Are You Too Sensitive? + 5 Ways to Wake Up the Senses that DO Serve You!

Have you been told that you are too sensitive? That you cry too much. That you're so emotional. Get over it. Grow up. Put your big girl panties on. Big boys don't cry.

Did you hear any of that growing up? Or do you say any of those things to yourself even now? It's something all of us are familiar with. Our culture is imbued: emotions and sensitivity are deemed as weak, as feminine, unstable and unpredictable. We're told and taught to stuff our emotions and our emotional/mental/energetic needs down. 

I always felt like I was too sensitive for my own good, and that it was something I needed to overcome.

And so I did my best.... I put on my happy face and then went home and wrote heart-wrenching, angry journal entries almost every day. When the feelings were too uncomfortable, I turned to food, I binged on cereal at night, I'd hand around the snack table at parties to feed my insecurity with comfort and pleasure. If someone did something I didn't like, or that disrespected me, rather than make a scene (even more overstimulation and discomfort), I'd turn the other way and shovel my own needs and feelings under the rug. Now, none of that actually served me. And it didn't make the feelings go away.

This past year I read a fascinating book called The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron. It re-framed a lot of experiences and ideas that I'd had about my own sensitivities, showing me that this innate disposition I've been experiencing is not necessarily a curse. It's simply misunderstood and mis-valued in our culture and society. Being sensitive can be a great gift, when we know what it means for us, and know how to honor and respect our own needs and boundaries (more on this later)!

(Click here is a self-test by author Elaine N. Aron if you'd like to see if you are a highly sensitive person!)

I've found that reawakening and engaging my senses and sensitivity has brought me back into greater appreciation for all the simple things in my life, and for my own intuition!

I want to fully taste, touch, feel, smell, hear, and see my life! I want to be engaged and awake with all of my senses! I'm done with a numb, masked way of being. I want to FEEL again.

5 simple ways to wake up your senses
& tune back into your delicious, rich and powerful sensitivity:

1. Get wind chimes and hang them where you will hear them in times of relative quiet.

2. Go on a Smell Walk around your neighborhood. Really, have you ever? Then try a Sound Walk.

3. Savor your first sips and bites of all of your food with as many senses as possible. Put all of your attention on your food or drink for the first few mouthfuls and see how it changes the whole experience. Look at your food, touch your food, smell your food, slowly chew it long and good before you swallow and take your next bite.

4. Look people in the eyes when you are talking. Sounds simple, but you might find it challenging at first. Or you might find it utterly engaging. Start with people you know and trust. Notice what comes up within you, and what changes in your conversations. Feel free to share with them what you are experimenting with so that you both can play with it and see what you see together.

5. Find an essential oil that you like and begin to wear it. I like to have different ones to associate with different things. Lavender oil is soothing and relaxing, I put it on when I'm starting to wind down and get ready for bed. Jasmine or Ylang Ylang are high-note feminine floral essences that I love to put on when I'm getting dressed up or wanting to feel sensual and embodied (Sage and juniper are great for men, though I love to use them too, when I want to feel powerful and confident.)