Sensitivity: An Asset, Not a Liability

Individuals who are empathic or sensitive can transform the debilitating effects described above into beneficial assets and strengths that contribute to well-being. Psycho-spiritual practices, such as meditation and visualization, can aid individuals in establishing a clear separation between them-selves and incoming energetic stimulation from other people or the environment. When kept in balance, the capacity of acute perception is a valuable tool for deepening one’s experiences of the world. The richness of such perception can bring great joy and meaning to one’s life.

The Research of Dr. Mesich

Dr. Kyra Mesich, a clinical psychologist in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a pioneering researcher and teacher in the field of empathy and psychic sensitivity. She has collected considerable case research on empathic ability, which she defines as “the capacity to literally feel another person’s emotional experience.” She also recognizes that these problems are exacerbated due to our society’s denial and repression of the existence of psychic phenomena.

According to Dr. Mesich, “The biggest question sensitive people have is, ‘why?’” Why are they so sensitive, why do they react so differently to the world than the “average” person? In The Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide, Dr. Mesich provides answers to this question, along with insights and practices that can help the sensitive person. She believes that the Yarrow flower essences are a crucial component in dealing with sensitivity and general empathic ability.

The Energetic Field

Dr. Mesich’s research corroborates the empirical evidence gathered by the Flower Essence Society, showing that the various Yarrow flower essences help provide a protective shield against potentially harmful sensations, over-stimulation, and merging with others. To understand why this is true, it is helpful to look at the phenomena of sensitivity and empathic ability in relation to the energetic body.

If we wish to move beyond a completely materialistic conception of life, it is essential to recognize that all living beings are enveloped by a permeable energy field called the aura. In some instances, the aura may be too porous, or have gaps, creating an inflow of external psychic information that can be overwhelming. Additionally, the auric field is dynamic and has the capacity to merge outwardly with one’s surroundings and with the other psychic fields. Ideally, the aura should regulate the energy it accepts and emits, with a filtering function to protect the individual’s well-being, and core sense of Self. Thus, the aura is similar to the physical circulatory system, regulating an inflow and outflow of psychic information.

Yarrow: A Shield of Protection

Observing the Yarrow plant (Achillea millefolium), we see the open, feather-like structure of the leaves, and the mass of tiny individual flowers that form a contiguous structure. Both the leaves and flowers include a multitude of finely articulated structures that form a gestalt, suggesting both protection and permeability.

Yarrow herb is well known within herbal tradition for its vulnerary and astringent properties — literally able to staunch wounds and control bleeding—with old names like Soldier’s Wound Wort and Knight’s Milfoil, or Herba Militaris. Herbal legend associates the plant with the Greek warrior, Achilles, who was brave in battle despite his vulnerable “Achilles heel.” It is from this association that the genus name, Achillea, derives.

The Yarrow flower essence works on a psychic level to heal the bleeding or merging of the aura with the surrounding emotional environment. As Dr. Mesich writes in her book, “Just as the herbal Yarrow cleanses and heals the skin after a wound, Yarrow essence heals and rebalances the empathetic person’s energetic boundaries and natural empathic protection.”

Herbal tradition also describes how Yarrow not only stops bleeding, but in certain circumstances, can also stimulate bleeding. (Yarrow was called “Nose Bleed,” but also “Staunchweed.”) Therefore we can say, it regulates bleeding. It breaks up clots and thins the blood, but it also acts as an astringent to control bleeding.

The Yarrow flowers are very important to our modern world. All people have been wounded by living in a technological world that emphasizes materialism, narrow intellectualism, and a cacophony of sensory experiences. For some people, this causes psychic stress, or bleeding, and for others, the result is stagnation and hardening. Yarrow flower essence circulates and regulates the energetic expression of the aura in a manner similar to the Yarrow’s herbal function in regulating the circulation of blood.

A Spectrum of Yarrow Essences

The ongoing research of the Flower Essence Society and the specific research of Dr. Mesich shows that the different Yarrow essences address specific aspects of sensitivity:

Pink Yarrow

❖ Imparts strong grounding and vitalizing forces
❖ Fosters emotional cohesion for those who merge too easily with their psychic environment

Pink Yarrow people:
❖ Lack a confident sense of self and look to complete themselves in relationship to other people.
❖ Are often involved in relationships where they “give too much”
❖ Attempt to solve people’s problems so they won’t have to feel the pain of others
❖ Typically have grown up in chaotic or abusive
families without emotional support

Golden Yarrow

❖ Self-protection for those who feel vulnerable about creative expression and communication
❖ Particularly helpful for artists, actors and others
who combine sensitivity with social responsibilities

Golden Yarrow people:
❖ Attempt to build barriers of protection
❖ May be involved in artistic or demanding social professions
❖ May withdraw from the world or appear timid, shy, cold
❖ Create boundaries between themselves and the emotional pain they feel as empathics, including the possibility of drug abuse
 

White Yarrow

❖ A multi-purpose remedy for the age and time we live in, with benefits beyond the personal sensitivities discussed above

White Yarrow people:
❖ Experience various forms of sensitivity or are not sure what direction their sensitivity takes
❖ Tend to absorb and process their sensitivity in the higher mental fields, as distinct from the personal emotional sensitivity of the Pink Yarrow type

Yarrow Environmental Solution

❖ Designed to help the body cope with geopathic stress — such as radiation, electromagnetic fields and various toxic substances
❖ Helpful for those whose sensitivity has somatized into various physical illnesses, such as allergies or chemical sensitivities
❖ An excellent remedy for strengthening the immune system but not as specific for various forms of psychic sensitivity and internalized soul conditions

Healing the Wounded Healer

Dr. Mesich feels that meditation practice and psychic training are important tools for sensitives. She points out that sensitive people are already naturally gifted, and can benefit from learning how to use this ability skillfully. “Yarrow is the remedy of the wounded warrior, but these days it’s the remedy for the wounded healer,” she writes. When referring to healers, she includes nurses, doctors, and health practitioners, as well as teachers, lawyers, and counselors—all people who are involved in social professions that demand sensitive perception and social acuity.

Dr. Mesich wrote The Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide out of her own experience as a “wounded healer.” Despite her extensive training to become a clinical psychologist, she received absolutely no information about the energetic manifestation of emotions. She was trained to have clear separation between patients and her personal life, but came to realize these abstract intellectual structures were meaningless without an understanding of energetic boundaries. Professionals receive concentrated training in their specific field of work, but there’s a considerable lack of information about the actual psychic dynamics of empathy and sensitivity. With additional understanding and experience, professionals could perform without being drained and personally hurt. They would be able to give from a stable psychic center, and help their clients more effectively.

Working With Environmental Sensitivies

Since writing her book, Dr. Mesich has been contacted by many people who are physically and chemically sensitive individuals. This has impelled her to consider the healing context for people with physical sensitivity. Due to heightened sensitivity and painful reactions to many substances, these individuals hesitate to use flower essences. Rather than internal dosages, Dr. Mesich recommends topical applications, holding the essence in the hand, or misting the essence in one’s environment.

About Kyra Mesich

About Jann Garitty

Read Golden Yarrow for Sensitivity & Self-Integrity by Kyra Mesich, Psy.D.