10 Signs You Are a Highly Sensitive Badass

If you had met me 7 years ago, you would have met an entirely different person.

I’d like to share a bit of my story with you because I know what it’s like to feel trapped in a place of struggle, not knowing if things will get better, and not knowing how to help myself. For years, I felt lost and alone. I thought that I was different in some way from those around me and I suffered from very low self-esteem. In short, I felt broken and that something must be wrong with me. I’d like to share my Highly Sensitive journey with you.

In 2009, the ground felt like it was falling out beneath me. I was 35, a stay at home mom with two beautiful children, I had been married for 9 years, and we had just moved into our dream home. On the outside, I was the perfect picture of happiness, but on the inside, I was in terrible pain. One crisp fall morning, I had my first dizzy spell. Shortly after, the chronic digestive issues emerged, followed by neurological symptoms, brain fog and chronic fatigue. My depression and anxiety skyrocketed to an all time high, my mind out of control. I couldn’t sleep at night because I was terrified by what was happening to my body. I became addicted to sugar and my weight crept up and up. I was barely able to be present for my kids because I felt so sick, my marriage was in trouble and my husband, the breadwinner, had just gotten laid off from his job. I had hit rock bottom both physically and emotionally, and I was frantically looking for a way out. Not pretty!

It was during this dark time that I heard a term that changed the course of my life. That term was The Highly Sensitive Person, a term coined by Dr. Elaine Aron to explain a trait she noticed in 20% of the population.

I intuitively knew: That’s me! The name alone seemed to describe exactly how I had felt my entire life. Growing up, I always felt like I was somehow different from many of the people around me. Being a kid was tough. I was labeled “sensitive” at a young age. I found it difficult to fit in with the kids around me, and this continued until my 30’s. I had heavy feelings at a very young age that I didn’t understand. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however! Life was glorious at times, but very difficult at others.

Discovering my sensitivity put my whole life in perspective, especially my life and health crisis in my 30’s. At the core of my meltdown were two factors:

1. I was a highly sensitive person going through life without honoring my sensitivity. Essentially, I was living my life in constant overstimulation with no sense of what I needed to feed my mind, body and soul.

2. After marriage and kids, I unconsciously moved into self-sacrifice mode, throwing all self-care out the window, adopting a “family comes first” mantra at the expense of my own care and happiness.

This was a deadly combination for me; however, it turned out to be a gift because it led me to where I am today and changed the course of my life. Learning more about the Highly Sensitive trait, also called Sensory Processing Sensitivity, has allowed me to move from a place of low self-esteem, self-judgment and struggle, to a place of deep self-love, self-celebration and purpose. Realizing I had a blueprint, a trait, has allowed me to live life honoring my sensitivity. I now revel in my sensitivity, realizing what a gift it is. I have become the person I always knew I had the potential to be and my mission is to help other highly sensitive women do the same!

Today, at 42, my life has changed dramatically from that fall morning, when I wondered how I would recover from the despair I was feeling. In the words of Joyce Carol Oates, I haven’t changed, but I’ve become more of myself. I feel amazing in my body, with energy to spare. My marriage has taken a complete 180. I am deeply in love with who I am, and my depression and anxiety no longer rule my life. I have a loving relationship with food and my body. I feel purposeful and driven, connected to others, with a belief in myself that I never had before.

After years of self-exploration, learning, diving into deep self-care and practicing true self-love, I now know how wonderful like can be, and I am on fire to help bring awareness to people like me and teach what I’ve learned to others.  If you’re highly sensitive or empathic, my goal is to help you discover your gifts, find your inner power, and celebrate yourself just as you are.

Here are 10 signs that you might very well be a Highly Sensitive Badass^TM:

1. You feel things very deeply, both great joy and deep sadness. You may have been labeled, intense.
2. You are empathic, experiencing not only your own feelings, but also very in tune with the feelings of those around you.
3. You get blissed out by sensory experiences, moved by music, art, nature, good food or a beautiful physical environment.
4. You can feel easily overwhelmed and move into meltdown when too many things are going on around you.
5. You can connect to the energy of those around you, both for better or for worse.
6. You are very intuitive.
7. You can get drained easily, simply by being out in the world. You need a lot of down time to replenish your energy.
8. You care so much both for the planet on which we live and for those around you.
9. You love close relationships with just a few people instead of casual relationships with many acquaintances.
10. You feel like you have a big mission in this world. There is something inside you that knows you have gifts to share with this world and that you have huge potential. You may even describe yourself as a light-worker, or an earth-angel.

I’ve found that one of the things that most Highly Sensitive People need to hear is this: There is nothing wrong with you. It’s likely that you’ve compared yourself to those around you your entire life. It’s likely that you’ve felt misunderstood, different, or like I did, broken. You’re not. You’re a marvel. You’re a compassionate warrior and you can have a wonderful, meaningful, incredible life!

We are desperately needed on this planet. We are the healers, the caregivers, the advisors, the light-workers, the peacemakers, the artists, and the people who bring light and beauty to this world. We have an incredibly important job. Therefore, it’s imperative that we learn to care deeply for our minds, bodies and spirits, so we are able to stay in our light.

If you relate in any way to my story, I hope you take away that there is so much beauty waiting for you because you are beauty.

You are a Highly Sensitive Badass^TM and it’s time to live life in full bloom.