"Your too sensitive"

"Your too sensitive for your own good".. I get told this a lot.  I was only just speaking to a friend and this very phrase yet again fell upon my ears.  For anyone who, if like me, has heard this all too often, it can make you feel that there is something quite different about you.  It's probably inherited, or has stemmed from life's experiences.  I have heard that being a "Highly Sensitive Individual" occurs in about 15 percent of the population.It means that I/We are very much aware of subtleties in our surroundings, a great advantage in many situations.  It also means that we become more overwhelmed when we have been in a highly stimulating environment for too long, bombarded by sights and sounds until we feel exhausted in a nervous system sort of way.  So being sensitive has both advantages and disadvantages.
So, I took some time to think about these advantages and disadvantages, and decided to write them in my blog - to help me understand it more, and anyone else whom happens to stroll upon this blog and feels the same.I hope that at the end of it - we will see that there are more advantages to have this trait than there are not, and that being a highly sensitive person can benefit us in many ways, in our personal and professional lives.
So, to sum up how I see the world goes like this:


I seem to be very much aware of my environment. 
Other people's moods effect me. 
Im rather sensitive to pain.
I can get easily overwhelmed with things such as bright lights, strong smells, loud uncomfortable noises.
I dont like honeycomb expresso (this is just for a laugh incase a certain someone reads this :p ).
I have a rich, complex inner life.
I am deeply moved by arts and music.
I am conscientious.
I get rattled a lot when I have a lot to do in a short amount of time.
When people are uncomfortable in a physical environment, I tend to know what to do to make it comfortable.
I get annoyed when people try to get me to do many things at once.
I try hard to avoid mistakes or forgetting things.
I make it a point to avoid certain violent movies or things I know will play on my mind.
Changes in my life can shake me up.
I notice and enjoy delicate fine scents, tastes, sounds or works of art.
I appreciate the amazing beauty of nature.
I love to hear the rain and the smell afterwards.
I make it a high priority to keep my life in order.
Better at spotting errors.
Able to concentrate deeply.
Overactive, vivid imagination.
Im a morning person.
I have a high sex drive.
I am passionate and romantic.
I am very creative.
I can truly show real empathy towards others.
I love to laugh.
I get easily stimulated by things.
I love to be touched.
I have trouble shutting my brain off to sleep.
Spend a lot of time thinking about the Universe and the meaning of life.
I am prone to anxiety.

There are so many fruits growing from the trait of sensitivity, that it makes our minds work a little different.  I hope by now that you are seeing your trait as a positive term, I know I am.  It becomes either an advantage or a disadvantage only in certain situations, but it must have a high value in many circumstances.  I use to think that if I had the choice to turn off my sensitivity with an off button, that I would immediately do so, no hesitation.  But as I have got older, although it can in some way limit my life to a certain extent - I don't think I would be without it, because I wouldn't be me, and I wouldn't be doing what I am doing now.  So, any of you out there that may be the same, try to embrace what you have been given and use it to your advantage.

Thrive in an overwhelming world :)