很多人忽略自己的意識對外來訊息的高敏感度，不知道自己對環境訊息的過度吸收，而且還會在腦中引發過多的想像，影響人際關係和生活。這是一個在現代社會獨有的問題，除了因為互聯網的普及令大多數人更容易吸收外界的訊息，還有因為自己個人特質上存在的「高敏感（High Sensitive）」引起很多不必要的情緒、感受、慾望和思考，最後導致很多精神情緒，身體甚至是人際關係問題。
Many people overlook their heightened sensitivity to external stimuli and remain unaware of their tendency to absorb environmental information excessively. Moreover, this can lead to an overactive imagination, impacting interpersonal relationships and daily life. This is a unique issue in modern society, where the widespread use of the internet has made it easier for most individuals to absorb external information. Additionally, personal traits associated with high sensitivity can give rise to unnecessary emotional experiences, sensations, desires, and thoughts. Ultimately, these factors can contribute to mental and emotional problems, and even affect physical well-being and interpersonal relationships.
高敏感族群有以下特質：
The highly sensitive population possesses the following traits:
- 對大腦訊息非常敏感，包括互聯網上、周邊環境、身體的感受如五感刺激很強，對光線、氣味或聲音異常敏感，也會例怕痛、怕熱或怕冷等等。
They are highly sensitive to brain stimuli, including internet information, the surrounding environment, and bodily sensations such as heightened sensitivity to the five senses. They may be unusually sensitive to light, smells, and sounds, and may have specific fears like fear of pain, heat, or cold. - 想像力和同理心很高，輕易對他人的反應作出聯想，自己的情緒反應也會很強烈。
They have a vivid imagination and a high level of empathy. They easily associate with others’ reactions and their self emotional responses tend to be intense. - 觀察、處理和分析外界資訊的程度很高，常常因為反覆思慮而很難在短時間內做出選擇。
They exhibit a high degree of observation, processing, and analyzing external information. They often engage in repetitive thinking, making it difficult for them to make choices quickly. - 常常會因與他人的關係感到消耗，不常出現在群體活動當中，與伴侶的關係也會比較不和諧。也會容易因為與他人在敏感度上的差異，覺得自己不被理解而感到寂莫。
They frequently feel drained in relationships with others and may not actively participate in group activities. Their relationships with partners may also be less harmonious. They may feel a sense of loneliness due to the perceived lack of understanding from others regarding their sensitivity differences. - 比其他人更容易引發高度緊張、焦慮和恐懼等等情緒問題，也有較高慾望失控的風險。
Highly sensitive individuals are more prone to triggering intense feelings of nervousness, anxiety, fear, and other emotional problems compared to others. They also face a higher risk of experiencing uncontrollable desires.
「高敏感」是一種天賦，比其他人更容易發展成「雙腦思考」的模式，可以同時兼顧理性和感性思考的平衡。但現代人不像古代人般生活簡單，由於現代社會不斷宣傳各種意識形態和大量資訊，反而讓「高敏感」人士增加太多對身體和大腦不必要的負擔，與他人的關係會容易變得不和諧，也會引起很多未知的免疫系統疾病問題，最後惡性循環導致很多更嚴重的情緒問題。
High sensitivity is an innate gift that makes individuals more prone to developing a “dual-brain thinking” mode, which allows for a balance between rational and emotional thinking. However, modern life is not as simple as it was in ancient times. The continuous promotion of various ideologies and the abundance of information in modern society have unintentionally burdened highly sensitive individuals with excessive strain on their bodies and minds. This, in turn, can lead to disharmony in relationships with others and give rise to numerous unknown immune diseases. Ultimately, this vicious cycle can lead to even more severe emotional problems.
意識層面的「敏感」會讓自己接收和放大很多外界環境的訊息
The subconscious level of “sensitivity” amplifies and absorbs a lot of external environmental information.
