questions to find out :
- Do you get overwhelmed by stimuli such as lights, noises, and smells?
- Do other people’s moods and emotions deeply affect you?
- Are you easily startled?
- Do you become uneasy when someone is watching you complete a task?
- Do you become tired easily after a “normal” day of activity?
- Are you aware of other things in your environment that most other people are not aware of?
- Do you become agitated or anxious when you have a lot of tasks to do and not enough time to complete all of them?
- Do you avoid disturbing or violent movies, books, or T.V. shows?
- Do you feel the need to escape and retreat when there is too much going on around you?
- Are you deeply interested in the arts or music?
- Do you dislike changes in your life?
- Do you enjoy delicate tastes, scents, sounds, soft fabrics, or beautiful works of art?
- Have you always been labeled as shy or sensitive by other people?
- Are you overly conscientious?
- Do you seem to be more sensitive to pain than other people?
- Are you sensitive to certain foods such as foods containing caffeine, sugar or alcohol?
- Do you become unpleasant when you are hungry?
- Do you easily sense the energies of places or situations?
- Are you easily touched by others' experience, stories of kindness, and courage?
- Are you attracted to the deeper things such as spirituality, self-development and philosophy?
- Do you need time alone?
- Are your feelings easily bruised?
- Do you have a vivid imagination?
If you answered "yes" to the majority or all of the questions listed above, you are most likely a highly sensitive person. If you answered yes to only a few of the questions listed above, you may still be considered a highly sensitive person.
Friday, August 14, 2009
are you a highly sensitive person (HSP) ?
The definition of the Highly Sensitive Persons ( HSPs )
In defining the Highly Sensitive Persons , Dr. Aron provides examples of characteristic behaviors, and these are reflected in the questions she typically asks patients or interview subjects:
- Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby?
- Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time?
- Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows?
- Do you need to withdraw during busy days, into bed or a darkened room or some other place where you can have privacy and relief from the situation?
- Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations?
- Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art?
- Do you have a rich and complex inner life?
- When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy?
Dr. Aron explains that in the past HSPs have been called "shy," "timid," "inhibited," or "introverted," but these labels completely miss the nature of the trait. Thirty percent of HSPs are actually extraverts. HSPs only appear inhibited because they are so aware of all the possibilities in a situation. They pause before acting, reflecting on their past experiences. If these were mostly bad experiences, then yes, they will be truly shy. But in a culture that prefers confident, "bold" extraverts, it is harmful as well as mistaken to stigmatize all HSPs as shy when many are not.
Attributes and Characteristics of Being Highly Sensitive
Emotionally, Highly Sensitive People (HSP) are mainly seen as shy, introverted and socially inhibited (or can be socially extroverted). They are often acutely aware of other's emotions. Sensitive people learn early in life to mask their wonderful attributes of sensitivity, intuition and creativity.
Physically, HSPs may have low tolerance to noise, glaring lights, strong odors, clutter and/or chaos. They tend to have more body awareness of themselves and know instinctually when the environment they are in is not working for them.
Socially, introverted HSP may feel like misfits. They actually enjoy their own company and are totally comfortable being alone. Both introverted and socially extroverted HSP often find they need time alone to recover after social interactions.
Psychologically, HSPs compensate for their sensitivity by either protecting themselves by being alone too much, or, by trying to be 'normal' or sociable which then over-stimulates them into stress.
Work and career is particularly challenging for HSPs. They are often overlooked for promotions even though they are usually the most conscientious employees. They are excellent project oriented employees because they are responsible and thorough in their work.
Relationships can be difficult. In relationships they may be confronted with their unresolved personal issues. They can however, offer their partner the gifts of their intuitive insights.
Culturally, HSPs do not fit the tough, stoic and outgoing ideals of modern society and what is portrayed in the entertainment media.
Childhood wounds have a more devastating effect on HSPs. It is important for them to heal their past hurts because they cannot just forget them and go on in denial.
Spiritually, sensitive people have a greater capacity for inner searching. This is one of their greatest blessings.
Nutritionally, HSPs may need more simplicity in their diet. They may be vitally aware of the effects of food on the health of their body and their emotional stability.
