One of the things that fascinates me is the different types of sensitivity that exist among people, and our tolerance for sensitive issues. Everyone reacts differently to issues and experiences. Some of us are more sensitive in some situations while completely indifferent in others. By sharing with you my own sort of sensitivity spectrum, I hope it encourages you to reflect on your own, as well as those of your friends and family around you. I think by understanding your own sensitivity and of those nearby, you will be able to better understand others and forge more meaningful relationships.

Emotional Sensitivity

For the longest time, my own emotions and feelings confused me. Whenever I hear about tragic things happening in the news, such as accidents or wars, it doesn’t really phase me. I honestly don’t feel anything. It’s not like I don’t care, or that I don’t think a lot of these things happening are bad, sad, or tragic – it’s just that for whatever reason I don’t feel for them. I don’t feel particularly sad when I read in the news about some guy I don’t know who died in a car accident. And for a while, I thought that something was wrong with me. Why do I have friends who can feel sadness when they hear something on the news but I just can’t?

On the other hand, it’s not like I never feel sad when something doesn’t concern me personally. I feel sad all of the time when I watch sad scenes in movies – in fact, I’m willing to say it, there are times when I get teary-eyed. One of my favourite movies of all time is A Beautiful Mind, which tells the tale of a brilliant mathematician who develops schizophrenia, which adversely effects both his own personal development as well as his relationship with his wife. There is a particular scene in the movie where the mathematician decides to not take his medication so that the side effects won’t hinder his day to day life. He and his wife then embrace – it’s a really emotional scene and I can’t help but get teary eyed whenever I watch it. But it begs the question: why is it that I can feel for characters in a movie who aren’t real, but can’t feel anything for random but real people and their stories in the news?

The more I think about it, the more it seems really simple. It seems as if I can only feel strong emotions for people I feel I have a connection with. When I watch a movie, I feel like I am getting to know the characters – so if something happens to them, I feel personally affected because there’s a connection there. When it comes to people I know nothing about, it’s hard for me to have emotions and feelings for their stories because I don’t feel like I have a connection with them. In the same way, I obviously feel for the experiences of people I know well in my day to day life because there is a clear connection there.

I have friends who seem to be able to feel this connection with anyone who is in an emotional time, regardless if they know them personally or not. I personally don’t understand how that works, but I find it really fascinating.

Easily Offended?

One of the things I’ve also noticed about myself is that I am pretty laid back and don’t like to take life too seriously. Because of that attitude, I don’t get offended very easily. I love to laugh, and I honestly don’t see any problem with poking fun at things so long as the intentions aren’t malicious.

Right now, one of my favourite shows is South Park. Some people would find the humour on the show crude and distasteful. Honestly, I find it really funny. Sure they can poke fun at things that are part of me personally (e.g. nationality, religion, etc.), but honestly, if you can’t laugh at yourself it’s not really fair to be laughing at others.

Overall, I find that I’m not easily offended. I really don’t get overly sensitive about insults or crude humour or anything like that. Because of that, occasionally I’ll make jokes that come off as super rude, but that I didn’t mean in a malicious way. Among my friends it wouldn’t mean anything, but I have remembered times when my brother has given me nasty glares over things he didn’t find funny.

Seeking the Truth

Part of the reason I don’t get offended easily is because I am all about seeking the truth. I don’t care to be wrong and I don’t care if people attack my perspectives, so long as they do so in a respectful manner. If being criticized and challenged brings me closer to the truth, then I’m all for it.

One of my friends who I met working in the same lab is an atheist. I myself was raised as a Catholic. Throughout our summer research placements, we would have great conversations during our lunch break. One of his favourite topics was religion, and he just loved to argue why religion was detrimental, and try to test my faith and views on religion and morality. While some people might get offended easily and not want to debate sensitive issues like their religion, I have absolutely no problem doing it. I don’t mind people questioning my faith or my religion, so long as they aren’t being malicious. Like I said, I am all about seeking the truth, and I love debating about any issue regardless if it affects me personally or not.

What About You?

How sensitive are you? In what ways? Really curious to hear how other people view their own sensitivity to things such as emotions, offensive situations, etc.