Why Being Highly Sensitive Needs to be Celebrated

Growing up, I personally did not know anything about high sensitivity. All I know was that, oftentimes, I could feel different from others. There were numerous times when I would feel as if I could not fit in anywhere. Sometimes, my strong emotions and intense reactions to stimuli in the environment even made me feel like an outcast.

As I become older, however, I gradually learn to come to terms with myself. It was during my college years that I was introduced to what is called as ‘Sensory Processing Sensitivity’ (SPS) or high sensitivity. To be clear, SPS is not a condition nor a disorder. It is a personality trait that makes a person more sensitive and easily reactive to their surroundings. Knowing these things as an eighteen-year-old adult gave me a huge sense of relief. It reassured me that there is nothing wrong with myself.

Indeed, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a highly sensitive person (HSP). In fact, high sensitivity can even serve as a gift not just for the HSPs themselves, but also for the people around them. There are plenty of reasons why being highly sensitive needs to be celebrated more than frowned upon.

Being highly sensitive can make a person incredibly creative

Highly sensitive people are deeply moved by beauty. They often take the time to appreciate such things as a rousing melody, a sweet scent, a riveting artwork, and more. These beautiful things have a deep impact on a highly sensitive person. They usually stir so much passion and vibrance within them. Sometimes, they can even put them in a near trance-like state. For the highly sensitive people, beauty is the ultimate consolation of the heavily troubling world.

The keenness to beauty of a highly sensitive person also makes them incredibly creative. Aside from being the appreciators, highly sensitive people are also often the creators. They create deep and stunning artworks. Their art is not just aimed at pleasing the aesthetic taste of others, but also at appealing to their emotions. A highly sensitive person usually combines their creativity, wisdom, and depth of emotions when making an artwork. Whether it is a painting, sculpture, song, dance, or poem, a highly sensitive person can turn anything simple into something incredibly beautiful.

Being highly sensitive allows a person to understand things deeply

Depth is a common trait among highly sensitive people. They are usually the deep thinkers and the deep feelers. When something good or exciting happens, for example, a highly sensitive person tends to feel happiness more intensely than others. When something bad occurs, on the other hand, they are also the one to wallow deep into their sadness or grief. Indeed, emotions do not just pass through the surface for the highly sensitive people. They stick deep into their hearts.

Similarly, when it comes to understanding things, highly sensitive people are also known for being the ‘deep’ ones. They are frequently considered to be wise beyond their years because of how intricate they think about the world. They are perceptive and insightful. They tend to notice everything, even those things that other people often miss. When they are presented with a new idea or information, a highly sensitive person does not just simply soak it up. Instead, they analyze, explore, and reflect upon it.

Being highly sensitive can turn a person into a great empath

Many people love to open up to a highly sensitive person. They feel safe to share things with them that they have not even shared with anyone else. Indeed, many highly sensitive people tend to exhume the energy of a great comforter. They provide other people with a safe space where they can share their thoughts, emotions, and problems without having to feel hesitant or afraid of judgement.

Highly sensitive people are generally great empaths. They are exceptionally attuned to the physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual needs of others. They are good at reading between the lines, and they can see people beyond their exterior. This is the reason why many people love to spend time with highly sensitive people. A highly sensitive person knows how to make other people feel heard, seen, and understood. They have the ability to feel what others feel and to see things from their point of view. Generally, highly sensitive people are personified security blankets.

Being highly sensitive keeps a person from being violent

Because highly sensitive people are so high in empathy, they tend to abhor anything that is unpleasant and cruel. This includes violence. Highly sensitive people absolutely despise violence. Hearing or seeing violence can be so disturbing or unsettling for a highly sensitive person. Whether it occurs in real life or is only depicted in movies, any violent act or behavior can turn the stomach of a highly sensitive person. To some extent, it can even make them feel physically sick.

Because of their abhorrence to unpleasant and cruel things, it is highly unlikely for a highly sensitive person to engage in violence. Instead, many highly sensitive people turn out to be great advocates of nonviolence. The best example of this is none other than the father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who changed the face of political protest by advocating for nonviolent and peaceful resistance. Ultimately, in this day and age when chaos and immorality are prevalent, the world needs more highly sensitive people who will blatantly refuse cruelty of any kind.

Overall, high sensitivity is not a bad thing at all. Contrary to popular misconception, highly sensitive people are not weak nor broken. We just have different ways of responding to things and conquering adversities. More so, we have a tendency to feel things with more depth and intensity. Being highly sensitive is not something that a person should be embarrassed of or feel bad for. Highly sensitive people are not freaks nor outcasts – this is the sort of advice that I needed during my teenage years when I was still struggling to fit in. There are plenty of reasons to celebrate being highly sensitive. In a world where almost everyone is just wallowing in self-pity and self-hatred, accepting and celebrating oneself is a bold and necessary choice.