I did a personality test the other day.I scored 114 as a highly sensitive person when score 60 would be highly sensitive and yet I scored almost twice.
Not surprised at all.
I grew up with an unique personality. I can sense people’s feeling as soon as I walk into a room. I am sure other people has the same sense too.
But for me , its ten times stronger, ten times more intense. I can feel people’s confusion, struggle or mixed feeling. I can feel people ‘s pain.
I often focus a lot on little details and would not let go until I cover every itch of detail and feel I do a perfect job. I can get overwhelmed with loud noise , bright light , strong smell or temperature change. I was always the “weird child ” wherever I go. The comment about me is always”too sensitive.”
I always thought it’s a bad thing to be sensitive.
Until I began my study in traditional Chinese Medicine, I started to see my own sensitivity in a different light.
Chinese medicine is such an unique subject that covers more than just medicine. It’s a medicine that incorporates sociology, psychology , anatomy and physiology , environmental study , philosophy to name a few.
Chinese medicine also talks about how a person’s constitution can affect his health. There is no good or bad constitution. The constitution we were born into is greatly affected by the environment (external factors), the genes (the Essence from our parents) and time and day and the it can also be a prediction to the illness one is prone to.
Take myself for example. Being a highly sensitive person means I am always alert and careful. This can mean the depletion of spleen Qi in TCM, an energy that dominates the thought. The deficiency of Spleen Qi can also cause the inefficiency of transforming and transporting nutrient and waste. The transformation and transportation function of spleen is a acquired function that is essential to our health after birth. Without spleen strong function , it can lead to difficulty in weight management, clarity of thoughts or lack of motivation to name a few.
Traditional Chinese medicine value s person’s constitution as part of the formation of illness. That’s the reason why a TCM practitioner prescribes a treatment plan , it always needs to take a person’s family history and what ‘s happening in the patient’s life into consideration. Like one of my respected teacher said “Chinese medicine treats the person with illness, not the illness itself.”
