Highly Sensitive Persons -- Quotes & Tips

[Daniel E.]

HSPs, the "Consciousness" business and Living a Meaningful Life

Recently, I have been spending a lot of time considering the whole "Consciousness" issue. No, I don't mean "consciousness" as in what happ...

www.hspnotes.com

For HSPs, if there is one Achilles heel we have, it's our tendency to eternally "stay in our heads" as a means to-- in essence-- avoid interfacing with "real life" around us. And don't get me wrong... I am guilty of doing the same thing. However, it doesn't really help, in terms of becoming well-rounded, fully integrated people who can be of service to the world.

Think about this, for a second:

You are highly sensitive and have learned that the energy of crowds overwhelm you, and that's why you've never done well at festivals and concerts, even though some part of you really like them. Now, you can take that information and either translate it into "avoid crowds" and thereby withdraw from a part of life... OR you can observe yourself in a crowd, determine your "trigger points" and decide that the knowledge "crowds overstimulate me" means you can go and enjoy an event, be self aware, and then make a conscious choice to stay for TWO HOURS instead of "all day."

From my vantage point, the latter is definitely a more conscious choice.

 

[Daniel E.]

How I Healed My Body and My Life by Embracing My Sensitivity

How I Healed My Body and My Life by Embracing My Sensitivity by Michelle Dowker, Tiny Buddha August 31, 2021 “I used to dislike being sensitive. I thought it made me weak. But take away that single trait, and you take away the very essence of who I am.” ~ Caitlin Japa “You’re making people...

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“I used to dislike being sensitive. I thought it made me weak. But take away that single trait, and you take away the very essence of who I am.”

~ Caitlin Japa

 

[Daniel E.]

How to Stop Absorbing Other People’s Emotions

How I Learned to Stop Absorbing Other People’s Emotions by Melissa Renzi, Tiny Buddha April 13, 2018 "Sometimes I think I need a spare heart to feel all the things I feel." ~ Sanober Khan I felt her agony and loneliness as if it were my own. Even as I write that sentence, my eyes well up and...

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"Sometimes just having one calm place in our body can serve as a resource when the rest of you is feeling overwhelmed."

"Remember that other people have to go through their own processes in order to grow."

 

[Daniel E.]

Time to Find Out: Are You Highly Sensitive?

Time to Find Out: Are You Highly Sensitive? by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. March 22, 2010 You may belong to the 20% of us who innately prefer to think before acting. Are you famous for being slow to make decisions? Do you need more down time than your friends do? Are you bothered by noise...

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"You may belong to the 20% of us who innately prefer to think before acting."

"Most highly sensitive people undervalue themselves, but especially men, because the trait has been sadly mistaken for being "feminine." If you are a man, you could score lower and still be highly sensitive. Men have trouble admitting to this trait and almost always secretly undervalue themselves, no matter how much they hide their sensitivity."

 

[Daniel E.]

Why Therapy Can Be a Nightmare for HSPs (But Doesn't Have to Be)

As an HSP, therapy meant I would have to go through this emotional process of "coming clean" and admitting my failures all over again. Every week.

highlysensitiverefuge.com

"As HSPs, we have a powerful ability to “feel out” people quickly. Use that ability when you first talk to a potential therapist (and trust it!)."

 

[Daniel E.]

International listing of some HSP-aware therapists:

Seeking an HSP-knowledgeable Therapist? – The Highly Sensitive Person

Licensed therapists and counselors who have completed a program with Dr. Elaine Aron on psychotherapy with HSPs. Listed by country and state or province.

hsperson.com

 

[Daniel E.]

More HSP Research – The Highly Sensitive Person

hsperson.com

Harms, Hatak, and Chang have done research (using methods from business research) on those with the intention and sense of having the ability to start one’s own business (entrepreneurial intention). Previous research has associated entrepreneurial intention with a “heroic,” extraverted, not-very-sensitive type. However, these researchers found HSPs have also been found to have a strong entrepreneurial intention, being skilled at recognizing opportunities (depth of processing, aware of subtle stimuli, creativity, etc.) and motivated to be self-employed, so that they can manage their own energy and resources.

 

[Daniel E.]

How To Take Things Less Personally

The thing is, most of what bumps into us in life -- including emotional reactions from others, traffic jams, illness or mistreatment at work -- is like an impersonal log put in motion by 10,000 causes upstream.

www.huffpost.com

"Really soak in the growing sense of ease, strength and peacefulness that comes from taking life less personally."

 

[Daniel E.]

“High sensitivity is not a disease or a disorder. It’s not something that needs to be overcome or fixed.”

— Jenn Granneman

 

[Daniel E.]

“One of my favorite aspects of high sensitivity is finding wonder in the smallest of things.”

— Cati Vanden Breul, 8 Reasons Being Highly Sensitive Is Actually a Good Thing

 

[Daniel E.]

Understanding the Highly Sensitive Person: Sensitive, Introverted, or Both?

Understanding the Highly Sensitive Person: Sensitive, Introverted, or Both? by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D., Psychology Today July 21, 2011 Extraverted HSPs face unique challenges. After reading Sense and Sensitivity in the July/August Psychology Today, an article about highly sensitive people...

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It is not surprising that 70% of HSPs are introverts. But that means 30% are extraverts...

You can inherit the genetic variations that lead both to being highly sensitive and a high sensation seeker, so this may be another way, besides being raised to be social, that you can be both highly sensitive and extraverted, but it may be more accurate in this case to call it highly sensitive and high sensation seeking. This combo, as one person put it, "is like driving with one foot on the gas, the other on the brake."

The point is, in particular if you are a sensitive extravert, you need to pay special attention to taking care of yourself because life is so rich and exciting. You are a special breed.

 

[Daniel E.]

“As a highly sensitive person, I can sense your mood from a mile away. Don’t try to hide it. You’re not fooling
me.”

~ Tracy M. Kusmierz

 

[Daniel E.]

“They hear nearly every sound, notice every movement, and process the expression on every person’s face. And that means that simply walking through a public space can be an assault on their senses.”

~ Andre Sólo

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Excellent description.

 

[Daniel E.]

How to Stop Absorbing Other People’s Emotions

How I Learned to Stop Absorbing Other People’s Emotions by Melissa Renzi, Tiny Buddha April 13, 2018 "Sometimes I think I need a spare heart to feel all the things I feel." ~ Sanober Khan I felt her agony and loneliness as if it were my own. Even as I write that sentence, my eyes well up and...

forum.psychlinks.ca

As sensitive people, we may present with high emotion and feel easily overwhelmed by our senses. We’re often told by the world that there’s something wrong with us. And when we think there’s something inherently wrong with us, we tend to tuck these traits away into our “shadow” or unconscious mind.

 

[Daniel E.]

The Highly Sensitive Person and Anxiety: What to Know and How to Cope

Highly Sensitive People with Anxiety: What to Know and How to Cope by Melissa Noel Renzi, MelissaNoelRenzi.com May 22, 2018 If you’re a highly sensitive person, you know the struggle with anxiety is real. I hear countless stories from highly...

forum.psychlinks.ca

HSPs tend to have more activation in brain areas with “mirror neurons”, the neural system responsible for empathy. While some empathy is good, too much empathy can negatively affect our physical and mental well-being potentially leading to feelings of anxiety.