Apologies for the late reply - my post did not go through as I had assumed.
The balance between openess and self-preservation is something I am always working toward. As a more-than-averagely-sensitive person, it's been my experience that even in environments that are explictly safe, I still need to maintain a certain distance in order to participate and show up. It's an interesting paradox.
These days I know that people are not (usually) deliberately trampling on me any more than I am deliberately trampling on them; we just have different contexts to deal with. I advocate learning average or normative behaviours, not to necessarily conform to them, but to understand what other people are expressing, and be able to respond to them "where they are".
I think we are both talking about the necessity for respect. And to me, trust is another word for that.
I strongly related to your metaphor - I too can feel bombarded with emotional information as soon as I walk out of my front door (or go online!)
Here's my take on it: http://www.lionlifecoaching.com/0507%20EQ.3.pdf
Excerpt: "I suggest that because the person with high IQ is actually hyper-aware of their world, they
are not receiving the same information about any given situation as someone within the
normal range. Because of this, they will react differently. They are able to discern more
complexity in any situation, and social situations are the most complex systems humans
encounter. Imagine being asked to play 50 games of chess at the same time – but some of
them are re-enactments of past games, and some are premonitions about possible future
games. A gifted person can be consciously “playing chess” of this type during group
interactions, and not surprisingly can become easily overwhelmed or start to avoid social
settings to minimize the stress."
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A reply on Conversation: Why is it important to have "emotional literacy" in communication and how does one improve their own "emotional literacy"?
Apologies for the late reply - my post did not go through as I had assumed.
The balance between openess and self-preservation is something I am always working toward. As a more-than-averagely-sensitive person, it's been my experience that even in environments that are explictly safe, I still need to maintain a certain distance in order to participate and show up. It's an interesting paradox.
These days I know that people are not (usually) deliberately trampling on me any more than I am deliberately trampling on them; we just have different contexts to deal with. I advocate learning average or normative behaviours, not to necessarily conform to them, but to understand what other people are expressing, and be able to respond to them "where they are".
I think we are both talking about the necessity for respect. And to me, trust is another word for that.
Best wishes,
Joanna
A comment on Conversation: Why is it important to have "emotional literacy" in communication and how does one improve their own "emotional literacy"?
I strongly related to your metaphor - I too can feel bombarded with emotional information as soon as I walk out of my front door (or go online!)
Here's my take on it: http://www.lionlifecoaching.com/0507%20EQ.3.pdf
Excerpt: "I suggest that because the person with high IQ is actually hyper-aware of their world, they
are not receiving the same information about any given situation as someone within the
normal range. Because of this, they will react differently. They are able to discern more
complexity in any situation, and social situations are the most complex systems humans
encounter. Imagine being asked to play 50 games of chess at the same time – but some of
them are re-enactments of past games, and some are premonitions about possible future
games. A gifted person can be consciously “playing chess” of this type during group
interactions, and not surprisingly can become easily overwhelmed or start to avoid social
settings to minimize the stress."
Love to hear your thoughts on these ideas.
Best wishes,
Joanna