由於現代人大多居住在城市當中，而城市人口過於密集常常會造成很多人與人之間的磨擦。高敏感人士會由於意識層面的高敏感，在這種高度密集的社會生活會更加痛苦，這是因為高敏感本質就是「對外界環境訊息的大量接收，容易放大感官所接收的外界環境訊息而起聯想和情緒反應」。這些環境訊息包括別人的一舉一動、任何光線與聲音、氣味、觸感等等五感可以接收的任何訊號。
As most modern individuals reside in densely populated cities, the close proximity of city dwellers often leads to interpersonal conflicts. Highly sensitive individuals, due to their heightened sensitivity at the subconscious level, experience more distress in such densely populated social environments. This is because high sensitivity entails “receiving a large amount of external environmental information and easily amplifying sensory stimuli, leading to associations and emotional responses.” These environmental cues include the actions of others, any form of light or sound, smells, tactile sensations, and any signals that can be perceived through the five senses.
以「噪音」為例，這是一個因為社會居住環境過於狹窄和人與人之間的社交距離太短所造成的常見問題。所有動物生存都必定會發出聲音，但這些聲音在高敏者的耳中與其他人的感受其實是不一樣，在高敏者的耳中這些聲音會尤其「突出」，甚至讓自己因為這些聲音導致腦中產生一系列的聯想，例如會過度猜度別人發出這些聲音的動機和想法等等。
Take “noise” as an example, which is a common issue resulting from the narrow living spaces and close proximity between individuals in a social setting. All living creatures emit sounds as a natural part of their existence, but the perception of these sounds differs between highly sensitive individuals and others. In the ears of highly sensitive individuals, these sounds are particularly “prominent” and can trigger a series of associations in their minds, such as excessive speculation about the motives and thoughts behind the sounds.
很多低敏者並不意識到自己的行為對很多高敏者造成困擾，但高敏者卻卻會對他人行為及其行為造成的大量訊息產生「反應」，令高敏者造成對自己的內耗，例如對他人產生怨恨、憤怒等等情緒進一步在自己的內心產生大量訊息，變成讓自己進入更內耗狀態的惡性循環。
Many individuals with lower sensitivity are unaware of the distress they may cause to highly sensitive individuals through their behaviors. However, highly sensitive individuals react to the behaviours of others and the vast amount of information generated by these behaviors. This internal conflict can lead to feelings of resentment, anger, and other emotions in highly sensitive individuals, further generating a significant amount of internal information, and perpetuating a vicious cycle of internal conflict.
高敏者對待不可避免的外在環境訊息的正確處理方法
Effective Approaches for Highly Sensitive Individuals in Handling Unavoidable External Environmental Stimuli
對待外在環境訊息，我們只可以選擇：
When it comes to dealing with external environmental stimuli, we have two choices:
- 改變外在環境，例如改變自身身處的環境或改變外在環境訊息的傳播源頭。
Change the external environment, such as altering the physical surroundings or addressing the source of the external stimuli. - 改變自己意識對外在環境訊息的態度。
Alter our mindset and attitude towards external environmental stimuli.
由於改變外在環境的成本很多時候相當高，甚或很多時候並不能改變外在環境訊息的傳播源頭， 例如叫他人閉嘴、大廈裝修無可避免的嘈音、飛鳥類動物的叫聲等等，所以學會改變自己意識對於訊號接收的態度卻相當重要。因為真正令自己痛苦不是外在環境的訊息，是因為外在環境訊息引起自己的不必要思考和內耗，甚至情緒起伏。既然外在環境訊息不可避免，不如直接在意識層面與這些外在環境訊息抽離地「隔離」， 認知到就算有這外在環境訊息，如噪音等等， 也並不代表我們要被這些訊息影響而產生痛苦，這些訊息如同一條河流一樣， 而我們就像坐在岸邊放空地接受和觀察這些外在環境訊息而不被影響；另一個方法就是在被外在環境訊息後，只需簡單地回到現在正在專心地進行的事情，如跑步、呼吸等等，在每一次把自己拉回現實的時候，就相當於令自己專心多一分，專心多一分後就會令外在環境訊息令自己的影響少一分。
Since changing the external environment often comes with a high cost and is sometimes impossible, such as asking others to be quiet, enduring unavoidable noise during building renovations, or the chirping of birds, it becomes crucial to learn how to change our own mindset regarding signal reception. The true cause of our distress is not the external environmental stimuli themselves but rather the unnecessary thoughts, internal conflicts, and emotional fluctuations they trigger. Since external environmental stimuli are inevitable, it is better to mentally “isolate” ourselves from them at the subconscious level, recognizing that even if there are external environmental stimuli, like noise, it does not mean we have to be affected by them and experience pain. These stimuli are like a flowing river, while we are like sitting on the riverbank, calmly observing and accepting these external environmental stimuli without being influenced by them. Another approach is to simply return to the present moment and focus on what we are currently engaged in, such as running or breathing, after encountering external environmental stimuli. Each time we bring ourselves back to reality, it is equivalent to increasing our focus and reducing the impact of external environmental stimuli on us by a fraction.
