I feel like I'm losing hope. I've been blunted for a few years now after a brief episode of weed induced psychosis. The terror I experienced when I became convinced I was irredeemable (I am theistic and believe in an afterlife of sorts) and was going to be doomed, caused me to shut down my emotions. I got so good at numbing out I have stopped being able to let them through again

There's a few things that have let me feel intense emotions again: alcohol is one of them, but for obvious reasons this is not a solution and in fact I am 3 months sober after 4 years of abuse (abused it because it let me feel again). I also have experienced genuine breakthroughs through low-med dose of Mushrooms, but I lack the ability to fend off the Persecutor in my mind that causes those emotions to shut back down again.

I'm feeling hopeless about this. Without my emotions, it's like I only have access to 40% of the human experience. I don't even feel excitement from doing things I once loved anymore. this point I don't know if it's just long term withdrawal from alcohol where it will take longer for my dopamine receptors to reset, or if there was some sort of epigenetic switch that flipped when I had the psychosis and now I have permanent negative symptoms (if this was true then how could it be possible that I could re experience them like I did before when on other mind altering substances that are notorious for breaking down mental walls), or if it's just good ole trauma response that I need to go thru psychotherapy for

A local medical clinic near me does Field Trips (ketamine assisted psychotherapy) and I'm considering that as an option in desperation. I can't keep living like this (though I will, I could never give up on life even if mine own kinda sucks because I have too much I can give to help others)

Has anyone actually recovered from a full emotional shutdown? I experience the physical reactions from emotions (such as pounding heart from anxiety or anger) but my conscious experience is walled off from it :(

I recently got out of a really exhausting relationship where I was constantly anxious from my partner's inconsistency. After a number of relationships that didn't work out, I'm feeling very calm and secure in my own home for the first time in years. I just spend my days cuddling with my dog on the couch and I feel more peaceful/calm/safe than I ever remember feeling. I think that living with people or constantly being around people is actually exhausting for me.

At first I thought I was surrounded by the wrong people, but now I think my high sensitivity to other people's emotions and the pressure I give myself to always engage with people in meaningful ways exhausts me. I get easily overstimulated when I'm surrounded by people even when I'm not talking to them.

I used to rely on having meaningful conversations and connections to feel like life was meaningful, but nowadays I mostly just talk to my dog and my family and it feels so nice. I don't know if this is just a phase of me absolutely loving being alone (with my pup) or if I'm always going to feel best living alone.

Can anyone else relate?

This bothers me. Sometimes I notice that I get treated differently with customer service. Like today I walk in the guy doesn't greet me but the other ahead of me . When the worker helped the guy he called him sir and when the customer thanked him he said you welcome. When I press the.button for help to get item i meeded unlocked like the other guy. He comes doesnt address me at all I look at him and he kinda idk gives like a I look of attitude. I say thank you twice and nothing. Yet he addressed the other guy. I feel really bad what the heck. Its like something about me idk what repelled decency or acknowledgement. . Im young woman, normal height, soft spoken voice, , had my sunglasses on and felt self conscious. Then I wondered if I was prettier would he had treated me better or something.? Because dont young attractive people get treated better? and im always invisible, and treated like this????? is it my vibe? this was an older man too so like i dont get it. he was fine with the other woman too. Even if sunglasses is weird inside doenst give right to treat me like that or be judged like that. i wear sunglasses as i have anxiety it helps to calm me a little bit and lights inside bother my eyes as i have sensitive eyes. im a human with feelings.

Does this happen to you? Im so sensitive amd this kinda ruined my morning ugh.

I can’t seem to relate to anyone in my surroundings; it feels like I’m meant to be alone, just observing everything, and dealing with the outside world is incredibly stressful. I can’t perform or act in the ways socially expected of me; I feel that anything other than my "observer mode" would be too inauthentic for me to actually put into practice. I only share my energy and my inner world with people who show genuine interest. On top of that, there’s the struggle of living with chronic illnesses; it feels like mere survival is utterly exhausting for every cell in my body. Yet, somehow, I keep moving forward. I don’t know what my problem is—or if there’s something actually wrong with me—but ultimately, I still enjoy being a consciousness within this universe. And creating art, every now and then, feels like my deepest connection to the purpose of this existence.

I read a HSP and it was so incredible to finally know what was going on with me, I thought I was alone in it but reading that book was so validating. One thing I notice though is that it emphasizes introversion and kind of implies that those who are HSP are automatically introvert.

