David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
HSPs are always emotionally sensitive.
- Thread starter David Baxter PhD
- Start date
Sonya
Member
I consider myself highly sensitive. I was labeled "overly-sensitive" as a child. If I lost a pet, I would grieve for months. Even as an adult, losing an animal is almost unbearable to me.
I am more sensitive of animals than people. I can't watch a movie if I know an animal will be injured or die. If I see a dead animal in the road, I can't look at it. My daughter calls me the "cat whisperer" because I can usually tell what my animals want just by the way they behave.
The thought of people hunting animals for sport is repulsive to me. I'm told it is necessary to cull animals like deer, but I couldn't do it.
There have been at least three occasions where I been in the company of an elderly person, some of whom I was meeting for the first time, and I would have this strong urge to hug them. They were old but they weren't terminal to my knowledge. Within days, they all three died. I wonder if I somehow picked up on the fact that they were about to die? It scares me when I want to hug someone I don't know. I have never told anyone this. It is so strange.
I am more sensitive of animals than people. I can't watch a movie if I know an animal will be injured or die. If I see a dead animal in the road, I can't look at it. My daughter calls me the "cat whisperer" because I can usually tell what my animals want just by the way they behave.
The thought of people hunting animals for sport is repulsive to me. I'm told it is necessary to cull animals like deer, but I couldn't do it.
There have been at least three occasions where I been in the company of an elderly person, some of whom I was meeting for the first time, and I would have this strong urge to hug them. They were old but they weren't terminal to my knowledge. Within days, they all three died. I wonder if I somehow picked up on the fact that they were about to die? It scares me when I want to hug someone I don't know. I have never told anyone this. It is so strange.
Bumblebean
Member
Wow, I never heard of this before but I can really relate to a lot of it. I thought those feelings were because of depression and nervousness or early signs of it, but maybe not? There sure is a lot to take in.
BB
BB
Nikonninja
Member
This is ME.......describes me perfectly.I understand that I am highly sensitive person and so make time to find the peace I need to deal with the world around me.I took up photography two years ago and it has been a soothing outlet for me to escape,while creating beauty through my photographs.It give me an outlet of expression that I wish I had honed a long time ago.When I look through the lens of my camera, I see beauty in silence and stillness and that brings me peace.
When i feel the world caving in and I am getting overwhelmed,then I grab my camera and head outside to take pictures.I have had a stressful week.And while it is quite chilly out and threatening rain (again) I will grab my camera and head out to my gardens....hence my name Nikonninja
When i feel the world caving in and I am getting overwhelmed,then I grab my camera and head outside to take pictures.I have had a stressful week.And while it is quite chilly out and threatening rain (again) I will grab my camera and head out to my gardens....hence my name Nikonninja
Dear Mr Baxter,
You e-mail was refreshing. All I know I am extremely sensitive and my emotions rule me and not vice versa. I would take away my emotions for my memory which I could turn off at will. All of the statements were right on for me. I feel I do not fit in society, yet I'm here. I will give my doctor your e-mail and let him decide how to treat me with your e-mail. Thank you for writing, it gives me hope. High Strung
You e-mail was refreshing. All I know I am extremely sensitive and my emotions rule me and not vice versa. I would take away my emotions for my memory which I could turn off at will. All of the statements were right on for me. I feel I do not fit in society, yet I'm here. I will give my doctor your e-mail and let him decide how to treat me with your e-mail. Thank you for writing, it gives me hope. High Strung
of how I feel about them. That also makes me High Strung. If I see a small child cry it bothers me. I try to be a happy and funny as I can be with all people. Again I would like to get rid of my emotions and replace them with my memory and if a sensitive thought enters my mind I could say no! But I also have Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde complex. When I am alone and driving I get mad at people who ride my tail with there car. These jerks do not understand if I slam on my brakes, they are going to hit me and I will lose control of my car and might wreck. So I bawl them our when I am driving alone.
I have St. John's Wort as a medicine I take as well. I mean nobody no harm and I do not carry a gun because of my temper. I just like the happy side and not the sad or angry side. Any sadness or depression or emotion I dislike emincely. I am at the stage I either go to bed or take a St. John's Wort pill. It's very depressing to have these emotions, it makes you questions your mind. high strung
I have St. John's Wort as a medicine I take as well. I mean nobody no harm and I do not carry a gun because of my temper. I just like the happy side and not the sad or angry side. Any sadness or depression or emotion I dislike emincely. I am at the stage I either go to bed or take a St. John's Wort pill. It's very depressing to have these emotions, it makes you questions your mind. high strung
Last edited by a moderator:
On the positive side, such sensitivity is good for maintaining relationships, creative work, enjoying the finer things in life, etc.
I’ve read this HSP info several times. I know I *used* to be sensitive. But then it was a matter of survival where your mom has issues with empathy or emotional connection. I had to anticipate or “read her” to figure out what she would do next, how she might react, to try to please her. Did I mention our house had wall-to-wall eggshell carpeting? lol
In my teens, it might have been the hormones, but I became MORE sensitive. I could feel (imagine how I would feel?), for example, when my brother pulled his shoulder and forearm muscle... I seemed to know how deep to dig in my fingers, where the muscle needed to me massages, and how pull down and press down on the arm muscles ensnared how to push them on the shoulders. He said he felt a lot better after I was done. I can massage my dog and become relaxed by him getting relaxed because I imagine how it would feel if I was getting the massage.