高敏感的好處其實遠遠比想像中更多得多
The Benefits of High Sensitivity Are Far Greater Than Imagined
大多數高敏感人都是感官敏銳，不但能辨識細微的感覺，如觸感、聲音或氣味，其敏銳的觀察力、高度同理心和想像力可以對很多事物的本質進行深入且多元的思考，並能同時處理多項工作和資訊。另外，對身體健康而言，高敏感者的身體更容易對自己的情緒慾望起反應，例如濕疹和暗瘡等皮膚疾病、器官炎症以及癌症等等。
Most highly sensitive individuals possess heightened sensory perception, enabling them to discern subtle sensations such as touch, sound, or smell. Their keen observation skills, high levels of empathy, and imagination allow for in-depth and diverse contemplation of various aspects, while simultaneously managing multiple tasks and information. Moreover, in terms of physical health, highly sensitive individuals’ bodies are more responsive to their emotional desires. For example, they may experience skin conditions like eczema and acne, organ inflammations, and even cancer.
例如，鼻敏感是一種身體的訊號讓自己離開一個對自己敏感或有害的現場；而暗瘡問題是因為厭氧細菌在皮膚下因皮脂積聚而發炎，厭氧細菌的增生其中一個原因是因為大腦過度的消耗讓身體含氧量降低，又沒有進行適量的帶氧運動而造成。另外，對於一些器官疾病問題而言，高敏者可以在早期感受到自己器官在「發熱」或者其他特殊反應讓自己感受到自己的身體在經歷炎症。
For instance, nasal sensitivity serves as a bodily signal for individuals to leave a sensitive or harmful environment. Acne issues arise from anaerobic bacteria inflaming the skin due to sebum accumulation. One of the reasons for the proliferation of anaerobic bacteria is the brain’s excessive consumption of resources, leading to decreased oxygen levels in the body, compounded by insufficient aerobic exercise. Additionally, in the case of certain organ-related ailments, highly sensitive individuals may sense early signs of “heat” or other distinctive reactions, allowing them to perceive inflammation within their own bodies.
所以高敏者可以在更早期的時候，讓身體「體現」出自己的身體正在發生某種「轉變」，這可以比其他人在疾病更早期的階段讓自己意識到並可以提高警覺發現問題，避免因自己過度的情緒內耗讓自己因情緒而造成的疾病進一步惡化。
Therefore, highly sensitive individuals can experience their bodies “manifesting” certain “changes” at an earlier stage. This heightened awareness can enable them to detect issues more alertly and avoid exacerbating diseases resulting from excessive emotional turmoil. In comparison to others, they can become conscious of problems in the earlier stages, preventing further deterioration caused by emotional distress.
