How many of us in recovery have been called "too sensitive"? I'm thinking there are more than a few of us.
I certainly grew up hearing the "Don't be so sensitive" refrain from the adults around me. Crying was taboo, and I wasn't encouraged to talk about my hurt feelings.
As a mother and grandmother, I can almost empathize with the adults who reacted to my emotional sensitivity as they did. I don't like to see the little ones I love cry, because it breaks my heart.
But we know better today (I hope) than to shut down our loved ones' feelings. When I see my daughters lean into their sensitive feelings (one of them leans more easily than the other), it makes me think I did something right.
Elizabeth Bishop, author of Conscious Service: Ten Ways to Reclaim Your Calling, Move beyond Burnout, and Make a Difference without Sacrificing Yourself, tells us that our sensitivity is our superpower, in our work and in our lives. I love her outlook, which includes an understanding that when we connect with our emotional sensitivity, we are less likely to abandon ourselves.