Pearl Nash
Have you ever been called ‘highly sensitive’ as though it’s a negative thing?
Our culture thinks sensitivity is a negative thing, but it shouldn’t be seen like this!
There are so many benefits to being a highly sensitive person.
Let’s look at the main surprising benefit of being a highly sensitive person, and the other benefits you need to know about…
Highly sensitive people have high levels of intuition
First things first, highly sensitive people are very in touch with themselves and their surroundings.
You can say they’re ‘in tune’…
…It’s as though they’re dialed into the little things that other people just seem to overlook.
For highly sensitive people, this comes very naturally to them.
In other words, with little or no effort they’re able to pick up on things around them.
They might be particularly sensitive to a noise or something someone says.
What’s more, they’re very attuned to other people’s energies.
This means it’s sometimes hard to be a highly sensitive person in our modern world with so much continuous stimulation and noise, and many people’s heavy energies.
But at the same time… It’s a blessing.
You see, highly sensitive people have high levels of intuition.
It means that they’re tuned into how they feel and they can judge a situation well.
Psychology Today defines intuition as:
“a form of knowledge that appears in consciousness without obvious deliberation. It is not magical but rather a faculty in which hunches are generated by the unconscious mind rapidly sifting through past experience and cumulative knowledge.
“Often referred to as “gut feelings,” intuition tends to arise holistically and quickly, without awareness of the underlying mental processing of information. Scientists have repeatedly demonstrated how information can register on the brain without conscious awareness and positively influence decision-making and other behavior.”
As a highly sensitive person myself, I know that my intuition has helped me in so many situations.
It’s been a guiding light in allowing me to make sound decisions.
On the other hand, my intuition has signaled when I shouldn’t do something.
Simply put, because I’m a highly sensitive person, I’m able to connect with my gut feeling that says I shouldn’t go down a particular road or speak to a particular person.
If I get a bad vibe, I don’t shrug it off… I sit with it and think about what it’s telling me.
I don’t just think ‘oh that was odd’ and move on, but I inquire into what the feeling was and how it made me feel in my body.
In my experience, it always pays to listen to those gut hunches.
Are highly sensitive people psychic?
Now, it might all sound a little ‘woo-woo’ talking about hunches and signs to not walk down certain roads and not talk to certain people…
…And you’re right in thinking this!
Highly sensitive people are among the most spiritual people out there.
You see, highly sensitive people are considered psychic by some people because they have high levels of intuition.
In other words, it’s suggested that highly sensitive people have extrasensory perception, which means they can tune into information that isn’t accessible by ‘normal’ people.
They can feel pulls and hunches beyond sight, smell and touch…
There’s even been books written for highly sensitive people about managing psychic abilities.
One of the books, entitled ‘Empath and Psychic Abilities’ has been called a ‘survival guide for highly sensitive people’.
In its synopsis, it explains:
“Psychic power is an ability to perceive, that which is beyond the normal human senses and through extrasensory perception. Humans have five senses: sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch. Although some call psychic abilities the sixth sense, people with psychic abilities generally have over-exaggerated human senses.
“An empath is a person with the special gift of perceiving the emotions and feelings of other people as though they were their own without even trying. They are naturally tuned in to the energies floating around them. If an empath walks into a room and sits next to a person who’s quietly mourning, the empath will pick up on the sorrow and experience it as though it were their own. An empath who lacks awareness of their gift can be deeply conflicted, as they cannot tell apart their own feelings from those of others.”
This goes back to what I was explaining earlier:
It can be both hard and beautiful being a highly sensitive person, as you’re really attuned to what’s around you.
You can feel things as though they are your own.
Personally, I consider this a benefit… But you need to have your boundaries up at times!
Highly sensitive people and empathy
Let’s talk more about highly sensitive people and empathy.
As the book synopsis explains, highly sensitive people (who are also called ‘empaths’) are able to pick up on the pain of others and really feel the energy.
I mean, they feel like crying the pain of others without explanation.
My mum is a highly sensitive person too, and she’s told me on numerous occasions that she’s cried for people.
You see, as a highly sensitive person you are able to really tune into where another person is at…
…And to feel that pain like it is your own.
This is why highly sensitive people don’t only make great psychics, but they are natural healers.
They might work as reiki energy healers, as meditation coaches or as shamanic healers.
More often than not, people are blown away by healings with highly sensitive people because they feel so powerful and connected.
Truth is, highly sensitive people have endless powers that you can’t deny!
What are some other signs of being a highly sensitive person?
There are clear signposts that suggest you might be a highly sensitive person…
Arcadian Counseling suggests:
- You’re very emotional
- You’re very compassionate and generous
- You’re sensitive to criticism
- You feel different from everyone else and sometimes alone
- You’re sensitive to external stimuli
- You overthink and worry
- You often feel tired and overwhelmed
For my mum and I, this totally resonates!
As highly sensitive people, we are very quick to emotion and we find ourselves crying at little things.
This might be happy or sad tears…
…For instance, I often find myself crying at the beauty of the forest while I’ll also cry if I see an animal sadly killed by the side of the road.
As if that’s not enough, we both have a tendency to feel like criticism is just painful and not constructive… Even if it is meant to be helpful!
Truth is, we can end up taking it badly.
We both also can find that our minds wander into the territory of ‘but what if’ and ruminating on the past.
Simply put, we can overthink and worry more than we need to.
However, these qualities are just a part of being highly sensitive… And there are so many positives to the way we are.
In my opinion, the biggest surprising benefit to being highly sensitive is the ability to read a room and a situation…
…And to make a judgment from our intuition!
