How to Stop Being So Sensitive About Everything All the Time

Do you constantly find yourself upset or offended? Learn how to stop being so sensitive and manage your emotions in a better way.

When you’re emotionally sensitive, you often find yourself upset, hurt, angry, and offended, when much of the time you don’t have a real reason to be. People are sometimes offhanded, but it doesn’t mean they have a problem with you or want to upset you. By learning how to stop being so sensitive, you make your life easier by lessening the emotions which swing from one side of the spectrum to another.

However, I do want to point out one thing before I go on—this doesn’t mean you have to stop being yourself. If you’re sensitive, that’s part of who you are. What I’m talking about here is taking the edge off it a little and learning how to manage those emotions which tend to take over your life from time to time.

Some people are naturally emotional. That’s not a bad thing. It’s part of who you are, and you shouldn’t feel the need to change it. However, sensitivity is something a little different.

Interested? Let’s learn more.

[Read: How to set personal boundaries and guide other people to respect it]

How to stop being so sensitive… or quite so sensitive 

By learning how to stop being so sensitive, I want you to embrace it but minimize its effects on your life.

#1 Use a journal to identify your sensitivity triggers. I’m not talking about going back to your old high school journal; although if you want to, go for it! Instead, keep track on a day to day basis of how you feel, any situations or thoughts which made you feel a certain way and note what was happening around the time. This is all valuable in terms of giving you information on what causes you to be so sensitive in the first place.

It’s highly unlikely that you’re sensitive about everything. But it’s more likely to be certain things or emotional reactions which are more prevalent. Remember, we’re all different! [Read: How to let go of resentment and really start living your life]

#2 Explore why your triggers affect you the way they do. Your journal will highlight your triggers. They might even surprise you. From there, do some soul-searching and work out why these triggers are important to you. It’s the best way to earn how to stop being so sensitive. Now, it will likely take time and may be emotionally difficult.

Go slowly and work with what you have. From there, you can learn how to avoid your triggers, unpick them and heal them, or minimize their impact on you.

#3 Don’t feel bad about yourself for being sensitive. Part and parcel of learning how to stop being so sensitive is to accept that a certain amount of sensitivity is part of your nature. Don’t feel bad about it, and don’t allow it to become a negative part of who you are. Remember, if you’re sensitive that also means you’re sensitive to positive emotions too, such as love and joy. It’s not all bad! [Read: How to bounce back stronger than ever when you feel worthless]

#4 Understand when you’re starting to overthink. Overthinking is the devil’s work in so many ways. When you overthink, everything snowballs into a huge issue. You worry about something that will probably never happen.

Learn to recognize when you might be overthinking by questioning yourself constantly. Ask yourself whether your thought is an actual fact or a fear. Much of the time, overthinking is driven by fear. Then, snap yourself back into the present moment. Remember to just deal with what is in front of you.

#5 Remember that it’s not always personal. When learning how to stop being so sensitive, you should understand one very important thing: often, people don’t mean to upset or hurt you. If you become upset about what someone has said to you or what someone possibly hasn’t done, e.g. they didn’t call when you thought they might. Remember that nobody is perfect.

You’ve probably told someone you’ll call them and then not done it. You’ve probably lashed out in anger and said something you didn’t mean to someone before. That doesn’t mean that you wanted to hurt that person, it’s just part of being human. Learn to avoid taking things quite so personally, and you’ll find it improves your sensitivity. [Read: How to master positive self-talk and banish negativity]

#6 Learn to stop and think before saying or doing anything. Emotions rise very quickly and that can mean they take over your brain too. You can easily say something, do something, or snap in the moment and then when it all subsides, you regret it. Before you do or say anything, learn to take a moment and breathe it out.

Deep breathing exercises are fantastic for avoiding emotional outbursts. When you’re learning how to stop being so sensitive, these tactics will prove invaluable. You could also try mindfulness, which is ideal for keeping you in the present moment and allowing you to handle difficult situations in a healthier way, rather than allowing your emotions to be in control all the time. [Read: How to be emotionless and stop getting sucked into others’ feelings]

#7 Accept that sensitivity is always going to be a part of you. Allow yourself the time to change a little. If you’re an emotionally sensitive person, it’s always going to be a part of who you are. In some ways, it’s wonderful. However, give yourself the time to learn how to handle your emotions in a healthier way. And this change will lessen the impact you feel on a daily basis.

Do not expect results overnight! This is part of rewiring how you think and react, and it will take time. Instead, celebrate every little success along the way.

Effectively managing your emotions

Emotions are what make us human. It’s normal to feel worried, scared, fearful, offended, or hurt from time to time. When those negative feelings start to be the ones that are in control, you need to take action and learn how to stop being so sensitive to everything around you.

It could be that you have empath tendencies. That means you soak up the emotions of those around you, and they affect you directly. Or, it could be that you’re simply emotionally sensitive. Either way, learning how to manage the effects of this are vital to helping you to live a happier and emotionally healthier life.

[Read: The 12 signs of an empath – do you feel deeper than others?]

It’s easy to be carried away on a sea of sensitivity if you allow yourself to be, but you can learn how to pull yourself back and question your thoughts. By doing that, you’ll soon see that there’s no substance behind what you’re thinking and feeling. Instead you’ve allowed a molehill to turn into a mountain.

Don’t worry! We all do it from time to time, but you do need to take action if this is something which regularly affects you. [Read: 13 avoidable habits that’ll change your life for the worse]

Despite all of that, if you’re a sensitive soul, don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s part of what makes you, you. It’s a beautiful thing to be sensitive but not to a degree which constantly causes you to feel hurt and upset. You’re not hurting anyone else but yourself. By learning how to handle it all and having tools in your pocket to fix things when they go awry, you can turn the tide and have the good side of sensitivity without the bad.

[Read: How to hone and increase your positive emotions in an increasingly negative world]

Learning how to stop being so sensitive takes time and effort, and you’re never going to dull out your emotional sensitivity completely. Embrace it but manage it.

The post How to Stop Being So Sensitive About Everything All the Time is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.