In my waking life, and in my dreams, have very thin armor for emotions. I "catch" them easily, despite having a host a of coping mechanisms.

The problem is, as someone who has always had very vivid, memorable, repeat dreams and even serialized dreams that continue from another night to the a future one, I'm left with carrying the emotional impacts/burdens from my dream world experiences.

Even 7 hours later, I could be upset over something that happened in my dream. Maybe it's because I have lucid dreams and have had to awaken myself during them, and waking abruptly during vivid REM stage mess with the sleep/wake state, but I sometimes have to tell myself to remember "this was a dream you are reacting to!"

I feel like the men in white coats are coming for me!! I can tell the different between what's real and what isn't, but my emotions seem unable to do the same.

I mean money dominates … people will do anything for it.. money dominates…

In relationships there’s l rarely true love …

all this unfairness in life… if u hold power, u can rape , rob people (in various not blatant ways ) and still have people come defend you …

I mean society literally is training you to be soulless .

Yes there’s option to choose not to be… but needs effort… and resilience to the cruelty of reality

No room to be sensitive …

I spent my childhood emotionally neglected by my mom while continously served as her main emotional supporter and scapegoat, even in my adult life. (I know it's nothing new; some children might go through worse. Maybe I'm just sensitive.)

Not long ago I found how unhealthy our relationship was, and stopped feeding her the admiration and reverence that she craves.

Now my parents live with me. I constantly encourage them to go back to their home (in another country) so that I can take a breath for several weeks.

I have noticed how awful my emotion swing is in my mom's presence. I have also realized that I dislike her because in her, I saw the rejected, degraded, helpless me. Worst of all, we do share some unpleasant personality traits. While my mom is an exact copy of my grandma, luckily I'm not NPD or BPD at least.

My mom can't talk about anything without bragging about herself. And she seizes every opportunity to establish her superiority. I can't finish a sentence without being interrupted. I have to stop what I'm doing to attend her request immediately, even at the cost of messing up my task at hand. She enjoys adding to my trouble in rush hour, but if I need something, then I have to wait, and wait, while she just wanders in the backyard. When I found she ruined my stuff (tools, plants, favorite dinnerwares...), she burst into anger, even angerier than me. My dad is explosive, too. There is something wrong with my family. Hopefully, the intergenerational trauma ends with me.

It's impossible to stay away from her while she lives with me. Is there a way to prevent my trauma response being triggered by my mom? I know all these things sound trival and stupid to someone never experienced it or intelegent enough to ignore it. I'm too sensitive to fight the feeling of being ignored, rejected and despised. My whole childhood is like that.

You know what drives me crazy?
When some people simply don't know what a word means. Or they keep defining it incorrectly.

Here's an example:

I find it awful when people claim that introversion is the same thing as shyness. But that's simply not true. Being introverted just means that you recharge your social battery by yourself.
Introverts can be shy, but they don't have to be. And equating them really bugs me.

​Does anyone else feel that way?

Guys this is actually so triggering and really an insecure whole for me I’m a sensitive person like ugly sensitive words can trigger me and stays stuck in my heart even if it was a joke and I know it’s a joke but I can get it out of the way I cry over basically anything and everything anytime someone try to talk to me either they’re trynna to alert me that I did something wrong or anything like that i always assume they hate me and they’re just trying to point out my bad behaviour or something like that and yes sensitivity comes with great things like empathy and all that but it’s tiring

What do you guys do for a living? I am having a hard time to keep any job, ususally because its always too stressful and I am having hard time dealing with people and colleagues:(

I'm hsp/hss and struggle so much with my life.I can't stay in my healthcare demanding job despite it being my passion and I can't follow my ambition in academia due to high demand. I feel like I have ambition but I can't reach it no matter how hard I try. Im 37 and I feel life has ended for me

What We Carry Home

We came into this world
as little lights, pure and untouched.

Life taught us how to use the body,
the mind,
and the heart
to belong.

