I want to start this by saying that I've always known I was different. It's not the same as that awkward stage usually during adolescence wherein everyone feels like they don't belong .. I have since my earliest memory felt this way. I

've been told I'm -too sensitive- .. shy, timid, scaredy cat .. etc etc .. I prefer to be alone quite often .. and I need this alone time in order to feel sane. The weather affects me strongly, too hot, too cold .. I get headaches quite often from too much stimulation .. stimulation meaning loud noise, bright lights .. crowds .. if a lot of people are talking at once it's very overwhelming for me .. during class at school I need to get up and take a break halfway through the lecture .. I just cannot process anymore .. I reach my saturation point far before most people .. I feel things very deeply .. by things I mean almost anything .. I'm very passionate and intense .. I have great intuition .. I often just know things .. I pick up on subtle cues others miss .. I usually know when something is bothering someone .. or when someone is lying or not being completely upfront ..

Until recently I did not know that being highly sensitive is actually indicative of 15-20% of the population and finally .. when I found out that I was a HSP, I realized that I'm not crazy .. that I'm not too much .. I'm tired of being told to lighten up .. or to not take something so seriously! I don't know how. I've started reading a book called "The Highly Sensitive Person" and it's beginning to help .. I think it will take some time for me to work through my issues .. a lifetime of feeling like there is something seriously wrong with me .. a lifetime of not being understood by others ... I can't help but feel like it's not a good thing to be an HSP .. why do I have to be different?