Welcome to 2024, Poets!
The majority of Muse readers are writers and artists—individuals who have a strong creative and innovative streak. As a creative child and into adulthood, you may have constantly been told that you are “too sensitive” as you seem to absorb the feelings and thoughts of those around you, loud noises and strong smells can drive you crazy, sad movies turn you into a blubbering mess while you avoid horror movies like the plague. Does this sound familiar?
In a UC Berkeley science publication, psychologist and author, Jill Suttie, writes about her experience of being a “too sensitive” individual, what psychology now refers to as a “highly sensitive person” or an HSP. Suttie quotes from the 2023 book, Sensitive, by Jenn Granneman and Andre Solo:
If you are a sensitive person, your body and mind respond more to the world around you. You respond more to heartbreak, pain, and loss, but you also respond more to beauty, new ideas, and joy.
Suttie loosely defines sensitivity as …