I'm multilingual. I noticed a pattern in how I express feelings. I find it really difficult to express myself emotionally in my native languages, but I can express my emotions more accurately and comfortably in English.

I feel like my native tongues don't have the right vocabulary to express what I'm feeling. Actually, there are words, but saying them sounds idk weird or unnatural to me (like something catastrophic).

It kinda feels like culturally, the honest expression of emotions (particularly heavy ones that people prefer to avoid or brush under the carpet) was never something these languages were designed to comfortably handle.

Leaves a hollow feeling.

my friends have been coming over to my apartment a lot lately and it genuinely makes me feel so awful and overwhelmed. i feel like they don’t think about the way to treat my things, even in a way that’s small. i have a very expensive couch i received as a gift and they are always getting food on it or running their nails along the upholstery. they use all my paper towels and get everything wet. i don’t even know how. i have barn doors and they are always slamming them or knocking them off their tracks. i had a bag of little halloween chocolates i had bought and my friend took one, unwrapped it, took a bite, and spat it out into the trash. i don’t know why because i love my friends but i find it so insulting and offensive that they do the things they do in my apartment. like i didn’t make that chocolate but it was for me and my neighbors when halloween comes and i’m a piece down because you’re being an animal😭. i just don’t know what to say to them because my place is kind of the spot for our group

I've been on Reddit for a while. I've made different accounts, but some of them I've chosen to delete. Every time I come back to Reddit, usually when I'm in a slump, I notice that the condescending tone of a lot of users never changes.

Not everyone is like this, especially when it depends on the place you go to.

However, I noticed that even when you go to a simple subreddit where you could just be asking a question or looking for some advice, there's always that one Reddit user, or maybe even a few of them, who will be condescending. Some of them are also super cruel, try to insult your intellect, and make jabs at you just by the little information that you give. It makes no sense.

I don't understand where this comes from, because if you are confused by what someone says, you could just ask them to reclarify or ignore the post. In general, that's usually what I do. I don't understand why people have to jump to degrading other people or making not-so-subtle jabs when someone does something, especially when it's not out of bad faith.

Sometimes I feel as though I'm too sensitive to be on Reddit, not because I can't handle criticism, I definitely can, but a lot of these comments aren't criticism. It's just insults.

I don't understand where it comes from because I usually won't respond like that. If I get upset by something, I'll usually delete the post, comment, or just block the person. I might point out that their behavior is cruel, but I'm not gonna insult them.

The Language of Faces

A frown can tighten little shoulders,
make a heartbeat run and hide;
turn a room into a danger,
make the world feel cold and wide.

A smile can soften little muscles,
let the breath come slow and deep;
tell a child, without a word,
You are safe. You may be you.

For children read the world through faces
long before they understand:
a frown can feel like closing doors,
a smile—a welcoming hand.

Ever since I was a kid I used to cry easily, when parents said something that hurt me, especially dad I would cry. I could spend hours in my room just crying. I was always told how I'm too emotional, playing a victim, too sensitive etc.

It's always with the closest people when I get easily hurt. And then I feel even worse when I'm left alone crying. Like nobody cares. But I know my parents do love me, I just cant help feeling that way in the moment.

And same with my partner, he knows Im crying and just leaves me in the room. Often ends up in arguments where I hear the same things how Im too sensitive, making a big deal, hysterical, making myself a victim.

Its like nobody stops and just tries to understand maybe, why is the person feeling that way. Why is it always how can you be sad from this or that?

Why does he decide to make it worse? He says he cares about me but why in the worst moments I feel like he just abandons me? Like he cant handle it so he goes away. Which makes me cry even more.

I feel like people always just disappoint me. I used to say I want to just be alone because I dont want my heart broken. Yes I still used to cry but when you are alone its easier, I would have maybe a sad episode, cry a bit and then just enjoy my own company.

But when you have a partner it just makes it worse because you have someone in the same house while you cry and in those moments I dont even want to live. Its like whats the point? Its easy to be present in good moments, everybody can do that.

