Sensitivity can often be confused with weakness.
Though society can indicate otherwise, sensitivity can be a powerful tool.
Being tough can turn toxic if you are unwilling to ask for help, field your emotions by yourself, or stuff down whatever feelings arise in situations.
When this happens, you may feel alone and unable to emotionally regulate.
Being sensitive doesn’t mean that you don’t have strength. According to Webster’s Dictionary, sensitivity means: Quick to detect or respond to slight changes, signals, or influences.
It can be difficult to feel emotions if you grew up in a dysfunctional family that enacted an unspoken rule of don’t talk, don’t trust, don’t feel and you can still make changes in your life.
If you grew up in a family that consistently told you that you were sensitive, it can be challenging to redefine the power of sensitivity in your own life.
You may need to seek out help or trauma-informed care when it comes to understanding the power of sensitivity.
Often, the negativity associated with sensitivity is deeply rooted in systemic structures. It can become overwhelming and dismissive of your experience.
Toxic masculinity, or the practice of perpetuating domination, aggression, and stoicism in men, can be a barrier to realizing the power of sensitivity.
In the book For The Love of Men, the author, Liz Plank, addresses the cultural expectation of manliness in men and what that means.
Sensitivity in all genders can be powerful and useful when it comes to understanding next steps for you personally and within the world.
Benefits of Being Sensitive
There are benefits when it comes to being sensitive and they include:
- You are aware of your surroundings to recognize danger more easily
- You have the capacity for sympathy and empathy toward yourself and others
- You have decision-making skills because of your ability to weigh perspectives
- You have the ability to maintain personal and professional relationships because of your attunement to others
Benefits of Sensitivity In The Work Place
Not only can sensitivity be a strength in your personal life but also your professional life.
If you identify as a sensitive person, you may find that there are ways to use that as a tool.
To use your sensitivity as a tool in the workplace, you can:
- Act with confidence when it comes to your communication skills
- Be brave enough to speak up if something was missed
- Initiate teamwork to share your skills and talents
- Encourage creativity to solve problems
- Come to overstimulating situations prepared
Though you may have a history that indicates the deficits of sensitivity, it can actually be a powerful tool in both your personal and professional life.
Once you become familiar with the ways it shows up in your life, you can come up with next steps.
Being a highly sensitive person can mean more attunement with others, increased emotional intelligence, greater empathy, and catching details that other people may have missed.
Feeling empathy as a highly sensitive person doesn’t necessarily mean that you are an empath.
If you have questions about the power of sensitivity in your own life, a therapist can help.
Living life as a sensitive person, can lead to increased distress, difficulty regulating emotions, feeling overwhelmed and/or exhausted by some social interactions. When these reactions to being sensitive take over, it can be hard to recognize the gifts and power of sensitivity.
Learning to work through these challenges with the heightened arousal that comes with being sensitive, can help you to see and embrace your gifts.
Finding a therapist who can help you unlearn patterns and unhelpful ways of managing reactions to being over stimulated can help.
There is help available, including trauma-informed therapy, which can positively impact your mental health and increase emotional freedom, especially if you identify as a sensitive individual.
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Written by: Randi Thackeray, MA
Clinically Reviewed and Edited by: Julie Reichenberger, MA, LPC, ACS, ACC