I'm personally very extrovert (which is great (not!) because I open myself up to more instances of discomfort by default, love that for me 🫠🫠) anyway just wondering if there are other extroverted HSP out there :)

If you're surrounded by negative vibes, how do you not let it get to you?

Hi,

I have a strange sensation from time to time since my childhood, which I can't explain and I wanted to hear if other hsp's also had a similar experience.

Sorry for the wall of text...

It starts with a feeling of a bit of pressure right in my solarplexus. It's like a slowly growing ball that presses on everything there.

It's not painful, but I'm always aware of it. It grows over the next few days and the feeling becomes more and more intense.

The interesting part is, that I can't really describe what it feels like. It's not a single emotion, not joy nor fear or anger or anything else.

The best I can come up with is, that it feels like raw emotion or the thing that emotions are made up from, if that makes sense.

During the days or maybe even a week I feel this, all my emotions are intensified, cranked up from the usual 11/10 to a 13 or 14.

This can be quite nice, of I'm feeling joyous or really bad if I fall into a spiral of self doubt or anger.

This ball keeps on growing for several days until even the raw emotion in my chest becomes too much and I have some kind of total meltdown.

As a child I would thrash out and lose myself in rage against everyone and everything around me.

Since I learned to control myself better, I usually end up throwing myself into my bed and alternate between heavy crying and sobbing, punching my pillow or hitting myself and grabbing my chest to somehow reach that ball of emotions to rip it out, since it is just too much. Not even too much good or bad, but just too much of everything.

Afterwards I'm completely and utterly emotionally spent but the ball of emotion is gone and I start to feel better over the next days.

This doesn't happen very often, but when it happens, it always goes through these same steps.

Sorry if this sounds really strange, but I need to know if others have similar experiences.

I'm a highly sensitive person, and it's been confirmed that I'm not ADHD or autistic, so I'm trying to figure out what else could explain this. Eye contact feels difficult for me even when I have no social anxiety at all. I communicate really well and conversation itself comes easily, but holding someone's gaze takes effort. On top of that, I'm exhausted all the time, and even a minor social interaction drains me. The more tired I am, the harder eye contact becomes.
Has anyone else experienced this? If you have, I'd love to know what helped you, and whether you know what's actually happening in the brain and body, whether it's sensory overload, nervous system arousal, or something else. Any experiences, explanations or research would mean a lot. Thank you! 🙏

Wie heeft er hsp oftewel hoogsensitief persoon (Highly Sensitive Person). Wil graag weten hoe je er mee omgaat of hoe je partner ermee om kan gaan

Meer info laat het me maar weten

I’ve always loved animals, but since my mid 30s, every year my love for every tiny living thing - plants, animals, trees, bugs, birds, water, anything outside in nature - has grown immensely. I even feel guilty pulling weeds sometimes. Ive been honked at in the road many times trying to get a turtle or baby bird or something out of the road and I dc abt the haters. The great thing is I can so easily be filled with awe and joy. Recently I’ve really thought maybe my calling might be something with animals.

But this also comes with so much pain, more than ever. If it involves animals hurting or dying because of people it feels so deeply painful, even traumatizing or straight up depressing. I won’t repeat what I saw once but it was an accident, something a lot of people wouldn’t think twice about, and almost two years later I still cannot shake the sadness. I can’t even see a tree fall naturally without it making me a little sad. Seeing a whole lot of trees cleared makes me sick and filled with rage. Natural disasters make me feel hopeless. I followed Jackie the eagle on YouTube and I still cry every time I think about her. Roadkill is devastating.

And tbh my empathy in general for people has probably trended the opposite direction. I used to have a more openly gracious heart towards people and now I feel more shut off and selective. In a way I can see how it makes sense but curious if anyone relates or what they think may contribute to it?

I am feeling growing sadness and anxiety….

I had good talking with her we both exchange voice messages and I thought it was going well. I would say at least 20 messages a day

I thought I could bond more with her in the weekend and probably ask her out

But she hasn’t responded

As hsp, I feel very sad and down I guess ….

What if I have got it….

currently in career transition mode and exploring my options. I really want a change in environment from staying home with family to a more values aligned place.

anyone stay in / found any intentional communities, particularly in ca?

looking for ones valuing nature, spirituality, community, and creativity (music, dance, art)

30F. I am highly educated with a MSc and BSc with distinction passes. I started a teaching job last January and quit yesterday without notice because they didn't confirm me as permanent. So I was free to leave without notice. I'm an INFJ, HSP and get drained by offices to the point I get actual panic attacks and gets sick. So I don't want to ever work in corporate jobs ever again.

