Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • One of the biggest things Kim and I have in common

  • is that we're both highly sensitive people.

  • In this video I'm gonna talk about

  • what that means, where it all comes from,

  • and some of the perks and challenges.

  • So let's first get out of the way

  • what it doesn't mean to be a highly sensitive person.

  • Even though a lot of people throw around the phrase,

  • "You're being too sensitive,"

  • as if sensitivity is a choice and it's a bad one,

  • that's not what it means to be a highly sensitive person.

  • Being a highly sensitive person

  • has got to do with the nervous system

  • that you're born with,

  • which comes from the genes you inherit from your parents.

  • Both of my parents are highly sensitive people,

  • and since Kim and I are as well,

  • our future children will most likely

  • turn out to be highly sensitive too.

  • We all have a nervous system

  • and it looks a little something like this.

  • It's the thing that notices all the things

  • happening both inside and outside of your body

  • and it sends that information to your brain.

  • It's what helps you sense and feel.

  • So when you feel, "Brrr, it's kind of chilly,"

  • "Ouch! that's sharp!" "So loud!"

  • That's your nervous system at work.

  • And it does more than just break down your experiences

  • into two simple categories.

  • Depending on how sensitive your nervous system is,

  • you may be able to break down your experiences

  • into quite a few categories.

  • So not just between "it's not cold" and it's cold,

  • but "it's cool", "it's chilly",

  • "it's cold", "it's really cold", "it's freezing", and so on.

  • Your nervous system also causes you

  • to think about everything you're sensing

  • and feel all your ups and downs in your emotions.

  • And when something doesn't feel so right to your nervous system,

  • you go about trying to correct it

  • like doing this if you're cold

  • or pulling away from something sharp

  • or covering your ears if something is too loud,

  • and doing whatever you need to do

  • to make yourself feel better emotionally as well.

  • All sounds pretty normal right?

  • But 15 to 20 percent of people

  • have what's called a highly sensitive nervous system.

  • They feel and sense more,

  • they taste and smell in greater detail,

  • see in more detail, they think more

  • and they feel stronger emotions.

  • "You want Mommy to sing a song, honey?"

  • "Let me know how you feel about the song, okay?"

  • "I don't want you to come 'round here no more,

  • I beg you for mercy.

  • You don't know how strong my weakness is

  • or how much it hurts me.

  • So I let you in knowing tomorrow.

  • I'm gonna wake up missing you."

  • Being born into this population comes with a lot of advantages,

  • but it also comes with a lot of challenges as well.

  • You're able to pick up on things

  • that most people don't pick up on,

  • but you can also pick up on too much

  • that it can get overwhelming at times.

  • And just like everybody else,

  • you won't be able to function optimally when you're overwhelmed.

  • But when this happens to you,

  • most people may only partially get your struggle

  • and be quick to judge that you're just weak

  • or making the selfish choice to be a difficult human being.

  • Consequently, a lot of highly sensitive people

  • grow up feeling like something's wrong with who they are

  • and a lot of them go through life outwardly

  • pretending to be like everybody else.

  • But nothing's wrong with you.

  • You've just got a different level of sensitivity.

  • Now, within that 15 to 20 percent,

  • there's an even smaller minority, 1% of the population,

  • that have an extremely sensitive nervous system.

  • When you're a part of this group,

  • the advantages and challenges that I previously talked about,

  • get even more magnified.

  • Yes, you might be extremely detail-oriented, smart,

  • creative, and empathetic, but you're also

  • more likely to have a greater level of anxiety

  • around your own intense thoughts, emotions,

  • and the world around you.

  • Even if you grew up with intuitive parents

  • who tried their best to steer you in the

  • right direction, as a child, you probably

  • opted for solutions that were immediately gratifying

  • and, perhaps, not always the best in the long run.

  • And then in the long run, after you've

  • repeated your self-taught ways of control again and again,

  • you've developed strong patterns

  • that are difficult to break.

  • And then it's usually in your adult years

  • you realize that these patterns aren't

  • working for you, so you seek professional

  • help to get your freedom back

  • and learn better ways to deal with your challenges.

  • But throughout this entire journey,

  • you constantly hear people saying,

  • "You're crazy!" "You're too sensitive!"

  • "You're so overdramatic!" So it's really

  • hard not to believe that something's wrong with you.

  • But again, nothing is wrong with you.

  • You've just got a

  • different level of sensitivity that most people

  • do not understand.

  • And then finally, within the family of highly sensitive people,

  • there's an even smaller group

  • that shows up on this earth once in a lifetime

  • whose advantages and challenges are just out of this world.

  • Because of all their challenges

  • many highly sensitive people

  • wish they weren't the way they are.

  • Many wish they could have been born just like everybody else.

  • But we're not meant to be just like everybody else.

  • We're meant to stand out and shine.

  • And I can't wait to teach you guys how to do that.

  • Thanks for watching you guys.

  • If you're interested in working on your mental health,

  • make sure to subscribe to our channel.

  • Both Kim and I have been through a lot

  • and we plan on sharing our experience here.

  • And let us know in the comments if you've got any questions about

  • being a highly sensitive person.

  • Alright, see you next time. Bye.

One of the biggest things Kim and I have in common

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it