, zoologist are suitable for them. Also, from sensitive people, good financiers, accountants, translators (texts and books), mathematicians and composers are obtained. The main thing is not to work where you have to deal with a large number of people and emergency situations. They are contraindicated in medicine, pedagogy, the field of insurance, stock exchanges, journalism, military affairs and other areas that require close contact with society and iron nerves.

The self-esteem of sensitive people is often inadequate. They are touchy and very sensitive, which prevents them from becoming leaders, leaders in society. Their perception of reality does not imply adventures and courage, thrills, almost always they do not like alcohol, and are also quite timid with the opposite sex. Quite often, such people can’t decide for themselves on their own attitude to this or that person, because they have a lot of their own secret experiences that occupy all his thoughts. They don’t like pretense and lies, therefore it is easier for them to stay away from large companies than to adapt to the rules of the team, flatter, please and try to seem like a “darling”.

However, they won’t go to sort things out with the abuser, they will prefer to “hide” offended in the far corner of their own apartment in order to “think things through well”. However, they tend to become depressed. For them, one thought is unbearable that someone might think something bad about them. Do not assume that you can easily cheer a sensitive person. He may smile politely at you, but he will not dare to sincere joy, or rather, will be ashamed of its manifestations.

Sensitive people of a melancholy warehouse usually have low or extremely low psychosexual activity, so they are a burden of courtship, the prospect of building family relationships. But they will gladly accept the initiative of a partner in many matters of organizing their own personal life. There is one important nuance that a sensitive person’s partner should be aware of: with age, he can partially compensate for his hypersensitivity, as mentioned above, but at the same time he can begin to lead a “double life”: with others he is forced to communicate with at work, Outside the house, he will be polite, courteous, calm.

But when he is at home, he will immediately drop his “mask” that is contrary to them, and then the partner will have to listen patiently and patiently to how annoying and annoying everything is, what kind of world is imperfect and wrong, what kind of people are unpleasant and unjust. Everything that has accumulated due to the “mask” will become a topic of conversation on quiet family evenings. A sensitive person will require understanding and all sympathy from a spouse.If even with a gesture or a look, the partner shows that he is tired of listening to this, or he is tired, or he is not interested now, then the insult of the sensitive anxious melancholic wounded by such “betrayal” will be global. He will immediately have more reasons to suffer and experience.

You can try to do this with sanguine people - representatives of this type of temperament get along quite easily with any other types, it will not be difficult for them to establish rather close emotional contact with a sensitive partner. In addition, the “terry optimist”, which is a sanguine person, is happy to share with the sensitive spouse a certain amount of confidence, will give him vivacity and a modicum of self-confidence. However, in the stream of his love of life and optimism, a sanguine person may not notice how he accidentally offends a sensitive partner, which can cause a quarrel and misunderstanding. It will be interesting for two sensitive partners, who, in fact, both are melancholy, to be friends and communicate, but their family life will be reminiscent of a difficult life drama and a very protracted plot. Both will be offended, both will focus on their experiences, the sensitive family will suffer on its own and make everyone who is near suffer.

Quickly forgetting quarrels, sharp and assertive choleric will involuntarily offend the sensitive partner at every step, he can scream, put pressure, make fun of a spouse (spouse) that for a long time will remain in the soul of the second a huge splinter of resentment. A sensible person with a classic phlegmatic has a good chance of a successful family. In such a union, no one will offend anyone, but there will also be few bright passions and feelings there. If partners do not learn to speak and not drag out conflicts, then everything will be fine. Otherwise, both can sit for a long time in different angles and suffer because of resentment, if they accumulate, then it will be more difficult to make peace.