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What does it mean to be a sensitive person?

by Andrea Tay

Do people around you call you a sensitive person? Do you get offended or does the statement fall on deaf ears? The word “sensitive” has always been secretly categorized by people as a negative description. If you are someone who thinks too much, then you might be placed in the sensitive pool.

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When it comes to people who have the tendency to be sensitive, you might immediately assume that perhaps a post online was about you. Regardless of the content being good or no. If you’re sensitive, then the post might disrupt your thoughts and make you overthink about the hidden meaning behind that particular post. Some might say, why dwell on something that brings you no benefit or whatsoever? To be frank, it is much easier said than done. However, there is nothing wrong with being a sensitive person. We are all humans and we do tend to get emotional at times. Though, sometimes if you excessively think about something, it might affect your mental state negatively.

That being said, here are some ways on how you can still be a sensitive person but still maintain a healthy mental state.

Be less conscious about what others think

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As long as you are not doing anything wrong, there is nothing to worry about. There is an estimated value of 7.53 billion people in this world and honestly, you can’t control their thoughts and how they might feel about you as a person. No matter what you are doing (good or bad) there must be someone or a group of people who can’t possibly accept you. When you are worried about what others may think of you, most of the time they actually aren’t.

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Meditation helps in calming the mind. When you put meditation into daily practice, your emotions might not be so riled up easily. You are in control of your emotions and it’s basically a group of energy that can’t be destroyed. However, it can be transformed into another form. So, when you feel the negativity arising in you, just reason out with it. Do not push it away or avoid these feelings because one day it might just burst out and may not be a pretty sight. Try not to suppress it either, because the consequences will be just the same as ignoring it.

Differentiate between your own problems and others

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If you are someone who is sensitive then there is a possibility of you taking in other peoples’ troubles as your own. Being a listener to your friend’s problems is not equivalent to treating it as your own. You can empathize with what your friends are going through but never ever take into account the emotions. You might say “I am putting myself in their shoes”, but this statement basically asks you to be considerate of what others are going through instead of thinking about your own issues that you are battling.

Writing a journal or diary

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Being someone who is sensitive, it might be hard to keep track of your sudden outburst or over-reaction. That is when writing a journal or a diary helps. By doing so every day, or maybe once a week, you get to check on yourself. If there is a misunderstanding between you and your friends that week, you could just flip through the pages to recall the incident. Though initially, you might find excuses for not writing, slowly but surely you will get used to it. Writing a journal also helps a lot in regulating emotions. It acts as a place for you to have a heart-to-heart talk with yourself

Communication

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Communication is a tool for having a successful relationship. Being someone who is sensitive, your feelings might easily get hurt without being noticed by the people who don’t know you well. Therefore, to get things sorted out between you and others, it is essential for you to express your thoughts and feelings to them. By doing so, you are providing an opportunity for you and them to create an understanding to grow another step closer. But do bear in mind, the words and sentences used in expressing should be in consideration of others’ feelings. Always note that if you don’t like people doing that particular thing to you, then you should not do the same to others.

Images via thoughtcatalog, theartoflivingretreatcentre, Kelvin Dodge/ Getty Image, quietrev,  startupist, upliftconnect, theawarenesscentre

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