How Highly Sensitive People get caught in the feeling of not being understood
Karin Goldgruber
Recently I had a very close, but safe encounter with a Black Bear who was caught in a trap beside my house. ( He was safely relocated up North by natural resources department officer)
When I told family and friends about it, something unexpected happened.
The detailed descriptions of my feelings about the experience, didn’t elicit the response that I had expected. As I kept sharing my experience, I noticed that I felt alone. I felt frustrated that they just couldn’t understand my strong feelings, how this encounter had deeply touched me and how privileged, moved and changed, I was.
Of course they couldn’t understand my feelings, because they didn’t experience them. They were not there.
Being a Highly Sensitive Person, the feelings of not being understood and of being alone were very familiar. I had spent countless hours of my life, trying to explain how I felt. They still didn’t get me.
I was so caught up in my own feelings and my explanation of the world that I never considered that they may also feel like I did.
Everyone feels different, misunderstood and like an outsider, to different degrees, at different times in their lives.
Whether others understand my bear encounter doesn’t matter. It was my encounter. Since then I have been more aware of how others might feel. I feel more confident to ask them about their feelings and thoughts.
Feeling connected with the bear who was caught, helped me to feel more connected with myself and how I can get caught in my old thoughts, beliefs and behaviours.
It showed me that I can step out of old mental traps and choose differently.
Text and picture by Karin Goldgruber
About the Author
Karin is a proud mother of two, a business owner, an immigrant, an avid hiker, a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), and many other things. Growing up in Austria, she always felt she was different from others around her, but never quite knew why. It was only in her 40’s that Karin discovered the term HSP, what it meant, and how it applied to her. Gaining this new perspective has helped Karin to better understand herself and how others see her. Soon after learning about HSP’s, Karin learned about Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), which she has found is very helpful in addressing negative beliefs about herself and her past experiences. With her blogs and her business, Next Step Coaching, Karin seeks to help others learn more about HSPs, themselves, their beliefs about themselves, and to achieve the growth that she herself was able to realize by applying EFT. When writing her Blogs and working with clients, Karin does not seek to provide the answers, but rather to help her readers and clients find their own personal solutions for their unique circumstances.
Karin is a proud mother of two, a business owner, an immigrant, an avid hiker, a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), and many other things….
Growing up in Austria Karin is a proud mother of two, a business owner, an immigrant, an avid hiker, a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), and many other things. Growing up in Austria, she always felt she was different from others around her, but never quite knew why. It was only in her 40’s that Karin discovered the term HSP, what it meant, and how it applied to her. Gaining this new perspective has helped Karin to better understand herself and how others see her. Soon after learning about HSP’s, Karin learned about Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), which she has found is very helpful in addressing negative beliefs about herself and her past experiences. With her blogs and her business, Next Step Coaching, Karin seeks to help others learn more about HSPs, themselves, their beliefs about themselves, and to achieve the growth that she herself was able to realize by applying EFT. When writing her Blogs and working with clients, Karin does not seek to provide the answers, but rather to help her readers and clients find their own personal solutions for their unique circumstances.
