is that we're both highly sensitive people.

In this video I'm gonna talk about

what that means, where it all comes from,

and some of the perks and challenges.

So let's first get out of the way

what it doesn't mean to be a highly sensitive person.

Even though a lot of people throw around the phrase,

"You're being too sensitive,"

as if sensitivity is a choice and it's a bad one,

that's not what it means to be a highly sensitive person.

Being a highly sensitive person

has got to do with the nervous system

that you're born with,

which comes from the genes you inherit from your parents.

Both of my parents are highly sensitive people,

and since Kim and I are as well,

our future children will most likely

turn out to be highly sensitive too.

We all have a nervous system

and it looks a little something like this.

It's the thing that notices all the things

happening both inside and outside of your body

and it sends that information to your brain.

It's what helps you sense and feel.

So when you feel, "Brrr, it's kind of chilly,"

"Ouch! that's sharp!" "So loud!"

That's your nervous system at work.

And it does more than just break down your experiences

into two simple categories.

Depending on how sensitive your nervous system is,

you may be able to break down your experiences

into quite a few categories.

So not just between "it's not cold" and it's cold,

but "it's cool", "it's chilly",

"it's cold", "it's really cold", "it's freezing", and so on.

Your nervous system also causes you

to think about everything you're sensing

and feel all your ups and downs in your emotions.

And when something doesn't feel so right to your nervous system,

you go about trying to correct it

like doing this if you're cold

or pulling away from something sharp

or covering your ears if something is too loud,

and doing whatever you need to do

to make yourself feel better emotionally as well.

All sounds pretty normal right?

But 15 to 20 percent of people

have what's called a highly sensitive nervous system.

They feel and sense more,

they taste and smell in greater detail,

see in more detail, they think more

and they feel stronger emotions.

"You want Mommy to sing a song, honey?"

"Let me know how you feel about the song, okay?"

"I don't want you to come 'round here no more,

I beg you for mercy.

You don't know how strong my weakness is

or how much it hurts me.

So I let you in knowing tomorrow.

I'm gonna wake up missing you."

Being born into this population comes with a lot of advantages,

but it also comes with a lot of challenges as well.

You're able to pick up on things

that most people don't pick up on,

but you can also pick up on too much

that it can get overwhelming at times.

And just like everybody else,

you won't be able to function optimally when you're overwhelmed.

But when this happens to you,

most people may only partially get your struggle

and be quick to judge that you're just weak

or making the selfish choice to be a difficult human being.

Consequently, a lot of highly sensitive people

grow up feeling like something's wrong with who they are

and a lot of them go through life outwardly

pretending to be like everybody else.

But nothing's wrong with you.

You've just got a different level of sensitivity.

Now, within that 15 to 20 percent,

there's an even smaller minority, 1% of the population,

that have an extremely sensitive nervous system.

When you're a part of this group,

the advantages and challenges that I previously talked about,

get even more magnified.

Yes, you might be extremely detail-oriented, smart,

creative, and empathetic, but you're also

more likely to have a greater level of anxiety

around your own intense thoughts, emotions,

and the world around you.

Even if you grew up with intuitive parents

who tried their best to steer you in the

right direction, as a child, you probably

opted for solutions that were immediately gratifying

and, perhaps, not always the best in the long run.

And then in the long run, after you've

repeated your self-taught ways of control again and again,

you've developed strong patterns

that are difficult to break.

And then it's usually in your adult years

you realize that these patterns aren't

working for you, so you seek professional

help to get your freedom back

and learn better ways to deal with your challenges.

But throughout this entire journey,

you constantly hear people saying,

"You're crazy!" "You're too sensitive!"

"You're so overdramatic!" So it's really

hard not to believe that something's wrong with you.

But again, nothing is wrong with you.

You've just got a

different level of sensitivity that most people

do not understand.

And then finally, within the family of highly sensitive people,

there's an even smaller group

that shows up on this earth once in a lifetime

whose advantages and challenges are just out of this world.

Because of all their challenges

many highly sensitive people

wish they weren't the way they are.

Many wish they could have been born just like everybody else.

But we're not meant to be just like everybody else.

We're meant to stand out and shine.

And I can't wait to teach you guys how to do that.

Thanks for watching you guys.

If you're interested in working on your mental health,

make sure to subscribe to our channel.

Both Kim and I have been through a lot

and we plan on sharing our experience here.

And let us know in the comments if you've got any questions about

being a highly sensitive person.

Alright, see you next time. Bye.