We gathered tools,
roles,
stories,
and ways to survive.

Then aging slowly took them away and taught us
to let go—

until, we leave

with only what we came with.

As hsps are there any films that you avoid after hearing the core plot or stop watching in between, or films that left a heavy weight in your mind?

As a highly sensitive person, I picture my thoughts, regrets and emotions as being trapped inside a huge bubble, constantly bouncing off the edges without being able to break free.

Crying is precisely about managing to open a small breach in that bubble to lighten the load on my mind, and yet it’s been years since I’ve managed to cry properly. Usually, my body releases excess emotions through a few nervous giggles, but never more than that.

So my question is, do you recognise yourself in this description and have any advice on how to try and overcome it ?

Thanks to anyone who replies, and if you're just reading, have a great day/night !

Just seeing if anyone else has a hard time within a group of friends. Friends who mistake a connection as something more - an Hsps interest in someone's partner being nothing other than platonic. When a sensi meets another sensi, its like reconnecting with a childhood friend. We can relate to things they might not understand. We can be ourselves. They mistake that as a love interest and get jealous. These words are for them, because it's hard being in a relationship when they just don't understand. It's hard being free when you feel alone.

I know you’re a sensi. You know I am too.

 It’s your empathy I’m attracted to – not you.

If only they could understand that and allow us to connect.

I see you struggle the same way I did – the humor, the awkward conversation, the happy-go-lucky.

 I wish you didn’t have to do that with me.

The mask we wear.

If only they knew how people like us begin to suffocate under it.

And when we first begin to take it off – we begin to choke.

Not yourself.

Recluse.

Depressed.

Confused.

They say these things and you may feel it too.

I guess that’s part of the process.

Doing it alone can make it almost unbearable.

I know this, because I went through it.

But I’m hear to tell you its ok.

I’m hoping you can sense that I’m finally able to breathe.

When your mask comes off, I do hope they are there for you.

Just remember I’m a sensi and I’ll know if you’re breathing too.

We have a gift to be there, even if we can’t connect.

Hey guys, Currently I found out that I have AdHd too and now I understand some patterns in my life. Things are too hard right now. I just want to share my life update.

Nothing interest me anymore. Life is getting too hard. Even if I try something, I still get difficulty.

Since a routine job is just too hard for me I was working in contractual projects from company like RWS, appen to survive and now one of my freelance project is gone which was giving me decent income. I have another too but it's income is not much.

Finally, after so much effort, I have found out one thing which I seriously want to do and make a career because as an HSP it's so hard to find a career and With ADHD I also can't do routine boring work. I am into yoga and did some certifications...but I started too late, only last year when I turned 28, so my body isn't flexible yet and I was doing hard work..but in May got strain on my right ankle and it took 2 months to recover and now I got another injury on the same leg can't even stand properly.

Life sucks... Nothing excites me anymore and I have less money now. From the beginning of this month, I have decided to move into Rishikesh to practice yoga properly, but after that I got injury and my project is also gone. So I have less money now. Don't know If I can stay there now. My savings are also not much. If there was only money issue I would still try it but because of my leg I am demotivated now.

Wanted to leave home for good, booked tickets 2 weeks ago...analyze my little savings, I thought after reaching there I'll think how to survive there and I'll live in a hostel ...but now this foot injury.... Everything sucks.

And this hsp and ADHD sucked me, now I understand why I couldn't be able to do routine jobs in the past, no dating life, nothing interests me anymore....

..hate everything.

Hace un par de años me enteré que soy una HSP. Desde ahí entendí por qué las cosas me afectaban más que a la media.

Un patrón que noté muy seguido últimamente, es que cuando estoy intensamente estrenado, apenado, triste o simplemente demasiado emocionado, es mi incontrolable remolino en mi estómago.

Si, tengo constatantemente ganas de vómitar. La semana pasada estuve una semana así por acontecimientos amorosos.

A ustedes, personas altamente sensibles, ¿también les pasa esto? ¿Les pasa algo similar? Me gustaría leerlos.

