Sensitivity is a word which is rarely used in a positive sense. Especially in our country being sensitive is often misinterpreted as being emotionally weak or incapable of handling a situation strongly. We might have often seen situations where if a person talks about his or her emotions, most of the people around would ridicule the person saying “Hey! These problems are so tiny and can be ignored easily. You are just overthinking.”. Well, this may be the case sometimes. But not always. Do you know that lack of emotional support from society is worsening mental health issues in India? This means, a simple assurance from us to the person suffering emotionally can make the situation better. Therefore, knowing how to be sensitive to feelings and situations around you is need of the hour now.

With the spread of deadly virus such as Covid, social media showcasing only positive aspects of people’s lives, Newspapers and news channels covering most of the bad news each minute, all we can do for betterment of our society is to know how to be sensitive to the feelings and situations people are going through or the feelings they might have.

Here are few tips or guidelines to help how you can develop sensitivity for the better:

1. Listen and observe – More often, a person who is upset with a situation may not have courage to come out and say so. Listening to them and observing their behavioural pattern will help you realise if there is something that needs attention. For example: Do you see signs of sadness or fear in their speech? Is a person who is usually very social, missing in action since few days? Take these as hints and nudge them using gentle words to see if you can help.
2. Be empathetic – Empathy is different from sympathy. When you are being empathetic, you are being non judgemental and just lending an ear to person who is speaking. Do not trivialize their problem. Rather, just ensure that you can understand that they might be going through tough times. Give understanding and reassuring nods while the other person is speaking. Give advice only of the person is in an emotional state to receive it.
3. Do not let the situation effect you personally – This might seem weird but might happen sometimes when you are trying to be lend a shoulder to lean on, for another person. When you listen, care, and give advice, sometimes you might also get emotionally effected by it. Try not to let the situation get to you. Try to detach yourself from the situation even while being sensitive to others. You can allow yourself to feel what others are feeling, but do not let negative emotions effect you.
4. Give hope to the person and leave with a positive note - Even if you are having a simple conversation, try to highlight positive things of the person or the situation without making it too evident. Let the person know that they have your support, if needed. Encourage them by highlighting the learnings from that situation and how well they have handled it so far.

Let’s stop using “sensitivity” as a taboo word and stop taking mental health and emotional wellbeing as some exaggerated things. Being sensitive means being able to sense things rather than being numb. The world would be a beautiful place if all of us think we have each other for support!