Handling Overly Sensitive Emotions

By: Jenifer Metzger

I am a crier. I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry when I am sad, angry, hurt, tired, happy, nervous, feel offended, feel attacked, feel nostalgic, you name the emotion and I probably cry about it. I've been told that I am too sensitive. That I cry too much. I've even been told I act like a victim because I cry. These comments have made me pause and question myself. Why do I cry? Can I stop? Am I really acting like a victim?

The truth is when the tears come, there is no stopping them. I am sure you understand. No amount of breathing slowly or fanning your face makes the tears just dry up. Some people yell and some people bottle things up and move on. My "go to" natural emotion is to cry. So how can we handle our emotions when we are an overly sensitive person?

Realize God created you.

God created us all on purpose and for a purpose, He also created us all differently. In almost 21 years with my husband, I have only seen him cry maybe 4 times, our wedding day, the birth of our older children (he didn't even cry at the births of our younger children!) and the day we found out my grandmother had stage 4 cancer. Me? I cry probably 4 times a week...at least. It's not just a men vs women thing either. One of my husband's good friends, a man, is a crier. And I know women who rarely cry. God created us all different. These emotions we have are straight from God. He created us sensitive for a reason. We may or may not know what that reason is, but He does. Embrace the way God made you, tears and all.

Is your crying justified?

We all have reasons to cry. I already told you that I cry about a lot of things. But I also notice that when I am overly tired or overly stressed about something, I tend to cry much easier. Being offended and hurt becomes magnified. If you become more sensitive when you are tired, be careful. Make sure you get plenty of sleep. When you are tired, try to avoid situations that are going to get to you. Some people become sensitive when hungry. If this is you, carry things with you like a granola bar or crackers this way when you are hungry you will have a quick pick me up. Also try to avoid situations when you are hungry. If you are crying because you are releasing the emotions, that is okay. But if you are crying because you are tired and because you are tired everything is getting to you, remedy the situation.

God made you this way, but He can also help you.

Oh all the times I've heard someone blame their emotions on their hormones! We women tend to become more sensitive around our time of the month. It's normal really. But here's the deal ladies, God gave you these emotions as well as He gave you this biological release, if you will. Do not use your hormones or your time of the month as an excuse to be mean to others. Just because your unwanted visitor is in town does not give you the right to be so overly sensitive that you hurt others. God gave you these emotions, but He can also help you deal with them. If your hormones or your time of the month is causing you to be extra sensitive, first off, go to God. Ask Him to help you keep control over your emotions, attitude and words. Then be sure to get plenty of sleep and drink plenty of water. Our bodies desperately need these things, especially at that time. Also do things that will relax you like drink hot tea, use a heating pad, take a warm bath, or take a walk.

Never, ever use your sensitivity to manipulate.

This pretty much speaks for itself. Never use your sensitivity to manipulate others. If you are a crier, do not cry just to get your way. If you and your husband need to deal with an issue, do not use tears to get out of the situation, deal with it head on, even while you cry. God did not give us emotions to manipulate others to getting our own way.

Friends, remember that God made you. If He made you emotional, that's okay. We just need to learn to deal with these emotions in a healthy way that will not wreak havoc on our relationships.