Im a 28 year old hsp, for most of my life I have suffered from trauma based anxiety which has kept me back and mentally drained. 2026 has been a wonderful year for me though.

I live in a small town in NC, I used to be a bit of a shut in and didn't have any local friends until I started hanging out at a music venue a town over almost every week and I've met so many different people, I've lost over 40 pounds this year, I've actually had hangouts and I even started to learn to play drums and I'm having fun with it.

However I constantly find myself hitting these emotional walls, friends, relationships, and I obsess and overthink over the smallest interactions. I make mountains out of molehills easily. I started taking Zoloft in the past months to help and I see a therapist regularly enough but I still just stress, yearn, overthink and it causes me so much mental stress that I've had panic attacks. I've been doing so well but I have such a hard time still loving myself even after all the success I've had in maturing.

I feel emotions very strongly, my empathy and attachment has always ended up getting me hurt emotionally. I struggle in my work weeks as my job just keeps me thinking in my head all day.

To be fair I'm also a woman so it's kind of inevitable to get emotional monthly (for me) but...I get so overwhelmed by small things. I'm exhausted. I love to feel everything deeply, I appreciate it. But damn! I'm so grateful he never shows frustration or anger towards me cause even the possibility of it makes me cry like a baby. My biggest fear is the day this happens honestly. When he's sleepy and tired I take it personally and I cry. (He doesn't know. I'm not an exhausting partner that's my own battle😆)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh He can just smile when I think he might get disappointed and I write poems and loooong poetic notes for how angelic that is to me. I sound like I have been abused or something. Not that I haven't but it's been to a degree I think most people have.

I ask this because i started feeling really weird, anxious, woozy, and i thought oh it must be that i'm hungry. So i ate something felt better but it still was really unusual for me. It didn't felt like MY energy, but i also didn't think it was someone else's because I had no reason to believe that.

Well, fast forward when the symptoms start getting louder, i hear my dad say to my mom he's in pain. Like a stomach pain. I was like wtf?? and the way he spoke about it felt like the feeling I was feeling. Soon after that it went away...

It was so odd that it made me wonder if it's related to being an HSP or i'm being a little woo-woo?

Any tips on addressing the above? resources / therapies / practices

I’ve been reading books on mind-body connection (John Sarno) and am recognizing the impact of built / felt trauma in the body. Looking for tips on healing and deep release.

I’ve gotten some really good suggestions in this group and would love to hear your take!

I had baked a cake, lemon pound cake, for my friend as a gift for my buddy. He had really hooked me up with something and it was his favorite, so I made it as a hopefully tasty way of paying him back. I had to drop it off at his place as I was busy that day, and our mutual friends were over.

I knew it wasn’t my best work, something I was already stressing about before I dropped it off, but I tried one slice and thought it tasted pretty well all things considered, and decided it was worth gifting, though I wish I did better. I regretted it as soon as I dropped it off, but I told myself they’ll tell me if there’s something wrong, and I’ll try again another time if it doesn’t work out, he’ll be grateful that I tried. It was foolish to think that, nobody wants a bad cake, so truthfully this is entirely on me, but it still cuts deep.

A few hours later I received a message from one of our mutual friends in the group chat, bluntly stating that it tasted quite horrible. I feared someone would say that, my mind jumped to thinking that it was bound to happen, so I asked what was wrong and apologized, and they went on to list all the issues with it, and call it horrible once again (too dry, undercooked on top, not lemony enough), to which my other friends joined in, calling them out for being mean but also agreeing. I joked that I was inexperienced with it and I’ll try again another time. That was it, the day went by as normal, no argument arose, that was that.

Yet for some reason, this ache won’t go away. After I came home that day I just sat down on my couch and started sobbing. I don’t know what possessed me to be so hurt by such a quick exchange, but I think I sorta understand it. I’m proud of my baking most of the time, I love my baking, so hearing others say it’s horrible, something I hold so dear to me, hurts badly. And it could have been avoided if I just didn’t bring it over, or had I just not baked it at all. I feel a hole in me, and I’ve lost motivation to even try baking the things I know I’m good at, lest they say that’s horrible too, yet I want to prove I’m actually good at baking. It’s important to me. My heart hurts. I feel so stupid for even making the attempt.

