My highly sensitive child

I found out a year ago that my little girl is a highly sensitive child. This means that emotions react more intensely in her brain. It is her brain turning her emotions into a physical reaction at times. She feels deeper than others. This discovery was hard on me, because I was hoping she would outgrow her intense emotions at some point. She won't. This is part of her. It is who my baby is.

Over the years, I've had many people comment on her. She has a fear of strangers, especially when they touch her.  Many people do not like that and get upset that she fears them. She cannot handle extremely loud noises. That's weird to some. Her intense emotions show when she's happy or excited and it comes off as overwhelming to some. When she cries, it takes a really long time for her to calm down. Anger and sadness lead to tears, and she cries longer and louder than other children. This comes off as fit throwing to many, and I've been told many times to stop spoiling her and giving in to get. I don't do either, but am accused of it. My daughter is strong-willed and determined and didn't like to be told no, but she gets it anyway and has had to learn to accept it as an answer.

Today, someone close to me admitted, "Your daughter pisses me off." I wanted so badly to tell them off! My daughter is 5! Whether she is highly sensitive or not, she is a child who behaves like a child. Yes, she's overwhelming. Believe me, I know. But she is a child who doesn't know exactly how to handle her intense feelings, whatever they are at the time. They overwhelm her. They take over her thought process. She requires a lot of patience.
My thought on my child pissing you off: you don't have to be around her. Amongst all of the criticism that I've received regarding my darling girl, this one hurt the most!

It hurts my mama heart to see my daughter looked down upon by others. She's different. She looks normal, but inside she is different and different apparently is not okay. I encourage her to learn from her emotions, to be able to handle them better. She will never stop feeding them so intensely. It is how her body is wired. But she can learn how to manage them. She's 5 though, and this will take a long time to perfect. She's different than you, and that's okay. So am I.