Highly Sensitive People

How to Handle Difficult Conversations

I have been told so many times that I'm too sensitive. I've started responding with, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Honestly though, we are not too much of anything. There are sensitive people and there are not-so-sensitive people. We are simply that which makes us, us.

https://unsplash.com/@css

Thank you to everyone who has responded with suggestions for our new series on the blog. We'll start with communication, specifically with highly sensitive people through difficult conversations.

New Blog Series

Highly Sensitive People – How to handle difficult conversations

Difficult conversations are part of all relationships. They are awkward, uncomfortable and confronting, but they need to be had. If one, or both, of you is highly sensitive, the conversation is that much more difficult to navigate. If one, or both, of you is hot-headed, the conversation falls to pieces too quickly.

Mark Twain Quote: I can live for two months on a good compliment

Personally, one compliment every two months just would not cut it. But compliments don’t communicate difficult points of view to highly sensitive people anyway. Not if you’re trying to gain their understanding. After all, that is the point of a discussion. Not to win or be right, but to gain understanding from your partner so they can grasp your perspective and discover deeper aspects of you that they never understood before.

When you and your mate take the time to see each others’ point of view, you uncover layers of growth that open up your relationship for opportunities to discuss uncomfortable problems that need to be aired for discussion.

So, how do we go about gaining their understanding?

Explain what your emotions feel like

https://unsplash.com/@jonathanrados

That may sound too simple because emotions and feelings are the same thing but there’s an important distinction: When you label an emotion, it doesn’t portray your exact feelings, but when you describe how that emotion makes you feel, voila, you have opened a magical portal of discovery. New information that your partner can relate to and digest because they can relate to it.

Once you’ve given your partner that information, their perspective will tilt towards acknowledgement. Acknowledgement means acceptance - for you. And the greatest accomplishment in any relationship is to gain acceptance; belonging – seen as a unit and a team to face the world together. Once you’re united in your front, you can achieve even greater success in uncovering more complexities and resolving misunderstandings with more depth and sensitivity.

https://unsplash.com/@neonbrand

I think honest communication is key if we want to achieve happy relationships. Do you agree?

Comment your thoughts and let's open the conversation.