What is 'sane' or 'normal'?

if you're struggling mentally,
it's completely understandable

Who gets to decide what is sane or not? I remember once seeing an event advertised on facebook for a talk entitled 'Are normal people sane?' and thinking it sounded really interesting but I didn't get the chance to go.  It is something I do wonder about sometimes though.  My brother came up with the name for this blog 'Samantha, the sane vegan' to differentiate myself from the tiny minority of vegans who are overtly puritanical and judgemental. So it's ironic that a lot of my blogs have ended up being about me not being sane! I suppose I do consider myself classified as having a mental illness because I do experience periods of clinical depression interspersed with periods of temporary sanity and sometimes low-level mania (hypomania).  I have always felt a bit different and never really felt like I was one who fitted in with the crowds in school.  Reading up about the prevalence of HSPs (highly sensitive people) and meeting more in real life and in online forums (finding my tribe!) has helped me to understand myself better but it still doesn't make being in a minority in society easy.

In what ways do I feel different and how does it affect my life?

yep, that's me!

Socially! In school everyone (teachers and classmates!) always commented that I was too quiet and didn't talk much and it's something people continue to say to me as an adult. I never really know how to respond when people say this.  I only tend to talk when I've got something interesting to say and sometimes I don't (that just doesn't seem to stop a lot of people!) I've never felt the need to be continuously talking and I find endless conversation, small talk and people who won't let you get a word in edgeways mentally exhausting and stressful. (Partly why I like blogging, no one can interrupt me haha!).  I also think as a HSP I need more headspace than others and I go a bit crazy if I don't get enough 'me' time to decompress.

some people have likened me
 to Lisa Simpson! lol

Morally! I can remember when asking my siblings to describe me the first things they said were 'moral, caring and ethical'.  I've always thought a lot about how our actions impact on the world around us.  Some people find it odd that I buy most of my clothes from charity shops but I do it because of ethical and environmental concerns about factory-made clothes.  If I have a glass bottle or can on me I'll hang onto it until I can find a recycling bin.  I was always uncomfortable with the idea of eating animals for as long as I can remember and put a lot of thought into what I purchase and everything I do.  There are some people who go much further than me with regard to this and have achieved a lot more than me in terms of making a difference in the world at a younger age than me.  I'm no Martin Luther King or Harriet Tubman. I've just observed that I care about a lot of things more than most people do.  I've read part of a book called 'The Moral Molecule' that suggests that it might be linked with having higher levels of a hormone called oxytocin (it's a lot more complicated than that obviously!).

Emotional sensitivity-wise

ok that sounds ever so slightly arrogant
but I see where he's coming from!

I've always been quite sensitive and get really badly affected by watching violent, bloodthirsty or emotionally difficult films or series.  Horror films, films with torture and series like Game of Thrones with gratuitous violence are extremely popular these days and I've been in situations where I feel like the odd one out with regards to this.  But I think the fact that most people seem to be desensitised to this is very worrying and it should be normal to be horrified by it! I often can't cope with watching the news as it upsets me too much.  I've had people say to me that we need to know about what's happening in the world and I need a reality check.  It's not like I want to just bury my head in the sand or that I go by the motto 'ignorance is bliss' but sometimes I reach a limit and I have to step back from it all in order to protect my mental health.

Does being in the minority make me in the wrong?

Am I 'insane' or weird because I don't fit in with the majority of people? I think in society we tend to get our ideas about what is normal and acceptable from what we see around us.  But I think questioning what we are brought up to believe in and having the confidence to be different  is positive and a sign of intelligence.  Minority influence is often the way a lot of  revolutionary changes start.  Life isn't always easy when you feel different and unusual but I've found that as I get older I learn to embrace who I am more and meet more like-minded people. I'm happy to be different!

they do indeed!