Sensitivity: A strength or a weakness? 

During the course of my life, I’ve been told countless times that I’m too sensitive.

• “It was just a joke! God, you’re so thin-skinned.” (said with an eye roll)
• “Stop being immature. It wasn’t personal.”
• “I’m just playing devil’s advocate. Why are you overreacting?”
• “You are not a child, and you should be able to handle reading the news/hearing Trump’s voice/reading about horror and cruelty. Stop being so sensitive and toughen up!” (This one is more of an internal monologue that I berate myself with, a lot lately.)

There are a couple of ways my “overactive sensitivity” typically gets the better of me:

When my own emotions get overwhelmed, like during confrontations or heated conversations, or if I am falsely accused of something, I lock up. Big feelings plus adrenaline flood my system and my ability to think and respond simply dries up. Logic escapes me. My brain goes blank. More feelings pile on and it’s an endless loop of emotional short circuiting.

I have yet to develop a good consistent way to interrupt this cycle when it happens. Having some time to myself to restart my brain, think through the logic, and steel myself for another (hopefully less heated) conversation seems to be the only way I can recover.

When my highly developed sense of empathy gets overstimulated, like when I hear or read about blatant cruelty and meanness. There’s so much in the news right now that is utterly heartbreaking. It physically hurts in my chest, like my heart is actually breaking, and I feel sick to my stomach. Things that people are publicly doing and saying (being deliberately cruel to other living creatures, taking pleasure in that meanness and power) are so hard to believe and surreal, that my brain short circuits when I try to understand. And it keeps piling on, into a pile that is so high that it can’t possibly be real but it is, which seems to be the theme of 2025 so far. It’s exhausting.

There must be a way that I can frame being “overly sensitive” as a strength rather than a weakness. But how?

I have been thinking a lot about it for a long time, and I have come up with a list of positive things about being super sensitive. It helps me to remember these, and if you are also “too sensitive” (solidarity fist bump!), maybe this will help you too.

• I have a strong emotional awareness, both of myself and others. This helps me understand both me and you!
• I pick up on microexpressions, which, despite what all these “anti-DEI” wackos say, are 100% real.
• I connect quite deeply with certain people. I’m in the middle of writing another post about how when I manage to make a good friend, I usually want to be friends forever and I have a rough time letting relationships die.
• I’m very aware of the signals my body is giving me. When I sense a red flag about a person, I really feel it in my whole body. Which means when I don’t like someone, I usually have a darn good reason.
• Sensitive people tend to be really creative, which I think I am.
• I have multiple kinds of synesthesia, and synesthesia is cool!
• I have a VERY mouthy inner voice and a vivid inner life/imagination, which means my brain is endlessly entertaining me.

Can you think of any others I might have missed? Do you find strength in being considered too sensitive?