「不思考」－ 可以解決因為高敏感所造成對大腦的過度消耗，和避免因為在人際關係中因為他人而被捲入「情緒漩渦」”Stop thinking” – can resolve the excessive mental exhaustion caused by high sensitivity and prevent falling into an “emotional whirlpool” due to others in interpersonal relationships
有「高敏感」自然也會有「低敏感」，「低敏感」人士被環境影響的程度較低，腦中的念頭（聲音）比一般人少，情緒和慾望也會比一般人少，更容易堅定專注在某種事物上，也會較容易放鬆自己。任何環境、大腦和他人的影響都是「高敏感」人士需要面對的課題。我們會因為對外來訊息的極度敏感而潛意識在我們不自覺地接收大量環境訊息，然後又會因為想像力和同理心太過豐富而作出很多多餘的聯想，也過份執著過去的陰影或者對未來過於擔心。當兩個「高敏人」建立一種人際關係，例如情侶和朋友，就會比較容易被對方的情緒所影響，被拖進一個由兩人建立的「情緒漩渦」。
Just as there are “highly sensitive” people, there are also “lowly sensitive” people. Those who are “lowly sensitive” are less affected by their environment. They have fewer thoughts (or voices) in their mind than the average person, and their emotions and desires are also less than average. They are more likely to focus on something and relax more easily. Any environmental, brain, and interpersonal influences are issues that “highly sensitive” people need to face. We subconsciously receive a large amount of environmental information because of our extreme sensitivity to external messages, and then we make many unnecessary associations because of our overly rich imagination and empathy. We also overly cling to the shadows of the past or worry too much about the future.
When two “highly sensitive” people establish a relationship, such as couples or friends, they are more likely to be affected by each other’s emotions and get drawn into an “emotional vortex” created by the two.
所以必須要學會「專心」或「放空」才能減少這些大腦的內在消耗。在一段時間內「專心」在某一樣事物例如跑步、繪畫、書法等等，也可以放大對身邊環境整體的感受身邊環境來「放空」自己。另一個方法是將自己變成作為一個旁觀者去觀察自己，的念頭和情緒，如同一個城市的守門人一樣，有人進城時只需要「知道」這些人的身份後放他們進城即可，不需要每個進城的人都跟隨他們進城，很多人就是因為每個進城的人都要跟縱和調查很久才引起大腦的巨量消耗。你也可以作為一個不負責任的守門人，無論誰進城都好也影響不了你，只需看著這些進城的人或者看著天空發呆放空。
So, we must learn to “concentrate” or “zone out” to reduce these internal consumptions of the brain. Focusing on something like running, drawing, calligraphy, etc. for a period of time can also magnify the overall feeling of the surrounding environment and “zone out”. Another method is to turn oneself into an observer to observe one’s own thoughts and emotions, like a city gatekeeper. When someone enters the city, you only need to ‘know’ their identity and let them in. You don’t need to follow every person who enters the city, many people cause a lot of brain consumption because they have to follow and investigate every person who enters the city for a long time. You can also be an irresponsible gatekeeper, no matter who enters the city, it won’t affect you. You just need to watch these people entering the city or stare at the sky and zone out.
認知每個人都有他們的痛苦必須要獨自面對 Recognize everyone has their own pain that they must face alone.
無論人有多富有，生活有多優越，都有他們自己的問題要面對。當遇到問題時不妨可以想像其實全世界的人都在獨自面對他們自己的痛苦，在你感到痛苦的當下，其實很多人他們之間雖然素未謀面但是卻在奮勇獨自處理和其他人差不多的問題。
No matter how wealthy or advantaged one’s life may be, there are their own problems to confront. When facing problems, it may be comforting to imagine that everyone in the world is also dealing with their own pain alone. At the moment you feel pain, many others, although they have never met you, are also bravely dealing with issues similar to yours.
每個人經歷當下的痛苦過程會選擇面對、逃避或轉移等等手法應對，不存在一種必須要面對或者必須要逃避的所謂「必然正確」的應對方法。大家都有其選擇的理由和合理性，都是在痛苦中掙札多年的寶貴的經驗。
People choose different strategies to cope with the pain they are experiencing at the moment, such as facing it, avoiding it, or diverting it. There is no so-called “inevitably correct” method that one must confront or avoid. Everyone has their reasons and rationality for their choices, all derived from years of struggle in pain.
