Orchids

Are you an orchid? Is one of your children an orchid? That is what Tom Boyce, professor of pediatrics and psychology at the University of California calls sensitive children who are “exquisitely sensitive to their environment, making them especially vulnerable under conditions of adversity but unusually vital, creative and successful within supportive, nurturing environments.” (Maté. The Myth of Normal. pg 250)

Orchids’ gifts lead them to produce some of mankind’s greatest achievements, IF they survive their childhoods. They are the children who hear, “don’t be so sensitive” and they are the children who feel more, feel deeply and are easily overwhelmed by stress. These are the children who don’t fit in easily, unless they are in a special environment attuned to their needs.

The greater the degree of childhood adversity (emotional and/or physical) the higher the risk of mental illness later in life. A high percentage of people with mental illness are orchids.

Have you ever been told not to be so sensitive? Do you live with a mental illness? Do you think your childhood could possibly have influenced your mental state today?