Jenn Granneman

What no one says is, You’re perfectly normal. You’re sensitive. And if you learn how to use this gift, you can do incredible things

This is a tall order, but it’s not impossible. Introverted was once a dirty word, too, but today there’s nothing unusual about introducing oneself in this way. We want to create a world where the same is true of sensitivity. We believe that normalizing this deeply human quality will finally allow sensitive people to thrive—and when they do, society will benefit from their unique gifts.

The first is the reader who already knows they are sensitive, and perhaps even identifies as a highly sensitive person.

The girl taught the boy what it means to be sensitive, and he finally stopped hiding his feelings. The boy taught the girl how to live a different life, one where she no longer spent every waking minute worn out.

And, together, we created Sensitive Refuge, the world’s largest website for sensitive people. We are sensitive, and we are proud of it.

How could they possibly extend empathy, or even simple acknowledgment, to everyone they met? Instead, they closed off their hearts out of necessity. Their demanding outer world had devoured their inner world and, with it, their ability to connect.

They learned to suppress their feelings, to treat one another transactionally, to care less. After all, they had to. They heard

How could they possibly extend empathy, or even simple acknowledgment, to everyone they met? Instead, they closed off their hearts out of necessity.

Unable to react meaningfully to every new piece of information, overstimulated citizens were apt to become “blasé” or, simply put,4 apathetic.

Humanity, Simmel was saying, was too sensitive for such a life.