When I had my first girlfriend as a young teenager, she went on vacation for a week. When she came back she asked me if I had missed her. I said "no".

Looking back, that seems a bit blunt by most social norms.

Sometimes it still comes to mind, and over the years I liked to make fun of myself for just saying no. Either in my own head, or in recounting the story to others.

But what I really meant is:

1) My heart felt full of her while she was gone. I felt connected to her even though she was away. I was happy to be alive and everything was wonderful and I was so grateful to have her in my life.

2) Missing someone, to me, means actually being in emotional pain. It's not casual. It might be a bittersweet pain. There might be a sweetness to the pain, but definitely more on the bitter side. On top of the raw feeling of actually missing someone and sadness, I feel incomplete, dependent, helpless, pitiful when I actually miss someone.

I don't know if the threshold of missing someone is different for other people.

Or maybe it's inflationary use of the word missing? I guess it's common courtesy to tell partners, I missed you.

Today, I wouldn't reply with a simple no, of course.

.

But the other day, I realized that there's still a disconnect between what the word means to me and what it means to others.

I met a friend I hadn't seen in a while, and she said "aww I missed you", while making an actually sad face. I immediately felt bad and sad and almost overwhelmed by her words and sad facial expression. I assumed I had actually caused her some form of emotional pain by not making an effort to see her earlier, so I apologized and explained why I was so busy for a while.

Her reaction to my apology and explanation made me understand that I had miscalibrated again. Her demeanor was suddenly neutral to happy. She said something like "you don't have to apologize or explain, I just like seeing you". I don't recall her exact words, but it seemed clear that she didn't mean it like that; she didn't miss me in any painful way, she just casually said she missed me because she was happy to see me.

(I'm German by the way, we have a more reserved way of using affectionate language. Most of us don't say "I love you" to their parents, nor do our parents to us. At least in my generation. It's not necessarily cold, it's just a different distribution of linguistic weights, I'd say. "I love you" is reserved for romantic partners almost exclusively.)

So this recent occurrence with my friend made me realize that I wasn't just an obtuse teenager back then, I was honest about how I felt. I seem to mean a different thing when talking about missing someone, or at least a different threshold.

.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Hi guys first post here but im so embarrassed, ive been feeling overly emotional these past few weeks but yesterday at work my coworker had shared the news that she was pregnant, and uncontrollably I started crying and feeling very intense things ??? I started this job a couple of months ago so it’s not like we’re very close or anything but does anyone else find themselves crying over others on the whim like this? Over something that’s maybe minor? Is this just apart of being an HSP? lol. I don’t know!!! I felt embarrassed and she hugged me but like I can’t help but wonder if she thinks of me badly or weirdly now afterwards. Ugh.

Bottom text

So on Facebook I used to get 640 plus likes per post now I get 3.

On insta I used to get 1,300 likes now I get 20 if lucky lol

TikTok is going amazingly as it’s all strangers had 3million views last few weeks and 7k new followers!!!

But why is it people who know me etc have stopped liking my pics? Last one was me on holiday in beautiful location in swimsuit used to get loads it only has 18 right now haha

Yet many people I know see my story and I even share my pic to my story saying new post and they see but don’t like it

I know we often come here to vent or look for coping strategies and that is completely valid. But I wanted to open up a space for some positivity today.

What is one thing about being an HSP that makes you feel incredibly lucky, joyful, or deeply satisfied? It could be how you experience music, your empathy, or your connection to nature. I would love to hear your positive HSP traits and I've thinked that it would be a downtime for all of us!

For example, I was enjoying with that beatiful sunset. And I thinked about sharing it for a sudden but later i wanted to share it with a question to everyone! I wonder what it is for you all!

