Dealing with being overly emotional

I have a problem. It seems like I feel things stronger than other people or what is socially acceptable. I guess it could be called being sensitive or overly emotional.

Of course it's not just a problem. I have heard that it can in fact be a sign of being gifted and intelligent and that - if managed correctly - feeling more can be a blessing.

However for me it's always been a problem. I have had difficulty in social settings and I guess I got kinda traumatized as a child because of it and it seems to make it worse.

For a long time I learnt to supress my feelings. To push them down from the surface. To draw away from all the people around me. That didn't work out too well either. I became distant and couldn't be close with people. I'd be depressed and alone.

I have been rediscovering my feelings and opening up, but now I have another problem. My ability to manage my sometimes overly strong emotions sometimes seems to be on a level of a child. That leads to me getting hurt easily, lashing out and being overall just insufferable for myself and the people around me.

How do I learn to manage my emotions? How do I find the balance between supressing emotions and letting them overflow? How do I learn to deal with my feelings in a way I can feel them and stay true to them, while also remaining in control and not doing stupid shit? I'm affraid I'll end up losing the rest of my friends or withdrawing back to my shell if I can't get my shit together.

 

I might be a HSP. Although I don't necessarily care too much about labeling myself, but I might be able to find some good tips by that information!

Thankfully I don't think I've come around a narcissist, and my parents are cool. In fact on the surface level I'm still kinda distant, so I guess that shields me from assholes. My emotional side comes back to surface usually when I'm with friends, and while it seems otherwise like an ideal situation, I think sometimes I expect a lot of considerateness from my friends and it makes it difficult to be my friend. I'd like to be able to be more understanding of the fact that most of my friends aren't used to that and thus can be blunt in their words without any bad intentions.

That responsibility thing sounds like something I've been missing. It is easy to play victim whenever bad feelings arise and it's just understandable that others don't wish to take the responsibility for my feelings. I guess that's something I need to pay more attention to. I guess taking a little break and considering what is actually going on before I react to situations would be a good idea.

 

"How about a thank you"

As in I should thank you? Yes, I am grateful for your two cents. Which I thought was obvious, but I apologize if my lack of a straight forward thank you caused any unnecessary distress.
I have no idea what you're aiming at with your comment about my name.

But hey, I think you are acting overly sensitive right now!

(Edit: And thank you to everyone giving advice or sharing experiences!)