A Return To Innocence

It has been nearly 7 months since I've blogged last.

Holy crap.

To be honest, I lost steam.
I began forcing myself to post things, just so I didn't feel like a failure at blogging.
I write. A lot.
But it was hard for me to write interesting things every day. I wanted to be entertaining and insightful and informative. I wanted to prove that veganism and being kind to the environment and people and animals was fun. Because it is! But I noticed that I was started to go about it in a way that wasn't very fun for me. I tried not to get too "deep" for fear of turning people off. I tried to be extra peppy sometimes, turning myself off.

So I stopped.

A few months ago, I began making random and odd YouTube videos. But again, I found that I was trying too hard to be constantly peppy and, well, trying to force a part of who I am to be the whole of who I am. Make sense?

So I stopped.
Well, stopped forcing it, anyway.

Why can't I be like this person or that person? Why does it feel like being me is so confusing and exhausting? Then I began to think. A lot. I always have. I over think things until I'm on the verge of losing my mind.
Why am I so conflicted with myself?
Why do things affect me more than they seem to affect others?
Ever since I was a little kid, I was always told to "let it go", but never could and still can't seem to.
Why have my relationships been so tumultuous?
The list could go on and on and on. And does.

Turns out, I make up small portion of people (20%) that is considered to be "highly sensitive".
No, that doesn't mean that I cry at the drop of a hat, or that I'm a "wimp".
In a nutshell ( a very condensed nutshell), my brain takes in WAY more than is necessary.

This new revelation is something I am trying very hard to understand completely. I am at a point in my life where intense stress is almost an every day thing. I have bad days. I have really bad days. And I have really good days.

I want to take you on this journey. You may very well find that you too are and HSP (highly sensitive person). We're not a very large group of people, but we are a very special group of people.

There are many characteristics that hold true primarily with HSP's, that I honestly didn't know were special to me...so to speak. I just thought I was weird. Well, more so than the average person.

This blog will continue to be about veganism and the environment and animals and kindness.
But it will also be about mental health, spirituality, the exploring of emotions and so much more.

Over the next few weeks or so, I will be uploading some videos of me talking about what it means to be an HSP. And what it doesn't mean. I'll end this post by providing links to some articles that are very helpful in understanding what high sensitivity is all about. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will answer them the best that I can.
I know that this will not be entirely accepted by some. I have already dealt with those who roll their eyes at the topic. But it IS real. It is very real. I hope that if anything, I can expand and open your mind.

Be kind. Be curious. Be accepting of your special self.

Characteristics of Highly Sensitive People
Being an HSP