Alright, so I make no secret here of being highly-sensitive. This distinction has been really helpful. Tonight I want to share some recent experiences where I let myself be highly-sensitive (and live to tell about it):
- My wife had tickets to a play for us to go to. As much as I really did not want to back out, I realized the day of I was not up to dealing with the commotion (and emotion) of a big crowd or the overall intensity of the experience. My wife was very nice about it, suggesting we not go. We stayed home and relaxed, which included making a nice meal for ourselves. I felt greatly relieved (and loved).
- My wife and I were invited to a party. Days before it happened, I realized I wasn’t feeling up to it. I politely declined, and she went by herself. Meanwhile, she had a great time, probably a better time without me there 🙂
- At a get-together with a couple friends (hanging with two people is often about my speed), I was open about being highly-sensitive. This resulted in a really interesting conversation in which our friends talked about getting overwhelmed by going to big group gatherings. I can relate!
To me, it is still a big deal to politely decline or back out of something. The old me basically forced me to be “nice.” I was a super jerk to myself often, not giving myself choice to change my mind.
Happy to say, that is changing.