Member-only story
Your Sensitivity Is a Superpower
Don’t be afraid of using it.
Remember the story Princess and the Pea written by Hans Christian Anderson? It’s a fairy tale that honors sensitivity as a royal trait, but I’ve also heard it used by parents and caregivers to belittle sensitive children.
Most of us grew up with the conditioned belief that our high sensitivity is simply too much to handle. We might be crying over the littlest things and be made to feel guilty for our tears. We might refuse to stay in daycare because there are way too many people in it, but we were told to just bear with it just like every other normal kid. And as we become parents who feel our kids’ reactions even more intensely, it becomes much easier to show impatience and anger rather than being gentle and kind with them.
You might have learned to numb yourself over the years in an attempt to live less intense lives and blend in with your peers and loved ones. But your suffering grows as you continue to dull your sparkle even more.
Over the years, I’ve learned how our sensitivity is a lifelong superpower that simply needs to be managed. When we deny our sensitivity, we only create more suffering in life.
