Valerie, I am from a line of English who were hit hard by both WWI and WWII; we all carry responses that differ from others - sirens make me automatically look up, instead of around, and my siblings are the same. We were born this way. If I hear the sound of prop engines (planes) I have an intense gut wrenching feeling of harm and inescapable fear and feel an urge to run underground into bomb shelters. I was born in the early 70’s, from a mother who was born in 1943 to a grandmother who was alone and giving birth in a raid after the sirens and bombs triggered her labour. That grandma was born in 1903, so she lived through both world wars. Her siblings (my great aunts and uncles) were all in active duty in both wars, and my grandfather of my mother was away as a captain in HM Royal Navy when my grandmother was giving birth to my mother. His ship was torpedoed and he came home and had a terminal heart attack when my mother came home from school and he passed in her arms when she was 10. The reason I mention it is I believe that such deep trauma leaves a genetic mark, and is then passed from one generation to another, and this is why my siblings and myself react in such alternative ways to stimulus that would otherwise not cause such responses. I lived on farms when I was younger, and the first time I saw a machine gun/automatic firing rifle, my first urge was to drop to my knees and put my hands on my head, like a POW, even though I was born in 1973.
I believe there may be many who have this lingering historical/generational/genetic trauma, and for a long time I felt lesser than for the things that I carry within myself; however over time, I have seen the benefits of these ‘things’ inside me: I have been brave and stood in front of others who were at risk of harm without hesitation, and I have intervened when people have been under attack from others (albeit I was a 5’10”+ 198 pound strong - not fat -woman with very little to fear in the strength-challenge department 😉), taking the brunt to save someone else. These days, those benefits are a mental strength that give me an advantage in doing some unique things, including having the ability to not judge others for their unique traits that cause them to be ‘different’, and I can help people in hard situations by not shying away, or trying to deflect; I will face their fears with them, because I haven’t encountered anything that scares me for many years, and sometimes holding firm in the face of somebody’s fear can help them. And strength doesn’t mean hard: strength and gentleness go hand in hand, the best of partners. Hardness is kinda superficial, whereas strength is deep, multifaceted, and goes well with many other good character traits like ones you’ve alluded to, including sensitivity, understanding, empathy, and peacefulness.
I appreciate muchly reading your comment, and would like to say that these unique aspects we hold within us aren’t weaknesses; they’re beauty in disguise 🌺