On Being Overly Sensitive

Photo by Jill Greenberg; End Times series

Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excited the sensitive soul to tears. -Edgar Allen Poe

I’m sure my overly sensitive brothers and sisters out there can relate to Poe’s quote. My emotions are right on the surface and I’m quick to cry at a sad storyline, be it in real life or written. Beautiful things make me cry, too, like the swell of an orchestra or once, an entire opera in Florence from opening to closing notes. I literally cried through the whole thing and for about 30 minutes after. Tears spring to my eyes when enthusiasm is high like a sustained applause or someone else’s eyes welling up.

Because that’s the thing with sensitivity, it’s easy to catch. I grew up in a house of overly sensitive people. It was not uncommon to blow something small out of proportion, express feelings about it, and move on. We all took things personally and were unapologetic for our emotions. The good thing about living that way is that you don’t bottle up many things. To this day, if I can express a concern or feeling, I’m able to let it go. I don’t believe in holding grudges and the few grudges I do have are because I’m unable to be honest with the other person.

The bad thing about living that way is how exhausting it can be to take everything so personally. And often the emotional turmoil isn’t warranted or worth it. Sometimes I think it would be so nice to just…not care so much.

As a writer, I’ve had to learn to detach my emotions from my work. I’m not exactly writing heart wrenching novels or anything, but pouring your effort and concentration into any piece of work can make it tough to take criticism. I don’t take issue with edits or people adjusting my copy anymore because, truly, it’s rarely personal. I see the struggle new writers go through and the resentment they feel over simple suggestions and I’m glad that’s not me anymore.

That makes me wonder, are there other areas in which I should try to desensitize a bit? I do believe that cooler heads prevail and the truly successful usually are able to compartmentalize their emotions. Even in creative fields, I believe this must be beneficial to some extent. Is it possible to harness our emotional power and wield it at times when we need it—like those creative times—and hold back when it’s less appropriate to reveal our inner human side? Or is it simply a way to dimming our passions in the hopes of gliding through life a little easier? It smart to reign in that which makes us human or is it a denial or self?

I don’t know the answers. It’s just something I’ve been pondering lately.

What do you think?

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