Philip Chard's Out of My Mind column is sponsored by AllWriters' Workplace & Workshop, which offers online classes in all genres and abilities of creative writing, as well as coaching and editing services. You can read past columns here.
If you are a highly sensitive person (HSP), or what some refer to as an “empath,” our pandemic’s mounting toll of suffering will test you mightily.
HSPs are a subset of the population, estimated at about 20 percent. Overall, women comprise the majority of this group, as do those who work in healthcare and human services. In other words, many on the frontlines of our battle against COVID-19 are highly sensitive. They care — a lot — and that asset, one that makes them effective as healers and helpers, can easily become a liability.
Highly sensitive persons feel more deeply than the average Jane or Joe, and they readily absorb the emotional states of those around them. When engaged with a distraught or frightened person, HSPs often emerge in a similar frame of mind. When times are more like our recently departed normal, this is a manageable situation. Many of these folks know how to use self-care and supportive social connections to maintain emotional balance. But, one can only do so much. An umbrella helps fend off the rain, but not in an unrelenting torrential downpour.
These are individuals who are putting their well-being, and that of their families, on the line to help the seriously ill among us. And some have and will pay with their lives. But, HSPs face another clear and present danger—emotional trauma; a wound that, unfortunately, we often minimize. We shouldn’t. Emotional trauma eats at the soul, stabs at the heart, and can prove as devastating as many physical illnesses.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Exceptional Emotional Connection
For these folks, the term post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is not an abstract concept. Because they feel exceptional levels of empathy for those who are suffering, they are susceptible to both PTSD and something called “compassion fatigue.” The latter is defined as “secondary traumatic distress,” meaning one is not the victim of the trauma in question (anguish, pain, death, etc.), but a witness to it. Think of the healthcare professionals who must stand by, sometimes helplessly, and watch people struggling to survive or, too often, dying alone without the comfort of family and friends. Usually, those not on the front lines don’t witness these horrific scenes right before their eyes. If we all did, perhaps the pandemic-deniers would be jolted out of their delusional stupor and foolish bravado and join the rest of us in meeting this species-wide threat.
Even those HSPs not in the helping professions suffer under the onslaught of bad news, both distant and near. As the pandemic spreads, few, if any of us will be left untouched. If not victims ourselves, we will bear witness to family, friends and colleagues battered by this disease. Often, highly sensitive types would rather suffer themselves than watch that of others, particularly in situations where they are helpless — one of the worst feelings in the world.
One psychological life raft for many HSPs stems from the very sensitivity that, in negative circumstances, threatens their well-being. Their capacity to feel deep suffering is offset by a corresponding ability to experience joy and hope. During this pandemic, there are countless examples of people engaging in exceptionally kind, giving and heroic acts. When things are at their worst, some people are at their best. As a restorative counter-balance to so much tribulation and loss, HSPs need to witness these uplifting and hopeful stories, and, fortuitously, social networking and media make this possible.
Another lifesaver is nature immersion, or what the Japanese call “forest bathing.” When mindfully engaged with the natural world, time slows, emotional pain eases, one feels connected to a greater beauty and wisdom, and, at least for a time, all feels right as rain.
Finally, HSPs need to spend time with loving, empathic pets and other sanguine animals. To paraphrase Alan Watts, we should admire and learn from our fellow creatures. They suffer and die like us, but don’t make such a fuss of it.
During this time of angst and heartache, we all need to take care. But HSPs need to take special care.
For more, visit philipchard.com.
Philip Chard's Out of My Mind column is sponsored by AllWriters' Workplace & Workshop, which offers online classes in all genres and abilities of creative writing, as well as coaching and editing services. You can read past columns here.
