I didn’t know I was highly sensitive until my late twenties. Up until then I always figured I was just a little weird. I was different than most people. And it usually made me feel like my kind of different was wrong.
No one else seemed to need time alone after a large family gathering.
I was the only one who noticed all the little things that were ‘off’ in a vacation home or hotel room (or someone else’s house).
I always developed a stomachache during our Christmas dinner or any other meal with a larger group. Not because of the food, not because I ate too much. But because I couldn’t process the bombardment of emotions and energies present in the room.
I thought I just liked reading—like a lot. At age ten I was already exploring the adult section in the library—having read everything in the children’s section more than once.
I know now that reading was my way of calming my nervous system, of taking a break from the too intense world and soothing myself. Reading was my solace.
Yes, I loved books and stories but it was almost as if I was addicted. I believe reading was my medication—a way to keep myself regulated.
Books were so important that I went to great lengths to ensure I would always have one available.
My mom knew I would continue reading if I took my book upstairs at night. So she made me leave the book on the dining room table. I simply read a different book in bed. One that I had smuggled into my room when I came back from the library 🙂
Obviously reading is not such a bad habit to develop. But the fact that I needed books to stay sane was a sign of disbalance.
Knowing you’re highly sensitive is important because it helps you understand more of what you need, why you respond in certain ways and how to best support yourself.
That’s why I developed my free sensitivity quiz.
Because if you are a sensitive soul, I want you to know sooner rather than later. And since 1 in 5 people is highly sensitive, chances are you either know someone who is or you might be highly sensitive yourself!
Take my complimentary Sensitivity Quiz here.
A sensitive soul is someone who has a heightened awareness of EVERYTHING. Sensitivity is the ability to pick up on nuances and details not everyone notices. This has to do with how these people process stimuli in the brain and how they perceive other people’s emotions and energy fields.
Elaine N. Aron coined the term “highly sensitive” and her research shows how highly sensitive people have a more complex and detailed way of processing sensory input. They sort stimuli in many more categories than other people.
Of course, when you hold on to much more details, it’s easier to get overwhelmed. So if you think your overwhelm might be tied to your sensitivity, be sure to take the sensitivity quiz so you will know for certain.
Wishing you a day full of energy and inspiration!
PS Feel free to share this with a friend who might want to check whether they are highly sensitive. (Especially since most people don’t discover they’re highly sensitive until they’re much older.)
PPS I never knew reading so many books would lead to writing books! 📚 You can check out my books here
