In life there are all kinds of people. Some people are empathetic, kind, and identify with the needs of others. However, others seem not to be able to understand other people’s emotions and even develop cold behavior, without realizing that they cause pain and discomfort around them. The latter are distinguished by being insensitive people.
Insensitive people can make emotional and interpersonal relationships very burdensome and a real nightmare, so they are generally individuals who end up isolated and alone. If you want to know the characteristics of insensitive people, in this Psychology-Online article we will give you the information you need. This way, you will know if you are dealing with someone like that so that her attitude does not affect you and you maintain your emotional peace of mind.
Causes of emotional insensitivity
Why are some people so insensitive? Insensitive people do not see or act on the suffering of others. However, no one is born insensitive, since behind emotional management there is an entire context of experience and learning that has shaped the attitudes we have when faced with different situations and problems.
The reasons for emotional insensitivity vary depending on the person, since each person has a different life story. However, the main causes of emotional insensitivity can be summarized as follows:
- Genetic and neurological alterations that produce a condition called , which is characterized because people cannot demonstrate or identify emotions.
- Anger or anger repressed by some situations they have experienced and that has created a kind of “armor” of insensitivity to maintain their self-control.
- Lack of self-esteem and insecurity problems that lead to overwhelming or attacking other people to try to feel better in the short term.
- Great emotional traumas that lead to the appearance of insensitivity as a means of self-protection.
- People too involved in their ego or narrative that they forget to empathize with others.
- Being in stressful situations, in which some people do not know how to deal with their emotions in a constructive way.
Now that you know some of the possible causes of emotional insensitivity, let’s see what the characteristics of insensitivity are in people:
They don’t show affection
How do insensitive people react? One of its first characteristics is that They don’t show any kind of affection before nothing and no one. For the insensitive, the fact that someone is sad, upset or suffering about something is completely unimportant.
In fact, they are not, much less show, any kind of interest in the suffering of others. Of course, they do not make an effort to make others around them feel comfortable, which causes a negative barrier and lack of harmony in their relationships.
They make degrading comments or practice offensive assertiveness
Insensitive people don’t always know what they’re doing. However, the most common thing is that they express themselves with language that lacks empathy. Therefore, they often make degrading comments to try to undermine the self-esteem of others and hurt them. It is common for them to justify this type of behavior under the well-known premise of “I say what I think.”
Likewise, their communication with others is loaded with sarcastic messages that have the subtle intention of devaluing the point of view of others, which causes discomfort in the recipients.
They enjoy bullying and mockery
Insensitive people do not understand their own emotions very well, therefore, they will not be able to understand how other people feel either. This fact leads them to get involved in harmful and negative attitudes that cause harm to the people around them, such as bullying or mocking others for some condition or physical characteristic.
The usual thing is that their bad taste jokes go too far, to the point of hurting the emotional limits of other people. If someone in your circle of friends enjoys mockery and intimidation, you may be dealing with an insensitive person.
Disrespect for limits
Do you want to know another characteristic of insensitive people? Those who lack emotional sensitivity cross personal boundaries and again. It is normal for them to cross the point of comfort in personal relationships and push others to act outside their usual character to try to defend themselves.
What’s more, many of them only show empathy when it suits them, something that specialists call “instrumental empathy.”
They humiliate others and show a lack of social sensitivity
Insensitive people care little or nothing about social problems such as discrimination, injustice and inequality. For them, these are issues without importance or value because, according to them, it does not affect their lives in any way.
Furthermore, the staff is one of his most used tacticssince, since they feel so bad about themselves, their goal is to emotionally tear down others to level the playing field.
They do not tolerate other opinions
A person with emotional callousness always lives in his own bubble and believes that everything he thinks, says and does is the right thing. For this reason, he will never accept opinions from second people that contradict his attitude or actions. In fact, a simple conversation can end in an argument simply by giving a different point of view than that held by the insensitive.
On the other hand, their thoughts come out of their mouths at maximum speed, so they almost never think before speaking, regardless of the damage or consequences their words may cause.
What to do with insensitive people
Nowadays there are many insensitive people. Don’t let their attitude towards life harm your mood or emotional stability. On the contrary, build a wall of trust around yourself to gently stop the cruelty that these individuals give off and learn to see things from another angle.
When you commit to not stooping to insensitivity, your entire life will become simpler and more bearable.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Characteristics of insensitive peoplewe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- Critchley, M. D. (1968). Indifference or congenital insensitivity to pain. Journal of Medicine of the University of Navarra, 113-121.
- Reyes, I. Insensitivity. Ethical Dilemma.