What If You're Not Too Sensitive?
If you've ever been told you're "too sensitive," you probably remember the moment. Someone said or did something that hurt, you reacted, and suddenly the conversation wasn't about what they did anymore. It was about you and your feelings, as if your reaction was the real problem.
Hearing it once can sting. Hearing it over and over, especially growing up, can change how you see yourself.
What's Usually Happening
A lot of the time, someone gets labeled sensitive because they're showing emotion and the people around them feel uncomfortable with it. Owning their part would mean admitting they did something hurtful, and that's harder than putting the problem on the person who got hurt. Calling someone sensitive becomes an easy way out.
Everyone Has a Different Threshold
People feel things at different levels. Some of that comes from life experiences, and some of it is simply who you are. When someone says you're too sensitive, they're usually measuring you against their own threshold and assuming that if something wouldn't bother them, it shouldn't bother you either.
Honestly, I don't love the label. It treats having feelings as a problem, when really it just means someone feels things more strongly than the person judging them.
What the Label Does Over Time
Hear it enough, and you might start to believe something is wrong with you for getting upset. You might start apologizing for your reactions or hiding them altogether. But if something hurt your feelings, it's okay that it hurt. The problem isn't your feelings. It's how people respond to them. Your hurt is a normal response to being treated badly.
Feeling Deeply Isn't a Flaw
Feeling things deeply and strongly usually means you care, both about the people in your life and about how they treat you. That's not something you need to shrink or apologize for.
There's also nothing wrong with needing support when your feelings get heavy. Leaning on people you trust, the ones you know won't judge you, is a healthy way to carry what you feel instead of carrying it alone.
Keep Being You
Having your feelings hurt doesn't make you too sensitive. When someone says that, they aren't showing you respect, and they aren't willing to look at how they treat you. That's a reflection of them, not you. So keep feeling what you feel, and keep being you.