I’ve always known that I am a very sensitive person. Some people tell me that I get too invested in what’s happening around me, and maybe I feel too much. Lately I found out about a new term doing the rounds. Apparently people like me are being called ‘Highly Sensitive People’ (thank you Dr Michaela Dunbar for the insight and the whole explanation in this new book I’m reading called You’ve Got This).

Kinda obvious no? I mean I didn’t need anyone telling me that I am a highly sensitive person. But knowing that there are so many people around me who go through the same thing (apparently 15 – 20% of the global population has this HSP trait), and how it can actually be turned into a good thing… that’s some kind of a breakthrough. 

Before I continue,  I feel like I need to make a disclaimer here, because I’m going to highly praise people of my ‘kind’. This doesn’t mean that the rest of you are bad. But sometimes it feels like not showing any emotion and soldiering on through life is celebrated more than actually being human, with emotions and all. Crying, being sad, being worried and anxious… that is usually conceived as a sign of weakness, when in fact people who are showing those emotions are brave enough to be vulnerable in front of the world. Yes, we are human. Yes we have emotions and we are not afraid to show them. And yes, we are still soldiering on through life, with an added factor, that of being human. Are we stronger than the rest, because we’re battling an inner fight whilst trying to live? That is up for debate, which I’m not going to delve into 😉

So here’s to us, the Highly Sensitive Souls!

The ones who have to cover their eyes when someone is being murdered in a movie, because it triggers so many emotions. I mean, what kind of sick people watch people getting murdered for fun?

The ones who cry while listening to music, because the beauty of it can be too much to handle.

The ones who avoid direct confrontation with others they disagree with, because you cannot bear to say words that hurt the other person, as that will only make you feel worse. 

The ones who can feel another person’s pain, even physical.

The ones who are mistakenly thought to be a shy person, when in reality you are simply processing what’s going on around you.

Life can be hard to handle, and being a highly sensitive person often leads to anxiety. Talking it through with people who will understand what you’re going through, will make it a bit easier to handle. 

Once you see how beautiful all of this can be, you start embracing who you really are. Emotions are such an exquisite part of life, they basically bring the spice to your being. Highly sensitive people experience positive emotions on another level, and they are capable of making some very deep connections with other people. 

So here’s to us for being who we really are – not weak, but highly human 😉