“痛苦”是一種在人類社會是一種普遍現象 ，每個人都不是特別的一個，而是在一群特別的人中的特別的一個。你遇到的問題肯定會有其他人也在為其掙札苦惱，一定有人曾經走出類似的痛苦或者被類似的痛苦所吞噬。
“Pain” is a common phenomenon in human society. Everyone is not a unique one, but a special one among a group of special people. The problems you encounter are certainly troubling others as well, and there must be someone who has walked through similar pain or been swallowed by similar pain.
了解他者的生活和了解他者的選擇過程有機會可以在他身者身上找到靈感去解決自己的問題。但不要帶著排斥和批判，因為你的批判在你與他者的性格和經歷並不完全絕對相同的情況下是毫無意義而傲慢。
Understanding the lives of others and their decision-making process may provide inspiration to solve your own problems. But don’t approach this with rejection or criticism, because your criticism is meaningless and arrogant under circumstances where your personality and experiences are not absolutely the same as others.
不需害怕因孤獨造成的寂莫情緒 Do not fear the loneliness caused by solitude.
很多時候人的「愛情」都是想有個他者去陪伴自己去面對生活很多問題，但生活上其實有很多問題需要自己面對，例如自己的情緒、自己的考試、自己的死亡。
Often, people’s “love” is a desire to have someone else accompany them to face many problems in life, but in fact, there are many problems that need to be faced by oneself, such as one’s own emotions, one’s own exams, one’s own death.
而且就算有個人願意陪伴你，但他並不願意站在你的立場，或者他不了解你的需求和痛苦，你可能也會感受到孤獨。因為不能接受孤獨可能又會隨便找另一個他人，最後又會引發其他更嚴重的問題。
Even if there is someone willing to accompany you, if they are not willing to stand in your shoes, or they do not understand your needs and pain, you may still feel lonely. Because you cannot accept loneliness, you might hastily seek another person, which can lead to other more serious problems.
那就不如放鬆地接受孤獨是一個人類的普遍現象，接受孤獨所產生的寂莫本身只是一種情緒，情緒並不是一樣可怕的東西。兩個人的不合適和他人所帶來的風險可以比寂莫痛苦百倍。
It might be better to accept that loneliness is a common phenomenon in humanity. The loneliness that arises from solitude is just an emotion, and emotions are not something to be feared. The discomfort of being mismatched with another person and the risks brought by others can be a hundred times more painful than loneliness.
因為情緒會影響我們人生的所有決定，在負面情緒下我們更容易做出錯誤的決定。但當接受和排除寂莫對自己的影響，真正接受孤獨你就不會被這些情緒影響，可以在未來做到一個更合適的決定。
Because emotions affect all decisions in our lives, we are more likely to make wrong decisions under negative emotions. But when you accept and eliminate the influence of loneliness on yourself, really accept loneliness and you will not be affected by these emotions, and you can make a more appropriate decision in the future.
與自己的情緒相處如同養育一個小孩 Dealing with your own emotions is like raising a child
與自己的情緒相處如同養育一個小孩，對待小孩不能太過放縱過度滿足他們的慾望，也不能太過嚴厲對他們的生活規範過度苛刻。如果選擇宗教修行或在治療情緒問題，本質上就是與自己的情緒小孩相處，並運用我們的理性將這些感性引導到正確地方。如果選擇世俗生活也必須要對自己的小孩做同樣的教育。
Like raising a child, you cannot indulge them too much or satisfy their desires excessively, nor can you be too strict about their life norms. If you choose religious practice or deal with emotional problems, essentially, you are dealing with your emotional child and using your rationality to guide these sensibilities to the right place. If you choose secular life, you must also educate your emotional child in the same way.
做人最大的挑戰莫過於此，不但要將「自己的小孩」養育成人，還要讓他們受到正確的教育。現在逃避自己的情緒問題，將來也不能避免要養育自己的小孩的同樣挑戰。
The greatest challenge in life is none other than this, not only to raise your “emotional child” to maturity but also to educate them correctly. If you avoid your emotional problems now, you cannot avoid the same challenges when raising your own children in the future.
鯨落筆記whale fall notes 