What It’s Like To Live As A Highly Sensitive Person

Going through life as a highly sensitive person is a struggle. You experience everything with an intensity that takes your breath away. As your senses are bombarded by the sensations that others take in stride, it takes all of your determination to make it through the day.

Every morning, you need to mentally prepare yourself to be overwhelmed as you navigate your way through a world where everything seems to be too much. There are times when you feel like you are going to shatter because you are under such an intense pressure, but each night you put yourself together again.

Picking Out Your Wardrobe

The battle begins with getting dressed in the morning. For other people, it is a simple process of grabbing something that matches or finding something comfortable.

You agonize over your decision. You want to make sure that you are choosing something that will be appropriate for the setting or the event. You want to look your best. You tend to over-think everything, from the color of your shoes to the style of your pants. Worse yet, you have problems when it comes to how the cloth feels against your skin.

There are some days when the wardrobe wins, when nothing feels right, nothing fits right, and you can’t even make it out your door.

Taking the Opportunity to Work from Home

You’ve forced yourself to go out into the world with others in order to make a living. Even though it is a strain to interact with colleagues throughout the work day, you have managed to be a team player.

Being highly sensitive has been an obstacle as you try to handle social situations. However, it didn’t stop you.

You never expected you would get the chance to work from home. While you pretend that you are disappointed, the truth is ‒ it is an answer to your prayers. You have one less hurdle to get through when the only one you have to face is your reflection in the mirror.

Embracing the Sound of Silence

You crave quiet. You love to listen to rain as it gently patters on the roof or the birds singing outside your window. When you need an outing, a walk in the woods or a hike is the perfect escape for you where you can be surrounded by nature. You can’t stand the cacophony of noise in the city.

At work, you tend to wear headphones to mute the noises around you. You steer clear of night clubs, crowds, and parties. If you know that there is road work, you will go out of your way to drive around it to avoid the commotion.

You do not even like to turn up the sound on your phone, but you care too much about others to risk missing a call.

Every evening, you carve out some time for yourself where you soothe your senses with your favorite drink (be it coffee, tea, hot chocolate or wine), you set the ambiance with some soft candlelight — the lights turned down low, the scents that trigger your most treasured memories, and the sounds of nature or silence give you a break from the world that you so desperately desire. It is your way of coping as a highly sensitive person, so that you can rejuvenate yourself to face another day.

Living to Please Other

As a person who experiences everything with such intensity, you are highly sensitive to the needs of others as well. You bend over backwards to please those you care about, often at your own expense.

Because you tend to be obsessive and compulsive about everything, others count on your attention to detail. You’re the first person everyone turns to when it is time to plan for a party or work on a project. It’s especially difficult for you because you never tell anyone no. You don’t want to hurt the feelings of others because you know what it’s like to feel too much pain.

Over-thinking and Over-Apologizing

You over-think every aspect of your life. When you have a project at work, you question your every move. If anyone criticizes your work, it cripples you.

You apologize profusely to the point that others tell you to stop. When you finally manage to get home after a difficult day filled with self-doubt and questioning, all you want to do is relax with the one you love. You put on a movie and you turn yourself into an emotional wreck as you are entangled in a fictional drama.

You can’t help it. That’s life as a highly sensitive person. You feel everything and there is no way that you can numb the ache in your heart. You relate to the feelings of others, connecting it with your own life. While your loved ones appreciate the fact that you care so much, they often lose patience with you. They tell you to get over it, unable to understand that you can’t turn your senses off. This is the way you are.

At night, you slip into bed and review your day. It’s a ritual you follow in a life that is filled with tiny rituals in order to maintain some sense of balance. You could examine everything under a microscope.

Often, you do. However, tonight you are giving yourself a break. As you stare up at the moon, you leave the window open a crack to let the cool night air wash over your skin. It’s a balm to a spirit worn raw by the challenge of living. You appreciate your soft blanket and the fluffy pillow beneath your head. You listen to the song of the wind in the trees. You relish being unique, being able to make the most of every moment.

You experience life with an intensity that others are not able to understand. Perhaps that means that you get the most out of every moment. One thing is for certain ‒ nothing will slip away from you or be overlooked. You feel everything.