Are you drowning in a sea of sensitivity? It’s time to walk on water
By Ane Axford, MS, LFMT
I have often heard an analogy in the psychology field that creative geniuses and those who experience mental disorder are in the same water.
The difference is that one is swimming and the other is drowning.
Let’s talk about this water. These fluid, intangible, ever-changing emotions. Sensations.
All that arises right now that we cannot ever plan on, EVER. Go ahead, analyze that. I know you will. That’s how we HSPs roll.
Eventually you get to the conclusion that it’s true. There is no way to plan for now. You just show up.
On solid, dry land we can plan. We can map it out, chart it, monitor it. We can stand on it. We can build with it. It’s quite predictable. This is logic.
So what do many of us do who have found ourselves in this sea of sensations, tossing us around? We hold onto something really heavy and sink to the bottom to find a limit.
We cling to the edge and hold on TIGHT. When the water is calm, we may venture out a bit.
But, we always stay in the shallow end for fear of getting lost in the deep end. We get incredibly capable at holding on and our arms get really strong.
But, at the core we are weak. And for those at the bottom, they are drowning. Some just get tossed around over and over, assuming that is their lot in life. Beat up and broken down.
I find the same thing as I work with highly sensitive people in my therapy and coaching practice.
> Continued in article Are you drowning in a sea of sensitivity? It’s time to walk on water.
[...] recently wrote a post for HighlySensitive.org about the analogy in the psychology field that creative geniuses and those who experience mental [...]
This is the most amazing article on emotions I’ve read EVER!!! I’ve been
trying to figure out how to feel what I feel when I feel it without drowning
in them or worse, ignoring them or shoving them down. So many avenues I’ve
sought to help me to feel balanced have only left me more wanting. They tell
me to think peppy thoughts, to reframe/shift my thinking, to get over it and
stop obsessing. But you actually give me the permission to be me, to listen
to my emotions and hear what they’re trying to tell me. Brilliant, and I
actually cried reading these words. Thank you, thank you so much.
[...] In my curiosity to understand what the deal was, I was reminded of this article I wrote: Are you drowning in a sea of sensitivity? It’s time to walk on water. [...]
I just ran across this article and I needed to read it. I’m not quite at swimming yet, I’m still living on guard. I’m like at step 2. I’m having a hard time accepting I’m highly sensitive, but I cannot deny it. It’s not that I’m shy or introverted, no, this is SOMETHING else entirely.
I am ashamed by having this sometimes…because I feel like I’m weak minded, which I know definitely am not. It just sucks when no one around me understands me. It’s awful.
It sucks sometimes…I just hope I get where I need to be someday.