A Note about Sensitivity

Over the years I have grown to believe that various manifestations of sensitivity are connected or rather manifestations of one greater underlying sensitivity to stimulus.

My observations go from being sensitive to heat whether that of a hot shower or a handle of a boiling pot to sensitivity to spices in food to non-physical sensitivity to emotions.

When I think about it on a neurological level, it makes sense that the same receptors tuned to respond to one stimulus would respond to another at the same "setting" rather than being re-set among different stimuli.

People with low tolerance for pain will therefore be more likely to prefer less hot showers and will be less able to regulate their response to strong emotions.

And the reverse should also be true - people who need strong stimulus to feel emotions will also prefer very hot showers and be more likely to enjoy very spicy food, all other things being equal.

The analogy I believe is to levels of dopamine that we respond to indicating pleasure - they are
"set" to a certain level and this level varies among individuals. Some people enjoy the dopamine produced by bungee jumping while some others have such intense fear around it that the experience is not pleasurable.

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