The Highly Sensitive Social Worker

Continuing with the theme of personality types, I thought I would delve more deeply and look specifically at the Highly Sensitive personality trait and how it relates to social workers and their practise.

First, the traits associated with being a Highly Sensitive person include: processing sensory data more profoundly, they are less productive when over aroused, they display intuition, are conscientious, prefer to socialise less with others, have good attention to details, do not do well when micromanaged, has a lot of imagination, are empathetic and are considered to be loyal employees.

People with this trait can also be mistaken as being shy, having a social anxiety problem and generally being fearful - which may or may not be the case depending on the individual.

*As taken from Wikipedia's article on the Highly sensitive person.

There are several books written on the subject so I will just briefly cover how having the trait can affect the social worker.

I will give an example of a day in the life of a social worker who is Highly Sensitive.  Here goes:

• Arrive refreshed after a restful evening at home
• Immediately feel overwhelmed by the blinking light of the telephone indicating several messages
• Have a feeling it's going to be a busy day but don't know why since there are no appointments scheduled
• Receive a report back from the supervisor with minimum corrections on it
• Relieved when your supervisor decided to hold off meeting with you to discuss your work since you feel like you've got a good handle on it right now
• Spend a few minutes contemplating the tone of the conference you will be having with a family in a few days, since you want it to be a balance of positives as well as areas to work on as to be fair
• Have lunch with a co-worker rather than eat with a large group of people in the lunchroom since there are many that you do not know as well
• Afterwards use your imagination to plan an a fun meeting with a teen client next week since they are not easily engaged
• Have a headache by mid-afternoon because of the fluorescent lights and constant chatter in the office
• A client arrives by surprise in crises who needs immediate support which you provide
• You are highly empathetic towards the client and feel drained after listening to their story
• Stay late after work because your supervisor asked you to complete a task that just could not wait and no other worker wants to do it

I think this sums up pretty well what the Highly Sensitive social worker would experience.  There are a lot of subtle instances where the trait is demonstrated, however unless you researched the trait you may not have made the connection that you have it.  I have to admit that I do have this trait and have found subject matter relating to it on the internet to be very helpful.  What many professionals say is that it is normal to be Highly Sensitive and that it is a part of who you are.  This means it is not something you should be ashamed of or feel that you must change.

As for tips, I would recommend: taking quiet walks outside the office when necessary, wearing sunglasses or turning off the fluorescent lights if possible in your office, wearing headphones to block out the extra noise, taking a breather for a few minutes after you feel overwhelmed with a client, co-worker etc.  Take time to regroup and relax your oversensitive body and mind.