How do you spot a sensitive person? How do you deal with him?

Many people have difficulty dealing with sensitive people, whether in their family circle, circle of friends, or even at work. Things that may seem normal, such as bright lights or loud noises, may cause them confusion and stress.

To avoid making them angry, you must first get to know the sensitive person, then understand the best way to deal with him without making him angry.

Who is a sensitive person?

Psychiatrist Dr. Osama Kanaan says that a sensitive person “is one who tends to feel feelings, emotions, sensations, and perceptions of the world around him more strongly than the average person. This sensitivity may lead to painful or negative feelings that are greater than their effect on the average person. The same applies to feelings.” Enjoyable and positive stimuli.

According to Kanaan, studies have shown that sensitive people have an increase in the activity of some parts of the brain related to awareness, empathy, planning, and sensory information.

He continues, "High sensitivity is not considered a disease or mental disorder, but rather a description of a set of personality traits and experiences that some people have."

Traits of sensitive people

In his interview with Al Jazeera Net, Kanaan identified a number of characteristics that characterize sensitive people:

Deep and strong emotions: Having strong emotions, both positive and negative, they may cry easily from a simple movie scene, or deeply appreciate the beauty of a natural scene.

Strong physical sensations: Highly sensitive people usually have a keen awareness of physical sensations, whether they are sounds, lights, or sensations. They may not tolerate noisy, crowded, or bright places, or they prefer to wear only soft and comfortable clothes.

Great empathy for others: Sensitive people usually pick up on the feelings of others quickly and easily, and they can feel what others feel, which may leave them with constant fatigue in absorbing the feelings of others.

High sensitivity towards others: They often have difficulty accepting critical comments, even if they are said sensibly, and are concerned about what others think.

High sensitivity towards oneself: The person is often very anxious and stressed, blames himself, and has difficulty letting go of his negative thoughts and feelings.

Other signs: such as a weak ability to tolerate pain, their commitment to routine and their dislike of change, in addition to extreme caution so as not to make mistakes, quick anger, unexpected reactions, and their need for a longer time to make decisions.

How do you deal with a sensitive person?

The psychiatrist suggests some ways to deal with highly sensitive people, so as not to hurt their feelings, including:

Acceptance and non-judgment.

Address and reduce what makes them feel stressed.

Provide a quiet environment for them.

 Respect boundaries, and give them more personal space.

Communicate with them kindly.

Providing support and assistance when needed.

Listen to them carefully.

Appreciate their needs to express their feelings without blaming them.

Don't take things personally when they need to be alone.

Avoid telling them they are too sensitive.

Increased feelings

In turn, the consultant and etiquette expert, Ramah Al-Assaf, says that the personalities of individuals are multiple according to the diversity of their cultures and environments, “so we may see several types of their different personalities that require special treatment. We may find that many people have high sensitivity when dealing with them, and this requires special treatment that is different from dealing with personalities.” "least sensitive."

15-20% of people have the trait of high sensitivity in their personality, according to Al-Assaf, “and we always see them facing many sharply fluctuating life situations, and losing the ability to control their emotions greatly, and they may be exaggerated in some situations, and they may be And weak in other situations.”

Al-Assaf explains in her interview with Al Jazeera, "A highly sensitive person shows increased and greatly exaggerated feelings, and a stronger reaction to his inner feeling, such as a feeling of joy or pain. He also has a strong intuition that controls his dealings with situations that make him feel exhausted and stressed."

Al-Assaf adds that sensitive people have “close relationships with friendship and are interested in forming deep bonds, but in return they avoid many social occasions and listening to loud music.”

Sensitive people are creative

Al-Assaf believes that sensitive people have a high level of creativity if they are dealt with properly. “They have quick intuition, accurate observation, and a high ability to analyze and concentrate. They also have the ability to perform tasks that require attention, accuracy, and speed.”

The consultant and etiquette expert points out that people's awareness of the nature and style of their personalities is "important and contributes to dealing flexibly with different life situations and with others around them. Every personality has strengths and weaknesses, but developing strength when aware of it discourages weakness."

Experiences that exhaust sensitive people

For its part, the “Hailey Sensitive Review” website published some stressful experiences for sensitive people, including:

Sudden or repetitive sounds: such as the noise that comes from the buzzing of a police car near the house, or annoying repetitive noises such as a ticking clock, as a highly sensitive person sometimes wishes to live inside a bubble.

Friends or guests staying at home: A sensitive person loves his family, and can tolerate their presence in his space for a short period, but if guests stay for more than a day, he feels stressed and upset.

Confrontation: He hates harming others, and when confronted - whatever its type - he feels that he may be paralyzed, and does not know what to say or what to do.

Chaos and disorder: especially in the personal space of people with high sensitivity, as they need everything organized and clean, and cannot accept chaos.

