Success and Freedom

How to Thrive, Not Hurt, as a Highly Sensitive Person (Part 1/3)

by Namita Gujral

At any given time, 1 in 5 people in the room is experiencing the moment with greater emotional intensity than the other four. And since moments make up life, in any given moment, 1 in 5 people is experiencing life itself more intensely than others.This person knows it. And he is pissed off.

“Why do I take things so seriously? Why do I care when others don’t seem to? Why do I feel more intensely than others? Why am I so sensitive?”

Up to 20% of the population come with a personality trait that makes them more sensitive: The Highly Sensitive Personality Trait.

Among many things, this trait makes you more aware and process stimuli more deeply than those who do not have the trait (80-85%).

A large chunk of HSPs have come to equate this as a fatal flaw in their inherent makeup.

And that is a very sad conclusion.

The trait has so many benefits and advantages, but because it’s often misunderstood, many of those advantages never get a chance to come to the surface.

We remain so locked up in trying to fight our sensitivity with a goal to get it to go away. Why? What has caused us to be so upset with the way we are that we actually want to be someone we’re not?

I think because we don’t understand sensitivity holistically, we’ve made some serious errors in interpreting what it means to be a sensitive person.

Can we try to clear out some misunderstandings?

In this three-part HSP series, we’re digging deeper into what it means to be an HSP, what misunderstandings of the trait we’re caught up in and how we can become more at peace with ourselves.

This is Part 1.