People Think I Exaggerate Everything

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For me, the worst part of being hypersensitive to pretty much everything is that it makes it look like I’m always whining or exaggerating, just seeking attention or something. Most people who know me in real life see me as weak, fragile, a complete wimp, and I hate it. I feel like I need to hide any sort of pain, discomfort, etc. because any time I say anything about it, it just furthers that idea about me. My mom makes this particularly clear in the way she treats my brother’s ailments versus how she treats mine. And the thing is, it’s the complete opposite of how I want to come across. Even doctors who have never met me before seem to assume I exaggerate. And when everyone else sees me like this, it makes it very hard for me not to think of myself as a pathetic wimp. It bothers me so much that I’ve found myself thinking of self-harming on a regular basis again just to increase my pain tolerance.

So, uh, basically my question is... how do I get rid of this perception of me? How do I get people to actually take me seriously when they already have this preconception of me?

Part of being hypersensitive is making a big deal out of stuff that doesn't bother most people which will always come across as exaggerating problems. Fortunately, you can become less sensitive. I was able to go from being extremely sensitive to now being less sensitive than most people. Here's how I did it:

First, understand that your own beliefs strongly influence how you feel. If you have a low self-esteem and negative opinions of other people, it will make you more sensitive. If you improve your self-esteem and practice thinking more positively it will help you become less sensitive.

When you feel worse after people criticize you enough times, your mind will associate criticism with the emotions you felt thanks to classical conditioning. Once that happens, you will automatically feel worse when you are criticized. To become less sensitive, you have to break that association in your mind. You can do that by deliberately seeking out mild criticism when you are having a good day, relaxed (or not particularly stressed), and thinking positively. Immediately before you seek out criticism, remind yourself that you're just as good as everyone else, no one is perfect, everyone get criticized, it isn't a big deal, people aren't trying to be mean or make you feel worse, and that thinking positively about it will help you become less sensitive). Don't worry about what you'll say. Focus on how you'll think about it. If you can do that and don't feel worse afterward, gradually seek out harsher criticism. Keep doing that and you'll eventually no longer be sensitive to criticism. What I wrote about criticism can be used to help you become less sensitive to other things as well (such as being sensitive to people disagreeing with you, pointing out odd behavior, or being afraid to be yourself). I just used criticism as an example.