There may come many times in life where you have to confront a difficult truth: not everyone deserves access to you. Your time, your energy, your care, your loyalty—these are not infinite resources. And some people will take from you without giving anything back, leaving you emotionally exhausted, confused, and questioning your own worth.

We all experience challenging years in our lives. A family member dies, we lose our job, we have to move, or we go through a divorce. Sometimes, it feels like it’s all happening at once. These events can happen to the best of us, and they often lead to a time when the life we once dreamed of falls apart unexpectedly, leaving us with nothing but grief amidst catastrophic loss.

In a world that often glorifies dominance, bravado, and emotional stoicism—especially among men—gentleness can seem like a soft trait. But in truth, gentleness is a sign of great inner strength. When a man is gentle with women and animals, it reveals something deeply rooted in his character: emotional intelligence, empathy, and integrity.

In a world filled with endless notifications, to-do lists, and constant stimulation, your mind becomes a battlefield before your feet even hit the floor. Before you’ve had a sip of coffee, you’re already strategizing, planning, reacting.

We’ve made some progress. Women can vote, lead companies, run for office, and hold degrees once denied to them. And yet—beneath the surface of these milestones—there remains a stark imbalance. The numbers don’t lie.

From the outside, she’s impressive. She’s accomplished, articulate, respected. People look up to her. She’s the one others turn to for guidance, leadership, or inspiration. But what they don’t see—what she rarely says out loud—is this: “I don’t feel like I belong here.”

You’re running from one crisis to the next, answering emails at night, waking up with your mind racing, and feeling like if you let one ball drop, everything will collapse. People might even admire how calm you seem under pressure—but the truth is, your nervous system is on overdrive.

You’re still meeting deadlines. Still showing up to meetings. Still achieving—maybe even overachieving. But inside, it’s a different story. You’re exhausted. Cynical. You wake up already tired, and the passion that once drove you feels like it’s been replaced by a quiet numbness.

When it comes to expressing our innermost feelings and desires, many of us are at a loss for words in crucial moments. Some find it hard to communicate and verbalize painful topics, while others (like children) simply may not have developed the vocabulary yet.

It looks like this: you drive the long way to avoid the town you grew up in. You wake up regularly with the same nightmare or night terror. Your reaction is much more heightened in a situation that does not deserve that level of emotion. You avoid getting close to people in romantic relationships and prefer casual relationships.

It’s not a DSM diagnosis, but it is a state of sensitivity that affects a good portion of the population. A highly sensitive person, also known as an HSP, has a heightened sensitivity to their environment and the people around them.