Many people who are drawn to therapy have been told at some point in their life that they were “too sensitive.” Or, maybe you were told this frequently. Maybe you still hear people saying it to you and just maybe you also hear yourself saying it to yourself.
Recently I was listening to a podcast, and I heard someone share that they’d had a revelation about being called “too sensitive.” They realized they were in fact NOT “too sensitive,” but rather they accurately attuned to reality. When one really looks reality in the eye, feels the inherent danger happening or threatening to happen, it creates a natural reactivity. We’re designed to react to harm and danger.
What I find more curious these days is why isn’t everyone “too sensitive”? Why don’t all people attune to reality and acknowledge the very real danger when it’s present. So many learn to deny reality, pretend there is nothing to fear even when there is something, and/or minimize. In many families and systems, the “too sensitive” member is a truth teller. And, in most systems (family or otherwise) it’s easier to label someone as “too sensitive” than take a look (much less a hard look) at what that person is attuning to. In all likelihood the systems don’t want to look reality in the eye, and this can make the “too sensitive” person feel as if they are carrying reality all alone which can feel heavy, depressing, and/or anxiety producing. Basically, holding the attunement and truth alone only supersizes the feelings giving the person even more to feel sensitive about.
EMDR therapy offers a safe place to bring all that you are sensitive about to the table. An EMDR therapist can provide a safe space to see with you all that you have attuned to and maybe still are attuning to. You don’t have to sort through reality alone anymore. And, the EMDR modality offers your nervous system a chance to process all that you have been holding, all that has created the “too sensitive” so it doesn’t have to feel so activating, reactive, anxiety producing, and/or depressing.