7 Ways To Be Less Emotionally Sensitive

Emotional sensitivity can cause you to overreact emotionally to many things, no matter how big or small. It doesn’t matter if the emotion is anger, sadness, happiness, fear or whatever else. Ultimately, there is too much of an emotion in response an external experience.

There is nothing wrong with feeling – it’s natural to feel and need some time to get over things. However, if you overreact or take too long to recover, this is likely due to emotional sensitivity. Controlling this is important because being overly sensitive can cause distress in life even when it is not warranted or an event should’ve just run its emotional course.

What to do if you are too emotionally sensitive

If you are emotionally sensitive consider the advice here in order to help yourself become less so.

1. Don’t be offended easily

People will behave in all sorts of interesting ways. This can include being rude or being a bully. Regardless of how other people act, remind yourself that their actions belong to them. Even if you are the recipient of those actions, you don’t have to get offended.

Learn not to get offended if people offend you. Let other people’s actions and words be and you focus on yourself.

2. Realize that many people deal with hardships

This point isn’t so we can take comfort in knowing other people struggle in life. Instead, the moral of the story here is that hardships are common and many people will experience them. It might not be fair, but it is simply the way life is. Some people who go through hard times can also teach us about being less sensitive because they exemplify true strength and resilience in the face of adversity. Just know that struggles are commonplace in the world and many who deal with them overcome them with strive.

3. Understand your emotions

If you are sensitive to something there is a cause and effect relationship. If it elicits emotions there is (usually, but not always) an understandable reason for it. Once you understand this reason, you can initiate the process of combating your feelings through knowledge. Look, you may not always be able to take action but you can always understand your reasoning and negotiate with yourself to calm down. Try to ask questions like these: why am I feeling this way? What is the reason this external event elicits emotions? Do my emotions make sense in the context of what happened? Can I resolve this peacefully and maturely or should I begin to accept it and move on?

4. Allow yourself to feel and move on

That last question in #3 is important because moving on is an excellent choice. One of the best ways to fully reconcile with your emotions and grow with them is to allow yourself to feel them. Go through the emotional process and feel deeply and fully. Cry, laugh, punch a pillow or whatever else. What’s important is that you relieve yourself of your emotions.

5. Become an observer of your emotions

After taking time to release your emotions consider just sitting back and observing them once in a while. You might not always be able to punch a pillow but you can always just allow your emotions to live with you while you live your life. Mix this tip with releasing your emotions through feeling but also let them be every now and then.

6. Understand that emotions are just thoughts

Usually emotions do stem from a cause that is not simply a thought, but the emotional reaction itself is nothing more than what is in your mind. Sensitivity simply means that your mind is perceiving these thoughts in a more extreme way compared to someone who is less sensitive, for example. You need not give emotions more energy than they deserve. Always remember your feelings are just that – feelings.

7. Avoid emotional situations when you can

It is probably a better idea not to make this your only strategy for dealing with emotional sensitivity. Walking away from situations is not always possible and part of being a mentally strong person is being able to face issues when you need to. By all means, for peace of mind you can take the avoidance approach when it is a viable option. But it’s better to have the mental strength and mental resources to deal with your emotional sensitivity aside from just dodging situations.