Being a Highly Sensitive Person can suck a lot. Although there are upsides, sometimes it just sucks.

Don’t know what a HSP is? Well, it’s not so easily defined. In short: HSP get very heavy responses to things that “normal” people (HSP’s are normal people too, though) aren’t bothered by so much, and that can be physical, mentally and emotionally.

Do you want to know if you are a Highly Sensitive Person? Dr. Elaine Aron, who spent decades on this topic, made an online test where you can check. Of course, this is not a diagnosis – but maybe it could help you.

“It cripples me”

Again, being Highly Sensitive can do a lot of good. But for now, we’ll focus on why it sucks.

“I hate that I’m highly sensitive. I wish I was normal. I wish I wasn’t bothered by so many small things. I wish I could just be happy instead of always wishing things were better. I wish I knew how to be less sensitive,” Kelly writes.

“I want it to be a superpower, but it can be my Kryptonite more often than not. Instead of empowering me, it sucks the air out of my life.  It cripples me”, Melene says.

Kelly: “I can’t drink coffee; consume violent, scary, or extremely sad movies, TV shows, or books; and I sometimes feel other peoples’ feelings, which drains my energy, is exhausting and can bum me out.”

“I’m sensitive to EVERYTHING, to stimulation itself”, Melene writes. “I stopped numbing the overstimulation and now I feel it.  All the time.  I feel it in my body like a virus of the soul or something.”

The what-ifs

“I hate that if, for instance, a friend suggests going on a trip with a group of friends, instead of my first reaction being of excitement and happiness, it’s of worry, and ‘what ifs’, and thinking about all the things that could make it uncomfortable for me”, says Kelly.
“I hate that noise and bright lights bother me so much and that I seem distracted–to the point that I have to change seats or ask people to turn the music down–and everyone looks at me like I’m weird.”

Melene: “I still want to be like everyone else, the non-HSPs, or what I imagine they’re like and how they feel — breezing through life, thick-skinned, unaffected, balanced, disciplined with an ability to put things into perspective, well-adjusted, well-liked, and content.
Maybe my biggest mistake is forgetting that everyone is fighting a hard battle.

This is mine.”

Are you highly sensitive? Do you also think it sucks? Or do you see the upsides of it? Please let us know. Thank you.