Emails in Black Holes

Many things bother me as an HSP, but one causes me particular troubles: when I send an email that contains a request or question and do not get a response. 

I know people are busy. Yes, I realize that answering my emails is not on the top of everyone's to-do list. 

But if an email I am sending contains a serious question or request, I have likely spent an extended period of time crafting every sentence, word, and punctuation mark. I add smiley faces to lighten the tone, and delete smiley faces where I feel they are unprofessional. I space my paragraphs out so that I don't overwhelm my readers with long ones, or clump together ideas and thought that don't belong together. I reread, edit, reread, and repeat. 

But once I hit that send button, my email slips out into the black hole of the internet never to return. 

And all I can do it wait. 

The longer the response takes, the more frantic my thoughts become. Did I phrase my request incorrectly? Did my question come off as selfish? What does the person I am emailing think of me? Have they always hated me? What if I see them around before they have responded? Should I try to avoid them so things aren't awkward? Did I put them on the spot with my request? Are they not responding because they want to say "no" but don't have the guts to do it in a response? Do they see me as the annoying, strange person that I sometimes see myself as? Should I ever have even sent that email at all? 

Please, if you get an email from someone you know is an HSP, just respond. And if you're not sure if your email is from an HSP, just respond anyway. Even a "no" is so much better than waiting.