Being a sensitive person emotionally is not uncommon, and I don't think it needs a diagnosis attached to it. Certainly having bipolar disorder and a propensity to be anxious doesn't help. I think of myself as being a sensitive person, and yet I have also had some periods in my life when I felt stress and difficulties rolled off my back as if it was Teflon. And yet, maybe it just seemed to be like that, and really wasn't.

The worst years of my illness definitely weakened me and made me feel excessively sensitive. Even something like watching an SPCA commercial would really upset me and I'd want to change the channel immediately. Politics can affect me greatly. People not being nice to me, or others, hurts me a lot. It still does, but to a lesser degrees at times. I remember my husband telling me to ask my therapist to "help toughen me up". I actually mentioned that to a couple of my therapists and they ignored it/brushed it off.

I don't believe being emotional is that bad of a thing at all unless it becomes too painful, which you seem to describe a bit. I like how sarahsweets mentioned a good aspect to being a sensitive person. In fact, there are a lot of wonderful aspects of being emotionally sensitive. A lot of great artists (from dancers to writers to painters to musicians) use such sensitivity to color and bring intensity to their work. The sensitivity of a parent to the pain or triumph of a child is a touching, empathetic, and/or beautiful thing.