Sensitive Skin.

Saturday 23 August 2014



 
So yeah. I mean that title figuratively and literally. My actual skin is sensitive but then I myself can be pretty sensitive. Sometimes in a goodo way, sometimes not so much. Being overly sensitive tends to mean I’m fairly fab at noticing the subtleties of the moods of others but then it can also make me completely overreact because I’m too busy mind-reading to actually communicate.

The reason is that I feel everything very keenly. When I’m really happy I’m a bouncing ball of unstoppable, giggly energy. When I’m truly angry I’m a whirring, frowning, yelling mess. When I’m very sad I’m an apathetic, deflated, exhausted shell of a person. If you make me laugh, the mirth is authentic, if you send me love, I radiate it back tenfold. If you demonstrate your dazzling personality, I contentedly bask in the glorious glow and if you ask for my help, you’re damned sure to get whatever I can give. If however, you speak or act unkindly, selfishly or without compromise then yeah, childishly (and probs egotistically) or not I’m definitely going to retreat and withdraw behind my walls of misunderstood martyrdom.

I’d like to say that I’ve developed a thick skin as I’ve gotten older but it really isn’t the case. No matter what lies I tell myself about that -- one harsh word, an instance of intimidation or condescension, cold shoulders or people laughing at me rather than with me and bam, I regress into a sheepish fourteen year old stumbling through social drama. It is definitely the aspect of my educator-hat that I wish I had more control over too as I find it super hard not to take student behaviour to heart; whether it be attitude, rudeness or just plain old indifference. But it’s loved ones that have the highest potential for complete internal devastation on my part, perhaps because of the trust I’ve placed in them or the obligation that forces them to love me despite my faults. The impact others can have on my confidence, mood or overall happiness is just crazy sometimes and despite my efforts to counter or console I often can’t shake it for days.

Perspective is vital and I know in the grand scheme of things a few hurt feelings aren’t all that bad. I guess it just occurs to me very regularly that all of us have it within our power to bring positivity, compassion and the HappyChappy so maybe the next time you go to say something off the cuff or neglect another because you figure it isn’t important… stop and think how you would feel it if happened to you. The easily-sunburnt, psoriasis-suffering, tea-tree-oil-loving author of this post will be, I can promise you. 

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