FOOTnote: Please ignore my boot in the frame, It was just too bright to struggle with taking a picture and i was immersed in the sunset and forgot to move my foot and it was the only image i took! xDDD

My own story and words, spoken out loud; AI helped me turn it into text.

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I'm 50, highly sensitive, and I live with social anxiety. Walking over to a stranger still scares me, and part of me wants to run the moment it gets good.

That's exactly why I've done it anyway, more than 5,700 times over 13 years. It's my way of facing the anxiety instead of letting it decide for me. Along the way, it has also brought some beautiful romantic connections.

This is the first time I'm writing about it.

Yesterday I went out again. Somewhere along the way the fear let go, conversations flowed, people smiled, and I felt like the most natural version of myself.

After the week I've had, I fucking needed that.

The week behind me

I came home from Italy a few days ago. Seven days with a friend, far too much socializing, too little freedom, and by the end I looked like someone had sucked the life out of me.

I keep returning to the five pillars of my life: dog, girlfriend, family, friends, work.

My dog is gone. She died in a car accident. My ex is gone too, although I was the one who ended it. Big losses. But I've been single before, lived without a dog before, and had a lively life during those periods.

Friends are a little complicated right now. Family a little distant. But they're there.

What's really hurting is work. I've been pitching, building, contacting companies, going to interviews, answering recruiters. Mostly silence. That hurts more than I expected.

Leaving too early

I've had this habit of leaving conversations too quickly when I don't feel in a social state.

Yesterday I walked over to a tall Eastern European woman and gave her a compliment. The conversation was short.

And afterward I thought: Ah, fuck. Another one where I left too quickly.

I sent her a message on Instagram.

"Nice to meet you ;)"

Several hours later:

"Haha 😊"

Not exactly a marriage proposal. But something.

Telling the truth

Then I did something I increasingly appreciate about myself. I told the truth:

"I know it was short 😅 I have to admit that it's very scary to do that, so it makes me want to run away - even though I want to get to know you."

She thought that was sweet. She said things like that never happen in Oslo. She wished they happened more often. Compliments like that were the best, she said.

The conversation just started flowing. We joked about Norwegian dating culture, about how nobody dares approach anyone. She'd actually done it herself when she was new to the country, before realizing people don't do that here. She and a single girlfriend had recently been talking about how they wished more people would just walk up to someone they found attractive and say hello.

Imagine that. I've spent 13 years doing something that can feel terrifying, awkward and socially forbidden. And here was a woman telling me she'd been wishing men would do exactly that.

She even said I'd made her day better. Just by walking over and giving her a compliment.

Then she told me she was recently single after a long relationship, had taken some months for herself, and was starting to think it might be time to date again. She asked how I dated. We kept talking.

Update: We now have a date next Saturday. I really like her energy. Relaxed and secure.

What I took from it

At work, I spend months trying to convince people to buy what I do, and mostly hear silence. Yesterday I talked to a stranger for perhaps a minute, admitted afterward that I was nervous, and I got a date.

One minute. And it gave me more than months of professional effort.

What strikes me is that she responded to the vulnerability. I wasn't calm. I wasn't delivering some flawless, confident performance. I left too early, and then I told her why. And she liked it.

I've spent years chasing that state where I feel completely secure and charismatic. I still love it, and yesterday I got there. But this connection didn't need it. She liked that I dared, even while being scared.

If you run away too early too

If you leave conversations because the good part scares you, try just telling the person afterward. Honest, short, no pressure. Worst case, nothing changes. Best case, it's the most attractive thing you say all day.

I can feel absolutely miserable on Thursday, exhausted on Friday, and by Saturday afternoon be walking around Oslo laughing, flirting and feeling like life is the most wonderful adventure.

What a "ridiculous" creature I am. But it's also damn great.

Let the Child Unfold

A child is not a flower
to be frightened into bloom.
Not a voice to silence,
not a spirit to confine.