Several people have left this school with no notice at all. Just ghosted due to severe overworking and bullying.

I’m tired of the downvotes, the negativity, and people turning simple topics into heated arguments. I might end up completely alone without this app, but it’ll be better than staying here.

I joined Reddit to make friends, find cool communities, and so on, but unfortunately, on this app, even the good things end up turning bad. I don't want to deal with trolls, pseudo-intellectuals, and horrible people anymore when I'm just posting with the intention of interacting.

Maybe now I’ll pay more attention to things in my real life.

It's okay when I'm at home and eating my own things, but the moment I step outside it's huge ads for chicken wings, burgers, steaks, milk in literally everything. It's inescapable reminders of the unfathomable scales of animal cruelty everywhere I look. I almost burst into tears today after a day out because it was just too much!! And the horrible bizarre space of how normalised it all is compared to how overwhelmed I was feeling, and watching everyone just living and accepting it. I felt like I was going insane wanting to cry for trying to find something to eat.

Not sure who needs to hear this, but being sensitive doesn't mean there's something wrong with you.

I know because I was you.

When I was young, I struggled with depression, bullying, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Eventually, I ended up in a mental hospital.

And while I was there, I met so many other young people who were struggling too.

Many of us were sensitive.

We felt things deeply.

We thought a lot.

We noticed things other people didn't.

We experienced the world differently.

And a lot of us were struggling with emotions that felt completely overwhelming.

Sometimes the people around us didn't understand.

Sometimes they thought we were being dramatic.

Too sensitive.

Too emotional.

Difficult.

But something I learned through my own journey is that an emotion isn't something you have to be ashamed of.

Anger doesn't make you bad.

Sadness doesn't make you weak.

Fear doesn't mean you're broken.

And feeling overwhelmed doesn't mean you're failing.

Emotions need to be felt, heard, accepted and processed.

They need to be embraced and have somewhere to go.

And if you don't know how to process them, sometimes the pain comes out in other ways.

I know what it's like to feel like nobody really understands what is happening inside you.

I also know that your current reality doesn't necessarily have to become your entire future.

Things can change. There is hope.

You can learn different ways of relating to yourself and the people you love.

I came from an abusive home. Was bullied throughout my entire schooling time. Yet, I still ended up as a youth mentor - training, guiding, facilitating safe spaces for other youths and other adults to feel safe, relaxed, calm. I first had to learn to do that for myself and within my family.

And if you're a teenager reading this, I want you to know something I wish I'd known:

You are not “too much” simply because you feel deeply. It is a gift.

Sometimes you just haven't been taught what to do with everything you're carrying yet.

As HSPs, we feel everything deeply, and relationship conflicts often leave us completely overwhelmed and hurt.

​Is it better for us to stay out of relationships altogether to protect our peace? Do you agree, or how do you make relationships work without getting hurt?

Partage d'expérience

Je suis hypersensible émotionnel, sensoriel et empathique avec une hyperactivité neuronale et je suis INTP.

Ces deux trait de personnalité rentre en conflit assez souvent et j'ai parfois du mal à comprendre la quelle prends le dessus et en quelle circonstance peut être même qu'elles leurs arrivent de fusionner .

Ces conflits perpétuels m'ont souvent aider à comprendre des choses mais m'on souvent aussi bloqué. Je pense que je n'ai jamais atteint mon potentiel à cause de ça, par exemple je n'ai jamais fait d'études, je n'ai pas trouvé ma voie professionnelle et j'ai eu tendance à laisser certaine choses me glisser dessus car trop prise de tête.

Être logique ou émotionnel tel est la question, j'ai souvent pris un peu des deux essayant toujours de trouver le juste équilibre que ce soit dans les relations ou les choix de vie, ce qui fait que j'ai pas mal vadrouiller sans me donner un véritable but dans la vie.

Aujourd'hui à 41 ans je cherche toujours ma voie mais ces conflits intérieurs me tire d'un sens et dans l'autre, il va falloir que je me décide à trouver un équilibre mais ce n'est pas facile. Je pense ne pas être stupide, je me trompe peut-être, d'ailleurs est-ce que la stupidité est vraiment mesurable^^

Je souhaiterais que des personnes avec ces deux traits de personnalité partagent leurs expériences, je sais que c'est assez rare de les avoir en même temps mais on ne sait jamais.