Similarly I was a bit of a cat/dog whisperer. We would visit friends on a farm and I would always have 3 kittens and a couple of cats asleep on me in a lawn chair or the hammock, and I’d fall asleep with their purring bodies on top of me and in my ears. lol
I’m sure if I wasn’t on meds for anxiety/depression I would still be that way. Although I feel it lurking in the back of my mind, if that makes sense. On the one hand I miss being able to feel how others might be feeling, but on the other hand, it’s kind of a relief to have that somewhat dulled. Because it’s embarrassing to break down into tears all the time. lol
But... Which came first? Was I always this way? Was it somewhat hereditary? And did my upbringing intensify it? I think my dad is an HSP. Even my mom: except she was more sensitive about how people reacted to her (often times negative reaction to something negative she did to them)... My mom would become exasperated with me and literally tell me to “stop feeling what everyone else is feeling.”
Other times it felt like she’d say I should “stop being so sensitive” because sometimes she was just downright MEAN and wanted to make things somehow MY fault. lol As if to say, “How DARE you feel sad and upset when I do something mean to you?!?!” lol
And now that I found out in 2018 that I have ADHD, now THAT does explain a helluva lot!!! I actually AM sensitive to a lot of things which makes it hard for me to focus. Physical sensations, noises, bright colours, strong smells, movement... lol And I’m the full spectrum. I also know ADHD is hereditary and this also explains my mom’s behaviour to a certain extent. Although having a disability or a disorder doesn’t give her license to treat the rest of us like crap! So there was still something else going on (I understand that if a person has ADHD, it’s common to have other issues/comorbidity).
So... What’s the difference between the two? How does one measure/decide if someone is a “Highly Sensitive Person,” or if someone has ADHD? Or just straight up has Anxiety...? Or can a person be highly sensitive and NOT have ADHD or other issues? Because if only people with mental health issues are highly sensitive, doesn’t that just mean they have that health issue?
I’m not sure what I’m trying to get at here or to explain what I feel. It made sense to me in my head before I wrote this down. Friends tell me I’m an “empath” instead of me just being empathetic. I don’t know why I would be so skeptical about what other people perceive about me. lol Maybe I just refuse to think of myself as “unique” or maybe I don’t like it when people say I’m sensitive because my mom didn’t like it and would tell me to stop being sensitive! lol
I’m sorry. I wrote a novel again. But I still wrote novels when I was on ADHD meds. I probably think and type faster than a lot of people. How fast I think is still way faster than what I type, but my typing is pretty fast. And I read fast. So please forgive me! lol I speak/think/type/do things in Squirrel. 🐿
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my puzzlations.
In my teens, it might have been the hormones, but I became MORE sensitive. I could feel (imagine how I would feel?), for example, when my brother pulled his shoulder and forearm muscle... I seemed to know how deep to dig in my fingers, where the muscle needed to me massages, and how pull down and press down on the arm muscles ensnared how to push them on the shoulders. He said he felt a lot better after I was done. I can massage my dog and become relaxed by him getting relaxed because I imagine how it would feel if I was getting the massage.
Similarly I was a bit of a cat/dog whisperer. We would visit friends on a farm and I would always have 3 kittens and a couple of cats asleep on me in a lawn chair or the hammock, and I’d fall asleep with their purring bodies on top of me and in my ears. lol
I’m sure if I wasn’t on meds for anxiety/depression I would still be that way. Although I feel it lurking in the back of my mind, if that makes sense. On the one hand I miss being able to feel how others might be feeling, but on the other hand, it’s kind of a relief to have that somewhat dulled. Because it’s embarrassing to break down into tears all the time. lol
But... Which came first? Was I always this way? Was it somewhat hereditary? And did my upbringing intensify it? I think my dad is an HSP. Even my mom: except she was more sensitive about how people reacted to her (often times negative reaction to something negative she did to them)... My mom would become exasperated with me and literally tell me to “stop feeling what everyone else is feeling.”
Other times it felt like she’d say I should “stop being so sensitive” because sometimes she was just downright MEAN and wanted to make things somehow MY fault. lol As if to say, “How DARE you feel sad and upset when I do something mean to you?!?!” lol
And now that I found out in 2018 that I have ADHD, now THAT does explain a helluva lot!!! I actually AM sensitive to a lot of things which makes it hard for me to focus. Physical sensations, noises, bright colours, strong smells, movement... lol And I’m the full spectrum. I also know ADHD is hereditary and this also explains my mom’s behaviour to a certain extent. Although having a disability or a disorder doesn’t give her license to treat the rest of us like crap! So there was still something else going on (I understand that if a person has ADHD, it’s common to have other issues/comorbidity).
So... What’s the difference between the two? How does one measure/decide if someone is a “Highly Sensitive Person,” or if someone has ADHD? Or just straight up has Anxiety...? Or can a person be highly sensitive and NOT have ADHD or other issues? Because if only people with mental health issues are highly sensitive, doesn’t that just mean they have that health issue?
I’m not sure what I’m trying to get at here or to explain what I feel. It made sense to me in my head before I wrote this down. Friends tell me I’m an “empath” instead of me just being empathetic. I don’t know why I would be so skeptical about what other people perceive about me. lol Maybe I just refuse to think of myself as “unique” or maybe I don’t like it when people say I’m sensitive because my mom didn’t like it and would tell me to stop being sensitive! lol
I’m sorry. I wrote a novel again. But I still wrote novels when I was on ADHD meds. I probably think and type faster than a lot of people. How fast I think is still way faster than what I type, but my typing is pretty fast. And I read fast. So please forgive me! lol I speak/think/type/do things in Squirrel. 🐿
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my puzzlations.
Replying is not possible. This forum is only available as an archive.
Similar threads
