You’re Not ‘Too Sensitive’: What Your Overwhelm Might Be Trying to Tell You
Have you ever been told you’re "too much" or you “feel too deeply”? Maybe you’ve learned to hide your overwhelm, or to push through it quietly, hoping no one notices. But what if that sensitivity isn’t a weakness? What if—even if it doesn’t feel like it now—it’s actually a gift?
In therapy, we don’t try to shut down your feelings—we learn how to listen to them. Gestalt therapy teaches us that every emotion has intelligence. When we stop judging our feelings and start turning toward them with curiosity, we begin to understand what they’re trying to say.
Your nervous system isn’t malfunctioning. Through a polyvagal-informed lens, overwhelm is often your body’s natural response to stress and disconnection. You may be trying to navigate a world that constantly asks you to numb or shrink your experience. In queer liberation therapy, we name how systems of oppression teach us to silence or pathologize our sensitivity. But your bigness isn’t wrong. It might be the part of you that still knows how to feel fully alive.
Somatic and body-process work helps bring awareness back to those subtle sensations: the tight chest, the lump in your throat, the buzzing hands. We explore what they might be saying, gently, without forcing or fixing. Together, we practice tuning into your body like an old friend you’re learning to trust again.
As a psychotherapist in Washington, DC, I offer affirming mental health therapy that supports clients in reclaiming the power of their sensitivity. My approach is queer, neurodivergent, kink, poly/enm, and BIPOC affirming—and grounded in trauma-focused, multicultural care.
So if you’re feeling too much—maybe you’re just feeling enough. Enough to wake up. Enough to change. Enough to remember who you are.
If this resonates, I’d love to help you explore what your body is trying to say. You can schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me to see if psychotherapy in DC with me feels like a good fit.
Email me at Glen@GestaltGlen.com, call me at 202-922-5747, or visit GestaltGlen.com to schedule your call today.