Overwhelming Stimuli
HSPs respond strongly to external stimuli, and become exhausted from taking in and processing these stimuli. They are born with a nervous system that may see, hear, smell or feel more than others. As adults, they may also think, reflect or notice more than others. The processing is largely unconscious or body-conscious. HSPs grow up feeling flawed, especially when loud music, crowds of people, or simply a busy day stresses them. At such times, they need quiet time alone to recover.
Childhood
Problems can begin in childhood if their sensitivities are not recognized. They can experience deep trauma, even in the womb if they were not wanted. Highly sensitive babies are more peaceful when alone. Certain people terrify them; toy mobiles upset them, rocking irritates them, and changes in weather make them restless. They may be colicky, and their digestive systems may not tolerate food that is too hot or too cold. If the needs of the baby are ignored the child becomes insecure.
Sensitive babies are also very creative and aware. They may walk early or smile a lot. As infants and toddlers they may experience sensory overload from the newness of things. When old enough, they spend time alone to regain their balance and energy.
iam a sensitive person
I am a sensitive person. Please don't tell me that I shouldn't be this way. It's the way I am, much as you are the way you are. Accept me for myself as I accept you for yourself.
I am an adult who sometimes has the need to cry. It takes a lot of courage to do that, more than you can possibly imagine. Please don't remind me that in our society grownups don't cry. Some of us do, difficult though it may be, and you trivialize and diminish me when you attach shame to this act.
I often feel what you feel. Your emotions become mine. I cannot explain this, it is just part of my gift. I am not trying to frighten you. When you communicate with me, at times I will see very deeply into your innermost nature. Perhaps without knowing, you are laying bare your soul, and later on, you might be anxious about this, or even angry with me. But this is something that just happens. It is not something I've asked for; sometimes I see things that I would rather not see, and I learn things that I would much prefer not to know, especially if you are deceitful or trying to hurt. Please understand, though, that I will keep your confidences, I will not betray your thoughts and feelings, and above all I will not use what I learn to hurt you, even if you are trying to hurt me.
My gift is a gift from God, and like all such gifts, I did not request it and often don't want it. Yet, I was given it for a reason, and it is not for me to question. With this gift is attached much responsibility and much difficulty. I know I am to use this gift for the good of others. Please allow me to do so, but please give me the understanding and the space that I need, for sometimes it becomes more than I can bear and I must withdraw for a little while, lest I become unable to cope.
But my friendship and caring is without limit and is yours for as long as you wish it. As a sensitive person I am capable of deep emotion, genuine feeling, and abiding love. I treasure relationships, and though I don't make a lot of them, the ones I do make are lasting and meaningful.
I place before you my gifts and my talents, ****ets and my flaws, my achievements and my failures, my hopes and my mission, and, ultimately, what I am. I ask only acceptance and understanding. Grant me that much.
Highy Sensitive People Are Talented
Highly Sensitive People are very often talented, whether they know it or not.
As a general rule, their sensitive nature actually brings them closer to their innate talents
We all have our unique talents.
Here are some pointers on how one can go about unearthing hidden talents:
When you connect with your Source,
you will unearth talents you never dreamed you had.
- - - Wayne Dyer
We can connect with our Source Energy, or God through our "Higher Selves"
Every one of us has our own unique talents.
(... Although Some of us can not speak about them in public. [image] )
Many of us just haven’t found them yet.
When you connect with your higher self, you become more and more like your "Ideal self".
You feel better, you think better,, you become happier.
You'll become more enthusiastic, and more passionate.
These powerful feelings are what can promote or activate the talents within you.
Why are Highly Sensitive People more talent more than those who are (unfortunately) normal?
* Our feelings are often more intense than our less fortunate normal cousins.
* We are more likely to pay attention to detail.
* Our attention to detail can be documented in art and our writings.
* We feel more and are more passionate about what we do
* Our greater passions and drives may come from a desire to prove to the world that we are worthy
Famous Highly Sensitive Persons ( HSPs )
actors/actresses
Woody Allen - Judy Garland - Jim Carey - Mira Sorvino - