In this post we’ll be exploring The Sensor in more detail (I suggest reading this overview of the sensory types first, if you haven’t already).
Perhaps the image for this post won’t immediately tell you much about the sensor, but when I was choosing one, it jumped out at me as it’s all about the little details: the sticker that has been made into the main theme of the image, is the sort of thing that most people wouldn’t notice if they were walking along the street. Not unless they’re a sensor.
As I said in the overview, if you were to describe the sensor in one word it would be hyperaware. They notice all the sensory details in their world. They are like the canaries that miners used to take down the mines to detect the presence of poisonous gases. They will notice what appears to others as the most minute of details. They will be the people who need to cut the scratchy tag out of a piece of clothing; the ones who find the light too bright; the smell of your perfume over powering enough to make them feel sick.
It’s not just the physical details that they notice though. It’s the nuances of a person’s mood – the turn of phrase used; the facial expression that flits across a face before the mask is put back on.
The benefits of being a sensor are, I think, being able to follow a trail of curiosity that most people wouldn’t notice, let along consider exploring. It means the mundane can be infinitely interesting. On the downside it can mean that it’s very hard to focus – in my family we call this ‘shiny things syndrome’. Distraction in the form of sensory input is everywhere, which can quickly lead to overwhelm and mental exhaustion. Decompression is a non negotiable part of life. This is because the sensor has a low neurological threshold ie their brain very quickly takes in sensory information. Supposedly they are passive self regulators, but from the information I’ve read, this doesn’t seem to quite ring true: they do things to control their sensory input – such as cutting labels out of clothes, choosing the same food when eating out, etc. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding though, I’ll do some more research and get back to you!
As with all of the other sensory types, you might find that you aren’t one type, which is fascinating to consider – could you really be a sensor for somethings but a bystander for others? How would THAT work? Perhaps as I learn more I’ll discover that it’s not possible, if so I’ll update this post.
If you know someone who is very creative, or who is an empath, then you’ll most likely recognise them in this description. I think that the extreme end of this sensory type probably falls into the Low Latent Inhibition category, a concept that my friend, who died recently, introduced me to as a possible explanation for the way that our brains work. I wish she was still around to discuss this sensory information with.
As you may be able to tell, I do not have any difficulty imaging what it’s like to be a sensor! This is my world, it’s where I feel at home, unlike the world of the bystander which is completely alien to me. Do you identify more strongly with a particular type? Do let me know.
I hope that you find this very basic information useful, don’t forget that if you’d like to explore it all in more detail then I highly recommend Dr Dunn’s book Living Sensationally,which also includes a comprehensive self test.