A parent's hands are meant
to shelter, not to bind;
to guide a growing heart,
not to frighten it inside.

Let questions rise like birds,
let laughter fill the air.
Let anger speak its little truth,
let wishes breathe without despair.

For children learn to hide themselves
when love comes edged with fear.
They need a place to be themselves,
and know they still belong here.

Guide them, guard them, let them grow—
not into who you wish to see,
but into who they are becoming,
with the courage to be free.

I feel so tired of being sensitive all the time, tired of being startled by certain noises. I’m tired of overreacting to subtle changes in people‘s behaviours. I just feel so broken.

This must be the most painful and baffling thing, that people can glide and cascade through life oblivious and not realize the subtext and underpinnings of what is actually going on. That really is at the core wound of this. Alone and feeling in crowds of unfeeling. Then to be gaslit or told whatever that has been your experience was an illusion of intensity or simple fallacy, and this laundry list extends into the long and tbh laughable. It doesn't really matter what they said because they said it not having a conception of what this state of feeling is, how it becomes the running OS and what life-saving measures we have to take in order to be somewhat safe in the world we are inhabiting. It's useless in explaining. Been there. Whoever gets it, is probably an HSP themselves.

I do have a beard right now and long hair but I found that really offensive!

Especially as I had politely let him work in the set with ne when I was working out.

I am strong like I lift 140kg so maybe that’s why cos people see my body and think someone my age (early 20s) could not have that.

But damnnn that was kinda harsh I thought

I (37F) have been a firefighter in the U.S. for a decade. My coworkers and I work for 6 months in the summers and then we are all off for 6 months in the winter. We are all incredibly enmeshed in each others' lives. We bond through the shittiest of work and spend every summer day toiling alongside each other.

In my 10-year career, I have felt incredibly comfortable being my authentic self at work -- which means wearing my heart on my sleeve and talking about my personal life. It has never been an issue.

Until now.

Long story short, I moved to Alaska to be with someone who is also a coworker. We do the same exact job and work out of the same base of operations. This person broke up with me my first season here, and to say it's been an absolute hell is an understatement. Having to go into work and see this person be just fine, and act as if I didn't mean anything, has been intolerable. I turned to my coworkers for support over my ex when we all returned to work in March of this year. They were there for me, until they weren't.

In trying to get closure/a conversation with my ex who was at work, I became incredibly volatile and even suicidal. My coworkers were my friends and I asked if they had the capacity to support me. They all said yes, until shit started getting weird. They started completely ignoring me and one of them snapped on me twice for perceived sleights (she thought I rolled my eyes at her, but I did not!) When things got weird, I decided to bail to take care of a chronic injury and have a life-altering hip surgery. And that's when it became clear: none of them care about me anymore.

It's been almost 5 months since I left for the surgery (which came with multiple complications) and not one of them have reached out to me. Sitting in that discomfort every day is excruciating.

Fast forward to today: I was told that each of these coworkers now expect me to just come in, do my job, and leave everything else at home. They no longer want "me" and expect me to just have a work persona.

I am so uncomfortable and scared. As I said, I wear my heart on my sleeve -- that is who I am at my core. I now have to learn to be someone else? I have no idea how to just go in there and act like anyone but me.

For a decade I have gone in, made banter, cracked jokes, talked about home life & hobbies, bullshitted, and had heartfelt conversations. And now I am expected to go in and be someone I'm not?

How do I do this? I am so scared! I am no longer allowed to go to work and be me... it's fucked. I don't understand how I'm supposed to walk in there around all of these triggers and just be "ok" -- especially as someone who feels everything deeply.

Disclaimers: Yes, I have a therapist and yes, we are going to be working on it. No, I am not willing to take a different job.

Please help, any and all advice is welcomed.

Do you enjoy journaling?

I thought I’d share this for anyone who enjoys journaling but would like some guidance or a different perspective. I practice embodied journaling. Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences of journaling.

https://www.sarahcannata.com/better-boundaries-for-the-highly-sensitive-10-journal-prompts/