Complex trauma and the highly sensitive, intense and gifted .

"When it comes to emotionally intense, sensitive, and gifted individuals, we ought to be cautious of the confines of categories and diagnoses. Far too often, the most creative, forward, and independent thinking people are being misunderstood, mislabelled, and misdiagnosed.

Being sensitive does not equal vulnerability. Highly sensitive people are innately porous and receptive to their environment, making them painfully aware of not just physical sensations, sounds, and touch, but also relational experiences such as warmth or indifference. In critical, undermining settings, they may devolve into despair, but— and this is important to note— in a supportive and nurturing environment, they thrive like no others.

It is true that because of their unique ways of perceiving the world, they are acutely aware of and have more intense internal responses towards existing problems in their early lives, which may exacerbate the impact of any developmental deficits and trauma. However, sensitive children respond to not just the negative but also the positive. They may be more prone to upsets and physical sensitivities, but they also possess the capacity to be unusually vital, creative, and successful.

In other words, the intense and sensitive ones are not born ‘vulnerable’, they are simply more responsive to their environments, and therefore, more likely to be negatively impacted by toxic family dynamics. But with the right kind of knowledge, support, and nurture, potentially through therapy and coaching, even if this means replenishing what one did not get in childhood later on in adulthood, they can thrive."

There IS hope my loves . You need to be given the right SUPPORTIVE environment. Make the changes you need to get there . Stay aware of those who supoort you , and those who DISMISS your pleas for help. Now is the time you are there for yourself, just as you've always been .

I love you.

(https://eggshelltherapy.com/sensitivity-and-childhood-trauma/Link included to website eggshell therapy, a great informative self help page for cptsd.)