What It’s Like Being a Highly Sensitive Person
And what it’s like being a male version of it
I always thought of myself as someone who gets excited too quickly, afraid too easily, worried too often. Society (especially the one I grew up in) calls men like that weak. They tell you to ‘man up’ and stop being so soft. Men never cry and should always be serious, calm and cold, like stone.
I’ve never thought there is a term for something I am, but it turns out, there is a term for everything these days.
I am a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). I am not ashamed to say that out loud, in front of my 231 followers on Medium.
The short definition for HSP is someone who gets over-aroused emotionally quicker than the average person. It’s a safety instinct and everyone has one. HSPs just have one so designed that it’s triggered easily.
Some traits of an HSP:
- You get overwhelmed easily
- You react to noises, smells, and touch
- You have a rich and complex inner life
- You don’t like being in crowded places or watching horror movies
- You need privacy and a place to restore more often than others
