Hello my dear reader,
I’ve been reflecting a lot on sensitivity lately.
Because here’s what I’ve come to understand:
You can be both:
a deeply sensitive human and a high performer.
In fact, many of us are.
Sensitivity is not weakness.
It means you experience the world more deeply.
You notice more.
You feel more.
You respond more.
And in a world that is constantly buzzing — notifications, noise, demands — that can feel like too much.
But maybe it’s not that you’re too much.
Maybe it’s that the world is… a lot.
This past weekend, my boyfriend and I did something simple.
We switched our phones off.
Spent a whole day without phones.
Didn’t even bring our phones into the bedroom for alarms.
And the peace we felt… was instant.
We were more present.
More connected.
More ourselves.
It reminded me how much our environment impacts our nervous system.
And we need to create habits to control how much noise we take in.
I’m starting to see how different all of our brains are.
Some of us are simply wired to process more — more emotion, more input, more depth.
You might resonate with being a highly sensitive person (HSP) or even aspects of neurodivergence.
And there is brilliance in that.
But it also means we need different ways to move through the world.
What is a HSP?
A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is someone who has a more sensitive nervous system and processes experiences more deeply — emotionally, mentally, and physically.
The term was introduced by psychologist Elaine Aron, who found that about 15–20% of people have this trait.
What does it look like to be a Highly Sensitive Person?
You feel like you’re “too much” or “too sensitive”
You experience emotions deeply and intensely
You’re more sensitive to seeing violence, horror, and get startled more easily
You easily pick up on other people’s moods and energy — sometimes as if they were your own
You feel overwhelmed in busy, loud, or highly stimulating environments
You need more downtime and alone time to recharge
You process things deeply and may overthink or reflect a lot
You find conflict or tension emotionally draining or overwhelming
You are very aware of subtleties — tone of voice, body language, small changes
You can feel overstimulated by too much input (noise, screens, social interaction)
You struggle with boundaries, especially if it means disappointing others
You are deeply empathetic and caring — sometimes at the cost of your own energy
You’ve been called “dramatic,” “too emotional,” or “too sensitive”
This is just a starting place, but when I ticked all of these, I was like “oh dear, this might be me!”
The more I’ve studied this. The more answers I’ve found and solutions to flow in this world that I can, not just cope, but thrive in my life, relationships and work.
See, for a long time, I hid behind the mask of being a workaholic.
I thought I was just driven.
But really… it was survival.
It was a way for me to keep going, to protect myself.
Now, having had time off, that mask has come off and what has come out is actually quite a sensitive person who does not want to grind anymore.
I see my sensitivity differently now.
Not as something to fix —
but something to work with.
Something to honour.
Something to build a life around, not against.
Because when you learn how to support your sensitivity…
It becomes your superpower.
If this is something you’re navigating, I’d love to hear from you and how this resonates. Simply reply to this email.
Do you feel you’re someone who is more sensitive?
Are you struggling to find peace with constant noise, notifications, and the pace of this world? What are you struggling with?
I feel I went through what I went through to get here with more clarity, answers and way forward out of surviving to thriving.
More content like this coming up. I hope it resonates!
I leave you with this:
The world can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t mean that you need to be.
You can be both sensitive and a high-performer.
🫀Lots of love,
Essi
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