Here are 5 tips to maintaining a successful personal or professional relationship with a sensitive person:

1. Realize that the sensitive person in your life doesn’t process the world like you do and that’s ok. Rather than trying to change her/him, what is one thing you could do to appreciate her/him instead?

1. Understand that while you may be able to tolerate being around draining people for hours without it affecting you that much—the sensitive person in your life may become drained very quickly. And she may have trouble communicating that to you because people have scoffed at her sensitive nature her entire life and she’s tired of feeling judged and misunderstood. So if she doesn’t want to visit certain people with you [who tend to be negative], consider choosing to not take it personally. Instead, consider asking her, “What types of people and situations uplift you? How can we create opportunities to experience more uplifting moments together?”

1. Respect a sensitive person when he/she communicates their needs. For example, a highly sensitive person may not be able to watch the 11 O’clock News, or a violent television show or movie late at night because he/she won’t be able to sleep. Sensitive people may be more easily startled than you are. Please resist the temptation to say, “What’s the big deal?! It’s just a TV show…” Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t get to watch what you want to watch. You can both choose to watch separate shows in separate rooms, or one person can watch something on the computer with headphones on while laying next to the other watching television, OR how would it feel to turn off the TV altogether and find new ways to unwind together at the end of the day that benefit you both?

1. Know that highly sensitive people thrive in calming, positive work environments. Juggling too many tasks at once can easily overwhelm them. While they may not be the best multi-taskers in the world, sensitive people can create masterpieces when they focus on one project at a time, especially when they see how that project aligns with their value of wanting to make a positive difference in the world. What could you do to contribute to a positive work environment that not only a sensitive person will thrive in, so will you?!

1. Consider telling the sensitive person in your life, “I appreciate your sensitivity because___________________.” For example, my husband once told me that he appreciates my sensitive nature because he feels like he can be himself around me and feel completely loved and accepted. Words cannot express how much hearing that meant to me. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted for who they authentically are. How could you empower the sensitive person in your life to feel loved in the skin she’s in while sharing her uniqueness with the world?

Love & friendship,

Maria