Green safaris are becoming increasingly popular in South Africa

If you are preparing to take a safari in the jungles of Africa, you will have heard about what is known as “soft tourism”, especially with the decline in the number of tourists wishing to take a tour that includes dozens of vehicles that crowd together to give their passengers a brief glimpse of a tiger crouching nearby.

Increased awareness of the need to protect the environment, criticism of flights causing air pollution, and fears of the repercussions of climate change have damaged the reputation of group safaris.

Those who love watching animals in their natural environment do not want their tourist trips to harm them. Rather, they prefer that companies divert some of their revenues to protect wild animals and preserve their environment.

Environment first

Safaris in Africa say that tourists are starting to ask a lot of questions related to the environment before they book their trips, and they are also increasingly choosing companies that organize tours according to environmental standards, according to Julie Cheatham, director of the “Wefa” platform, which supports sensitive tourism companies. For the environment.

Cheatham adds that South Africa is a leading country in ecotourism, and she sees a significant shift in the way people think about the safari sector, explaining that many safari organizing companies are keen to help visitors enjoy nature, without harming what they came to see.

Companies also invest money in environmental projects, combat poaching of animals, and seek to eliminate polluting gas emissions.

Eco-friendly trips

Cheatham confirms that the demand for environmentally friendly safaris has increased, as visitors stay in places that preserve nature, which means that inns and hotels are now being built from environmentally friendly materials, instead of the methods that were prevalent during the colonial period, which relied on the construction of brick buildings.

For his part, Prince Ngomane, Head of the Environmental Conservation Department at the Tswalo Foundation, says, “We find, for example, that the new Tswalo Lobi camp, in the Kalahari Desert in the northern region of South Africa, was built mainly of local wood and thick fabrics, on sturdy stilts, and underneath it are walkways.” Small animals and reptiles can find shelter in it, and this construction does not affect the soil.

The camp is provided with electricity through solar energy, rainwater is used for showers, and there are no containers, garbage bags, or plastic packaging materials inside the camp.

The camp restaurant serves seasonal dishes, using ingredients from local suppliers as much as possible.

Many companies that follow the environmental approach in organizing safari tours work to provide electricity and water for each guest, and invest in projects that serve climate protection.

Options range from replanting forest trees, to providing climate-friendly stoves for poor locals, and offering guests the opportunity to provide compensation for carbon emissions resulting from flights to the area.

"Long Term" Initiative

This program has helped the Tswalo Reserve, which has an area of ​​114 thousand hectares, to become a protected area from carbon emissions, and also provides compensation for these emissions, the value of which exceeds the carbon gases it produces.

The Tswalu Reserve is part of the "Long Term" initiative, founded by German businessman Jochen Zeitz, which includes an alliance of dozens of resorts actively committed to preserving the environment and nature.

The reserve sequesters more than 13 tons of carbon annually, and Njomani, its sustainability manager, says, “We only use about a quarter of what we receive compensation for, and the rest remains as a positive carbon reserve.”

Electric mobility also has its place in this new green world. For example, the luxury Cheetah Plains hostel in Kruger Park in South Africa uses solar energy to generate electricity, and electric cars charge their batteries with solar energy.

This renewable source of energy saves a lot of emissions, says Marketing Director Peter Druce, who explained that each vehicle used on safari in this reserve, which is private property, covers approximately 32,000 kilometers per year.

Better yet, electric cars do not emit sounds, so visitors can better hear the sounds of birds and wild animals.

By foot

Cheatham points out other options for guests, including touring the reserve on foot, horseback or bicycles, noting that there is no longer a need for visitors to take shelter from animals inside cars, but rather they can rely on trained forest guards, who carry loaded rifles. Shot, to be used when necessary.

This means that visitors feel as if they are part of nature, and not just spectators of its features.

“Taking a walking safari gives a person a very different impression and concept of the wilderness, as he feels that he has suddenly become in the heart of it,” Njomani says.

The tourism industry is more focused on making profits, and companies exploit nature, without thinking about the consequences that may occur in the long term.

While what is new here, Cheatham adds, is that tourists are the drivers of change, with many of them looking to climate as a key element when they think about booking trips.

Rehabilitation of natural environments

On the other hand, we find that Londolozi Lodge in the Sabi Sands Reserve, in the northeastern region of the country, reinvests a fixed percentage of its annual revenues in preserving the environment, as each guest indirectly pays, for every night spent at the lodge, an amount used to protect 6 of rhinos, to help send eight children to school and train one adult, according to the lodge's website.

The Tswalo Reserve has become a prominent example of organizing eco-safari trips. In 2021, the reserve’s owners spent 86% of their total investments in preserving the environment, rehabilitating natural habitats for birds and animals, and combating poaching.

The Tswalu Reserve is also home to a climate change research project involving scientists from universities across South Africa.