Is being called "too sensitive" a putdown?

In western culture women are often called "too sensitive" as a putdown or insult. In other cultures, extra sensitivity is viewed as a gift that can support the society's health and wellness. Here's some of what's really going on.

IWhen a woman is called "too sensitive" as an insult, it's actually a sign of insecurity in the person who said it. Being described as too sensitive can mean that:

• you feel things wholly and deeply

• you are willing to be emotionally exposed or vulnerable (you wear your emotions on your sleeve)

• you live from a more authentic space than most people

• your psychic and/or empathic capacities are opening growing

• the energy pathways in your body are opening or strengthening

• you more easily tune in to the subtle energies around you that others generally miss

• your personal boundaries are weak

• your auric field is permeable

Being an empath or being energetically sensitive is different from being reactionary, although as empaths and sensitives, we may experience more intense emotional reactions to things. We may also experience heightened passion around things that we emotionally connect with. Or we may find ourselves isolating or avoiding interactions and groups in order to maintain peace inside.

Being an empath or an energetic sensitive doesn't make us bad people and it also doesn't make us special people. Every human being is designed and born to be an empath and energetically sensitive, especially women, yet our skill in nurturing and honoring these capacities is not only ignored but tends to be conditioned out of us as we grow up, particularly in western culture.

Consider that humans are, generally speaking, spiritually immature beings who want so badly to fit in and feel accepted, safe and loved that we compare ourselves to others, twist ourselves into who we believe others need us to be, and judge each other in a feeble attempt to feel better about ourselves. But we are all capable of greatness and emotional depth when we shed the obstacles that keep us from it. We don't have to get or learn anything new. Most of us just have to remember how to access what we are born with, our innate nature that we lost touch with growing up.

Many women may wonder how to turn energetic sensitivity into a gift that serves rather than hurts us. There are ways to nurture our energetic sensitivities that are safe, work well and allow us to embrace our gifts without blowing up our lives. Once we activate and cultivate a trusted relationship with our sensitivity, our path forward is generally revealed to us and we intuitively know when we're ready to embrace that journey.

As women, being told we are "too emotional" or "too sensitive" isn't a putdown. It's a call to embrace our gifts. Instead of taking on shame when we hear those words, we can smile with delight at the recognition that our intuitive gifts are opening even bigger. But let's not get too cocky about it. Let's be responsible and take steps to explore our sensitivities, grow a healthy relationship with them, and work with a professional to heal any emotional wounds or trauma that might distort them.

Remember if we change nothing, nothing changes.