Have you ever felt crushed by a harmless comment or overwhelmed by a minor setback?

If so, you're not alone.

Sensitivity can feel devastating, especially when criticism or minor issues are personal attacks. Emotional sensitivity can make us vulnerable. It can strongly impact our relationships, careers, and mental health.

Why do we become overly sensitive? More prominently, how can we manage it to lead a healthier, more balanced life?

Here is the good news. Although sensitivity is natural, we can learn to manage it better. If you are ready to learn how to stop being overly sensitive, manage your sensitivity better, build emotional resilience and regain control, here are seven practical strategies to help you.

To deal with sensitivity, first, you need to realize where it's coming from.

Often, our heightened emotional responses are rooted in past experiences or traumas. It may stem from childhood criticisms, feeling undervalued, or unresolved personal insecurities. Such unpleasant experiences shape how we view the world and react to specific stressors.

You can ask yourself: what are your mental triggers? Once you discover the in-depth cause of your feelings, you can work on changing how you respond to similar situations in the present.

Rumination and preoccupation with perceived slights or future concerns amplify emotional reactions because they are variations of anxious states of mind. Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment. You can do this to prevent your mind from spiralling into negative thoughts.

Begin with basic mindfulness practices. These may include activities like controlled breathing or orientation exercises. For instance, when you are at an emotional juncture, you should stop and take three deep breaths. Focus your attention on your breath alone. It is like training your brain to stay in the present.

Hence, you lower the intensity of emotional arousal, and you can be better equipped to handle stress.

Most people do not like to be criticized. However, you can learn to reframe criticism as constructive feedback. This can be a game-changer and reduce sensitivity.

When we perceive criticism as an attack, our defensiveness is poised for an emotional explosion. Instead, it would help if you perceived the feedback as an opportunity. In this way, it would change your whole perspective. It would reconfigure criticism as an essential tool for personal and professional improvement.

Remember, not all criticism is valid. Knowing when to distinguish constructive feedback from an onslaught of harmful or malicious remarks is good. Learning how to filter out unproductive negativity will save you extra emotional burdens.

Overly sensitive people are often troubled by their inability to set boundaries, which inevitably leads to emotional burnout. Setting boundaries doesn't mean pushing people away but protecting your emotional energy.

Whenever you take on more than you should emotionally (be it in personal relationships or work situations), you gradually drain your mental resilience. For this reason, you need to set your boundaries to protect yourself.

Let the people know that all the venting is draining you and that you care. But you have to take care of yourself, too. You will gradually feel that it prevents emotional overwhelm and allows the building of healthier relationships.

Our outside environment plays an enormous role in how we feel inside. The more negativity you have around you (with toxic relationships, debates on social media, judgmental coworkers), the higher your sensitivity may be. In contrast, any positive influence raises your emotional strength positively.

Hence, work on reducing the negative influences. Limit your use of social media, or mute the accounts that always hang around arguing and bring negativity into your life. Surround yourself with positive people.

Gather the company of individuals who are uplifting and supportive. Engage in activities that are joyful and fulfilling.

Sensitive people often need to control everything around them. They want to be responsible for other people's opinions, situations, and event outcomes. This might cause anxiety or lead to emotional sensitivity.

You can only sometimes be in control of what people around you are doing. You cannot control how they perceive you or the decisions they will make.

On the other hand, you can show control over how you react to them by paying more attention to what you can control. Control your thinking, actions, and reactions. This practice will relieve emotional pressure and help you keep your cool.

Lastly, you have to push your boundaries. Staying in your comfort zone will keep your emotional fragility there much longer. Gradual exposure to uncomfortable situations helps build emotional resilience and better withstand stress.

Start small by seeking constructive criticism. You can also start an activity that challenges you to go beyond what you usually do. As time passes, you will notice that the things that caused emotional reactions no longer feel overwhelming.

Resilience takes time to develop but can change how one navigates life.

Emotional sensitivity need not be a burden. Understanding the roots of your sensitivity, practising mindfulness, reframing criticism, or building emotional resilience reinforces managing emotional reactions.

It is not about becoming unemotional. It is more about managing your feelings better and keeping them in balance. Practice these strategies, and you will find yourself better empowered and less at the discretion of the noise of the world around you.