Sensitive People and "the Coming Collapse"

A gentle guide to surviving and thriving as humanity has an emotional breakdown.

“In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitch-Hiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects. First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.” Douglas Adamas, HHGTTG

“I like the cover," he said. "Don't Panic. It's the first helpful or intelligible thing anybody's said to me all day.”

You deserve a break. My Valentine’s post looked so heavy that a bunch of you didn’t even open it, and many of those who did found themselves weeping. Until the last minute I had “Sorry” in the subtitle and then thought Ros, don’t apologise for posting something that feels absolutely necessary.

Some of us need a good cry. Apparently, I did, too. So that post was for we weepers, we lovers of catharsis. But yes, it might all be a bit heavy with our current political backdrop. I get it. I am here with dessert, a cosy dressing gown, and a glass of your favourite tipple.

And a little measure of hope, because as Nick Cave said, “hope is a supreme gesture of love, a radical and audacious duty.”¹

A lot of those drawn to what I’m writing are HSPs. Halal Snack Pack, Ros, you sure about that? No, friend, Highly Sensitive Person. We are reckoned to be around one fifth of the human population, so a sizeable minority. The world is not built around our needs. And right now, with tension and division ramping up, with change coming hard and fast? It can feel overwhelming.

But we sensitives are not at a disadvantage. In fact, I believe we are the future. And I’m not the only one thinking this way. See, for example, The Coming Collapse: Sensitivity Will Determine Survival. The headline is anxiety-inducing. But the message is reassuring to those of us who know ourselves to be sensitive. It’s worth reading the whole (science-backed) post, but it’s locked behind a paywall, so I’ll summarise it.

In the natural world, sensitivity is an asset. An individual with nuanced, interconnected perspective has a greater chance of surviving uncertain times. Human civilisations have been built around rigid systems that demand conformity. Systems that highly sensitive individuals find it hard to navigate (schools, the workplace). As Lilian Skinner writes,

sensitivity, when properly integrated, leads to better leadership, deeper social stability, and a more cohesive group… And yet, our modern civilization refuses to acknowledge this truth, systematically dismantling those most capable of guiding us forward.

Systematically dismantled is how some of us have experienced the early decades of our lives. If you are reading this, you are, at a minimum, rebuilding.

And suddenly, here we are, in a newly unpredictable world deliberately pushed to the edge of chaos by those who believe in a wealth-first model of survival of the fittest. But truly, who is best poised to navigate these times, if we keep ourselves anchored to what matters? We, the sensitive.

What matters? The quiet voice beneath the noise that whispers the answer. The instinctual knowing. Listening to your gut. It is time to make that second nature because, let me tell you, your gut (which you might call the ‘non-thinking’ brain — with its 500 million+ neurons — is a lot more attuned to your immediate geographical and temporal surroundings than the News is.

Now is the time to get habitual about The Pause and Listen. Not listening to your thoughts (shut them out for a moment) but to what your body is telling you before you decide which road to walk down, metaphorically or literally. You will feel a gentle yes (a hint of relaxed spaciousness) or no (something tighter, more pinched). Before you send that email. Before you agree to meet. Exercise this muscle, and it becomes more and more useful.

However, let’s say we walk down the street where something “bad” happens. Even if it happens to us. That doesn’t mean we made a “mistake”. Everything is working for our growth if we allow this to be true.