High Sensitivity: Discovering and Embracing Your True Self
“You’re too sensitive.” I heard it countless times growing up, but it wasn’t until I became a mother that I began to see my sensitivity not as a flaw, but as a gift.
Directly connected with the early months of my parenting journey, the topic of high sensitivity emerged in my life. I still remember one night vividly: my child had been crying for what felt like hours. I was exhausted, frustrated, and unsure of what to do. We were lying in bed, my husband standing nearby, when suddenly, I broke down. I started crying and screaming too, as if I was letting her own screams flow through me. In that moment, I realized how deeply I felt her emotions—and how much they intertwined with my own. Therefore, I would like to write to you about this highly sensitive part of myself now. Let’s call it Highly Sensitive Mini Series, consisting of 3 parts.
Gradually, you will see the full picture of how my main themes—respectful parenting, high sensitivity, and holistic health—came to life and are interconnected.
Here is the first part of three of my Highly Sensitive Mini Series.
A Lifelong Journey of Awareness of High Sensitivity
Being highly sensitive is a theme that has touched every aspect of my life. Yet, it wasn't until the birth of my daughter that I fully began to understand it. As a child, I often heard that I was "too sensitive"—both physically and emotionally. People would tell me I took things too personally, cried too much, or became overwhelmed for no apparent reason. Even then, I could sense the emotions of others, sometimes more clearly than they could themselves. But at that age, I didn’t have the tools to understand or manage these sensitivities.
When my daughter was still under a year old, we joined her first activity group. The gentle and observant teacher mentioned something that resonated deeply with me: she suggested that my daughter might be highly sensitive. That comment opened a door to self-discovery. I began reading everything I could find on the subject of highly sensitive people (HSPs), exploring books, articles, and online communities of people like us. In doing so, I not only learned about my daughter, but I also discovered that I, too, am a highly sensitive person (HSP).
Building Emotional Resilience: Shifting Perspectives
Recognizing that I am a highly sensitive person allowed me to shift the narrative of my life. I stopped seeing my sensitivity as a flaw and began viewing it as an integral part of who I am. I embraced it. The two most significant shifts that came from this realization were self-acceptance and a change in how I approach my own needs.
Sensitivity is not something to be fixed; it is a gift that allows us to connect more deeply with the world around us.
I learned that my strong emotional reactions and heightened awareness of my surroundings weren’t signs of weakness. They were my body’s natural responses to a world that can be overwhelming. Rather than trying to "toughen up," I began to listen to those signals more closely.
Recognizing the Gifts of High Sensitivity
The more I understood what it meant to be highly sensitive, the more I realized how it could be a strength. Being highly sensitive has given me the ability to pick up on subtle emotional cues, to experience art, music, and beauty on a profound level, and to empathize with others deeply. Every highly sensitive person may experience these gifts differently, but we all have the potential to thrive in unique ways.
Finding Strength in Emotional Connection
One of the greatest advantages of being highly sensitive is the ability to connect with others on a deeper level. I can sense the needs and emotions of those around me, sometimes before they’ve fully processed them themselves. This allows me to be a compassionate listener, someone people naturally turn to for support. Although it can be emotionally taxing at times, this gift has enriched my relationships, drawing people into my life who value genuine connection.
Being highly sensitive means noticing the beauty in the smallest moments and finding joy in the details that others might overlook.
Learning to protect myself from overstimulation has been a key part of my journey. Being highly sensitive comes with the need to create boundaries that safeguard our energy. Without these boundaries, the noise, bright lights, crowds, strong smells, and emotional tension in a room can become overwhelming. By understanding my limits and making space for recovery, I’ve found ways to let my sensitivity flourish rather than exhaust me.
High Sensitivity in Mindful Parenting
Challenges and Rewards of Parenting as an HSP
Parenting as a highly sensitive person comes with unique challenges. Like all children, my daughter has an incredible ability to reopen old emotional wounds and intensify the emotions I already carry. Being highly sensitive means that these feelings hit me strongly and easily, making it difficult at times to balance my own emotional world with hers. As a full-time parent, finding time for myself is limited, which makes it even harder to manage both my emotions and my daughter’s. However, when I am able to restore my own emotional resources, I find myself deeply attuned to her needs. I understand her emotions on a profound level, and I can respond to her with empathy and patience. It’s a delicate balance, but the sensitivity that makes parenting challenging also allows for a deep connection and understanding between us.
Being a highly sensitive parent means navigating the intense emotions of both yourself and your child, but it also brings a unique attunement that fosters empathy and connection.
Through this process, I’ve realized that the gentle, respectful approach I use with my highly sensitive child works wonderfully with children in general. It’s a method that nurtures emotional well-being and respects the emotional world of the child. This approach, rooted in empathy and attunement, does no harm to any child and can, in fact, benefit all children by acknowledging their emotions and giving them space to process them.
Are you interested in reading more about parenting? Here is my most successful post yet:
Share Your Experience with High Sensitivity
Have you or your child experienced the challenges and blessings of being highly sensitive?
How has understanding sensitivity changed the way you approach life or parenting?
Your stories can inspire others on this journey. I’d love to hear about your experiences—let’s continue this conversation and support one another as we nurture growth and empower change together.
Stay Tuned for Part Two: Managing High Sensitivity with Body-Mind Connection
In the next part of Highly Sensitive Mini Series, join me as I explore the connection between body and mind in managing high sensitivity and how prioritizing self-care has become an essential part of my journey.
Thank you, Rachel, for reading my article. I feel strong connection here, among other highly sensitive authors, it is so natural.
Embracing high sensitivity is life changing.
Happy sensitive days!
Thank you Selene, for this heart warming article. I too am an HSP and I love it. But it hasn't always been this way. As you know, until you make the discovery it can be a challenge.
I hope this article finds other HSP's and allows them the privilege of fully loving who they are. ❤️🙏✨