The Difference Between Being in Touch and Being Touchy
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Dieser Beitrag ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar.
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The way it is used, the word „sensitive“ sometimes is equated with „being touchy“ while „being touchy“ simultaneously has a notion of being overly sensitive.
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Am I touchy?
Especially as a highly sensitive person I often hear:
„Don’t be so touchy. “
Often I especially hear this from those people, who are finding themselves confronted with a reflection which they do not like to look at. Effectively, they actually are the ones who are reacting touchy as in this moment they cannot deal with their own sensations and they are projecting this inability onto the very person who pointed out those sensations to them.
So, being sensitive and being touchy are not the same?
In my view they are not.
I interpret sensitivity as tantamount to “being in touch” whereas “being touchy” to me – according to how I see this term being used in the English language – means something entirely different.
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Being in touch & being touchy
Being in touch means to perceive a higher-than-average amount of different sensations. It says something about the ability of a person to perceive and experience sensations. However, it initially says nothing about how this person reacts to and deals with those sensations.
Being touchy means to be affected in a higher-than-average and most commonly unpleasant way by the sensations one experiences. It says something about how somebody deals with the sensations they perceive and about how they react to them. However, it initially says nothing about how many different sensations somebody perceives.
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High sensitivity & empathy
Highly sensitive persons and empaths are accordingly per se very sensitive and in touch. If they also are touchy depends, as in the case of every other person, too, on their ability to deal with their sensations. A heightened touchiness means the inability to deal with sensations or with the perception of sensations.
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A heightened experience of being in touch by no means automatically indicates a heightened touchiness.”
-Stefanie Neumann
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Highly sensitive persons and empaths, by the way, due to their heightened experience of being in touch (the ability to perceive sensations) often learn much sooner and more effectively to deal with their sensations than normally sensitive persons. Thus, these people can be good teachers in this field for other people who wish to learn how to deal with their own sensations in a healthy way.
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Have you ever had a heightened experience of being in touch or an experience of heightened touchiness? How was it for you? Would you like to share that experience in the comments?
Are you ready to shine a bright light of awareness on the path of beingness, today?
Much Love,
Steffi
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I think when someone says “being touchy” it is meant more in a negative way and has not much to do with sensitivity.
Hi dear Ute!
Thank you for taking the time to visit and for sharing your perspective on this topic.
I agree, the term “being touchy” seems to be used with a negative notion that has not much to do with sensitivity. Very much like the word “empfindlich” (as opposed to “empfindsam”) in German.
Unfortunately it also often seems to be used for putting sensitive people down when it becomes inconvenient for some other people to deal with this sensitivity.
So, let’s stay in touch! 🙂
Much love,
Steffi
That is exactly right Steffi.
❤