Emotionally sensitive people are sensitive to their environment, feelings, and the feelings of others.
They’re also empathetic souls with the amazing ability to read people.
However, they can get overwhelmed by their surroundings as they process everything around them.
Are you an emotionally sensitive person? If so, you may find yourself using the following phrases.
1) “I’m feeling [insert emotion here]”
Emotionally sensitive people have a deep understanding of their feelings because they feel them so intensely.
Whether it’s happiness, sadness or frustration, these emotions affect them for better or worse.
Their emotions also influence their choices and the paths they choose to go down.
And when it comes to situations like stress and conflict, they may lead with their feelings by using this phrase.
Unsurprisingly, their feelings play an important part in all aspects of their lives.
2) “I know how you feel”
Because emotionally sensitive people feel things deeply, they can also understand how others are feeling.
Their empathy also helps them relate to people’s feelings and experiences.
While it’s not always so easy to step into someone else’s shoes, emotionally sensitive people do so with ease.
Not only that, but they can soak in someone’s feelings as if they’re going through it themselves.
If you turn to this phrase whenever someone spills their guts to you, that’s a sign of your emotional sensitivity right there.
3) “I thought so”
Emotionally sensitive people have such a good read on people’s feelings that they don’t even need to say it. The emotionally sensitive just know.
That’s because they have heightened senses, making them conscious of what people say and do.
And it’s from this that they can read between the lines to tell what people are really thinking and feeling.
For example, someone could say they’re ‘fine’ or pretend to be happy. But an emotionally sensitive person can tell that something is off.
This could be from a slight change to the tone of their voice or the look on their face.
That means it will come as no surprise to an emotionally sensitive person when someone opens up about their feelings.
4) “Your words mean a lot to me”
You know that saying, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words could never hurt me?’
This doesn’t apply to emotionally sensitive people.
Words affect them deeply, and they’ll take the things you say to heart.
This includes compliments and words of encouragement.
Let’s say you tell an emotionally sensitive person how much you look up to them. These words would likely make them happy and boost their mood.
So, when you tell an emotionally sensitive person good things, and they respond with ‘your words mean a lot’, they mean it.
5) “I’m sorry”
While apologizing is a normal thing for kind and considerate people, emotionally sensitive people may go overboard with this.
They don’t like upsetting or hurting people’s feelings in the first place. So, if they hurt someone because of their actions, emotionally sensitive people will feel twice as bad about it.
And they’ll apologize a lot, just so it’s clear how sorry they are.
Emotionally sensitive people will even apologize for things that weren’t their fault! Like I said. If someone’s upset, they’ll feel awful about it regardless if they were the reason for it.
Do you say sorry a lot even when something was not your doing? If you do, this is another indicator that you’re emotionally sensitive.
6) “Could we go somewhere quieter?”
Another thing you should know about emotionally sensitive people is that they soak in their environment like a sponge.
So, when they’re in busy environments, they have a heightened sense of their surroundings and take in everything around them.
Things like crowd noise, traffic, lights, engines and road works are magnified.
As you can imagine, this can be exhausting, especially when they’re in that environment for a long time.
It also makes them susceptible to sensory overload, which can overwhelm emotionally sensitive people.
This is why emotionally sensitive people tend to prefer quieter places. Therefore, they don’t have to take as much in.
7) “I need some time alone”
And since emotionally sensitive people prefer quiet environments, they’ll also need some time alone now and again – particularly when they’ve been in busy places for a prolonged period.
This gives them time to process their surroundings and recharge their batteries.
If they’ve been around people for too long, they’ll bring out this phrase. Then they’ll retreat into temporary obscurity so they can have some peace and quiet.
8) “I need time to think about this”
As mentioned, emotionally sensitive people need more time to take in and process the information around them than others.
So, they’re not the type of people to make quick decisions.
If they did, their emotions or racing thoughts would influence them too much to come to any sort of rational decision.
That’s why they need time to sort through their thoughts and feelings before they can respond with a clear head.
9) “I’m deeply affected by this”
I mentioned earlier about how emotionally sensitive people are affected by things like their surroundings, words and emotions.
Well, they may choose to verbalize this by speaking it out loud.
Unless you’re an emotionally sensitive person, it can be hard to understand how intense their feelings can get.
So, using this phrase is a way for them to try and make people understand the gravity of their feelings.
10) “I can’t watch this”
An emotionally sensitive person’s sensitivity is not limited to their surroundings or emotions. It can also affect the things they watch.
Let’s take a gory and bloody scene from a horror movie.
While some may be desensitized to it, it might be too much for an emotionally sensitive person to handle.
This may lead to them covering their eyes, ears or yelling, ‘I can’t watch this!’ as they hide behind their pillow.
There’re a few reasons for this. Emotionally sensitive people can feel what’s happening on screen. The pain, horror and terror that the gore represents.
And if they manage to stomach the scene in question, they’ll think about it long after the movie is over. Chances are, it will have left them traumatized!
11) “What can I do to help?”
Since emotionally sensitive people are empathetic, they can feel when others are struggling.
They don’t like seeing others sad, in pain or struggling. Those negatives bring emotionally sensitive people down and make them feel bad in the process.
So, they’ll take the initiative by asking what they can do to help. That way, they can do what they can to help make someone’s life easier.
Final thoughts
Do you find yourself saying most or all of these phrases? If so, you may just be an emotionally sensitive person. That’s not a bad thing, though!
Emotionally sensitive people have many good qualities.
They have a knack for reading others, are empathetic, and are sensitive to the emotions of others.
So, if you are emotionally sensitive, embrace those traits that make you, you.