Pre-blog disclaimer
Before you read… I share this blog as a reflection, not as an expert or therapist. It’s written from my own experience and understanding of being a highly sensitive person (HSP) and as someone raising sensitive children. This is not a diagnosis or a label but an offering and a perspective to help us see ourselves and each other with more compassion.I f anything here feels tender or not quite right for you, I invite you to hold it gently or set it aside.
An HSP is someone born with a beautifully sensitive nervous system, one that’s more finely tuned to the world’s subtleties. About 30% (reported) of people have this trait (a much larger percentage if we include living beings other than human), which means that HSP feel emotions intensely (both joy and sorrow), they notice the energy in a room, the mood of a friend, the shift in the weather, HSP reflect deeply on experiences and ideas and HSP are often sensitive to sound, light, texture or even caffeine.
It’s not a flaw or a weakness. It’s a way of being and when nurtured well, it becomes a profound strength.
Sensitivity is innate, not created by trauma or environment, though those things can shape how it unfolds. An HSP child raised in a supportive, attuned home can thrive, using their gifts for creativity, empathy and wisdom whereas an HSP raised in chaos, neglect, abandonment, control or harshness may struggle, developing anxiety, withdrawal or people-pleasing as survival strategies. The core sensitivity is the same but the outcome depends on how this being is loved into fullness.
The HSP carries innate gifts and should be celebrated and nurtured. A few of these gifts include having a deep connection to beauty, art, nature and the unseen, having profound empathy and intuition, gaining insight into people and patterns that others miss and having the ability to bring tenderness and healing into tough spaces.
As with anything in life, the HSP may encounter challenges along the way that include overwhelm in busy or noisy environments, sensory overload (lights, sounds, textures, crowds), emotional exhaustion from feeling so much, difficulty with boundaries and saying no and feeling misunderstood or dismissed as “too sensitive”.
So how do you care for yourself, or guide an HSP to take care of their sensitive heart and selves?
You can build quiet, soft safe spaces, prioritise rest and downtime, practice and teach how to set gentle boundaries because it's ok to say no and if an HSP is saying no... listen. Nourish your body with calming rituals, nature walks, breathwork, journaling and soft music and most importantly, find relationships where you are seen and valued for who you are and not for you are required to be to make others feel more comfortable.
If you are an HSP, know this: you were never too much, beautiful. You were born to bring beauty, empathy and light into this world and your genuineness, your creativity and your perspective inspires others so please, don't stop. Your sensitivity is not a burden but a strength and it needs your acknowledgment, care, protection and love. Lead with your heart and remember that you have limits so honour them. Be scared and brave, soft and strong all at once.
If you have a highly sensitive child, honour their limits from a place of love, not control, allow them to be scared, brave, soft and strong all at once because they deserve it and also, isn't that what you once needed too?
Love,
Keilah
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