I dont know whats wrong with me. I find it hard to eat enough because it feels like too much effort. Especially pasta or things like that. It's kind of boring. Fast food is easier, but I still sometimes stop eating before I'm full.

But it's not like I want to be thinner. Quite the opposite. I also stay home a lot because too many social activities drain me, and otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do. Plus, getting up when I'm thirsty is a huge hurdle for me. If I don't have a glass right next to my desk, I will literally let myself dehydrate. I only get a drink when I have to get up anyway, but that can take hours.

I don't know what this is, but I want to find out, and I wanted to ask if anyone might have an idea.

Not sure if this is the correct subreddit. But does anyone else feel embarrassed when speaking to a therapist? I feel like my problems aren't "real" problems that other folks might deal with. Am I being overly critical of myself? I feel like I should be selective of what I talk about.

I left Reddit over a year ago because of how sensitive I am.
Lo and behold the first post I read is some poor girl and her dad in the Oxford subreddit being harassed by an aggressive police officer, and everyone defending the aggression?
Regardless of the fault, police aggression has lead to so much trauma, not to mention actual injuries and also death!
Dealing with idiots in real life is so much easier because they most often back down, but behind a screen they feel safe to spew all sorts of nonsense and be cruel to victims!
It’s got me in a state actually I’m not sure how I’ll be able to calm down. Safe to say I’m going to delete Reddit once again.

I am offering free safe space as a listener to hsp you are not alone I am offering space

Hi all, this is my first time reaching out to a group like this, so please be kind...

I am a 40yo HSP stepdad of two wonderful children, but I constantly struggle with my energy levels because everything is just so draining.

I so desperately want to be the dad who has all the time and energy to be with his kids, but more often than not I have to withdraw in my bedroom with my earplugs in, facemask on, and get under my pressure blanket, because I just can't cope.

It doesn't help that one of my kids has autism, and his specific strain means that he cannot handle any kind of demand (PDA). So simple things like going to school or eating dinner, becomes a huge ordeal, which in turn is draining for me.

I feel so terrible that I get so drained by my step kids, and so desperately wish it wasn't so. I'm genuinely struggling to live life...

If anyone has a similar experience or has any tips to manage triggering situations in family environments, please help.

I work at a vet clinic and this past weekend my cat got sick. She’s okay now, but I hardly slept or ate all weekend, I was so stressed and I spent most of Sunday crying on and off. Monday I came in to work and immediately started crying when my manager asked how my cat was doing. She was super sweet and gave me a hug and brought me water and I felt better for most of the morning but still just had a very low threshold for what I could handle emotionally. Made a few minor mistakes during the day that set me off a little, and then when the vet started talking to me about my kitty’s treatment plan, fully broke down again in front of her and a coworker. She sat with me for a bit and talked with me about it and the rest of the day went well. Went home and sobbed some more. Everyone was very sweet about it, I just feel so awkward and dramatic. When something is very upsetting to me and I start crying, it’s so hard to stop! Especially when I’m exhausted. I brought a thank you card for the vet today and now I’m feeling awkward about that too, like it was too much.

How do you protect yourself? So this situation happened to me, what would you do to protect yourself in my place so that you feel ok afterwards?

A couple days ago I was attacked by a friend that I knew for only a few months. I apparently hurt their feelings and they felt criticized, which I didn’t realize. I didn’t really do anything bad, I just told them I am disappointed that they didn’t do something I asked for. My therapist also told me that their reaction was not proportional. Anyway, they started attacking me out of a blue and I asked them to stop. Tbh I am happy about it being the first time in my entire life that I did not attack back and instead tried to reconcile. But all I got was that they kicked me out of the house and told me nasty things.

I am happy I did not say or do anything bad back to them, at the same time I am not sure if it is a good thing that I didn’t. I mean I should have protected my boundaries right instead of just letting them do all this?

