You're too sensitive

“You’re too sensitive”

Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten this feedback 🙋‍♀️

And they say it like it’s a bad thing…

I’m a very sensitive person in almost all the ways. I feel big feelings, I get easily overwhelmed, and I tend to take on a lot of emotional and mental burdens (even though no one asks me, too!).

So when Christina Gaspar brought up being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) when we chatted recently, I was super stoked to find a kindred spirit.

What’s an HSP anyway?

The term was coined by Elaine Aron, a psychologist, in the 90s to describe individuals “with a deep sensitivity to the physical, emotion, or social situations and information around them.” It may also be called “sensory processing sensitivity.”

What it is: a trait that exists in individuals to varying degrees

What it isn’t: a mental health disorder

HSPs might experience…

• overstimulation

• difficulty processing stimuli

• deep emotional bonds with others

• adverse reactions to violent movies, tv shows, and games

• deep empathy for the people around them

• very strong emotional responses to situations, both positive and negative

And my personal favorite…

• a rich inner life

Do any of these traits resonate with you?

You might be an HSP!

And while you might be thinking, “gosh, that sucks because there’s a lot of negative stigma about being ‘too sensitive’ in the workplace,” you should count yourself lucky for the adaptive strengths that come from being highly sensitive:

• social skills

• empathy

• being more attuned to your environment

But with great sensitivity comes great responsibility (that’s the quote, right?!). If you are an HSP, take the right steps to put your mental health first.