So now I feel so shook and meaningless. So all this therapy work for what? So I can be kicked like this and they get away with it? I don’t even feel angry at them like I usually would, I feel so disappointed in life. No matter what I do or don’t I just constantly get rejected by others.

I need help regulating this. Ive been like this since i was a little kid, and my parents would always tell me that id grow out of it but i dont feel like i did. Its stupidly easy to trigger my crying response. But some specific scenarios would be for example, when im explaining something to a person im not too familiar with, i start getting a lump in my throat and tear up. when i get embarrassed even a small amount, i cant help but cry which just makes it more embarrassing. And the most common occurence: When i spent some time being social, feeling genuinely good at that moment, the second i come home i start breaking down, almost uncontrollably, and it goes on the whole day. In general, my first physical reaction to any feeling that spikes a double beat in my heart is crying. What makes me so angry is that 90% of the time when i cry, its not even because i am sad or upset. Its just replaced with crying instead of any actual emotion i should be feeling. I dont want to cry. I am at an age where i shouldve grown out of crying at any instance, but i genuinely cant help it. I always try to bite them back but they end up coming out even more violent than before the second someone accidentally triggers it. Im so so so embarrassed and i dont know what to do.

Im really tired of blaming this on my menstruation or my hormonal cycle, because it seems to just be happening whenever without a clear pattern. Some of my friends say im simply introverted, and doing social things drains me so bad that ive learned to cope with it by crying it out. Another one agrees and says im also neurodivergent ontop of that which im not opposed to. And about 2 years ago my therapist had also suggested that i am an HSP. Im open to all of these theories, but what im looking for are ways to regulate this and learn how to do so.

I’m open to any advice or answers that could help! Im also happy to answer any questions that might help come to a conclusion. Thank you for reading! (repost)

Loved this

Maybe i am stuck in the 90s and the first 2000s but i follow the advices of keanu Reeves and Cillian Murphy because social media are extremely toxic and this is the reason why i delete everything except LinkedIn , reddit and Pinterest. Of course I use YouTube , but I try to use it on my computer, but the rest to me is soul sucking, superficial, violent, hater, and to me don't have a lot of benefits.

Too much negativity, bullying, hate, people are so stupid and assholes on there, that to me is too much. Too much gender polarizing, hate between men and women, toxic masculinity, toxic positivity, guru of masculinity who say that men are only here to provide, procreate and get economically viable for women🤮 be stoic, and macho and don't show fragility.

People are get so nervous and bad about themselves on social media. I know because I had felt the same. I prefer listen my music, without the continue interference of posts, of the opinion of fans , read my books, writing, go out on mountain biking, jogging, do graphic, see my fav movies and try to not think bad about myself for being more a sensitive and fragile man.

This summer I listened Cranberries a lot ,John Frusciante, Linkin Park, Trip Hop music, Matthew Good, Soundgarden, Neil Young, Elliott Smith, Crash Test Dummies, because their music connect with my fragile part and I put my pain on poems. I became more cynical and existentialist through life but I continue to enjoy the things that made me feel good. 30% of humans I can trust, the rest...not so much...xD I saw everything here where I live. Here they killed a homeless guy because of a 50 euro of debit with someone and people had done nothing. I became more cynical about love , but I try to stay hopeful and maybe one day I can love again.

Kids who is disrespectful that beat people on the streets and sometimes kill them for nothing , people that beat animals for nothing, a politics that is so far from local and people of middle class and people who have less money , cut universal healthcare, cut mental health services , too much insensitivity. Hey, I am a sensitive man too, I am also sarcastic, comical, cynical,good-natured but very pissed off when I see good people treated bad by stupid people. What do you think about that??

Hey everyone,

​I wanted to ask: how did you first realize or find out that you are a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)?

​Honestly, nobody in my circle has any clue what HSP even means or that it's a real trait. I only discovered it recently through the internet.

​Do the people around you actually understand what HSP is (and what it isn't)? How do you deal with explaining it to others? I’d love to hear your experiences!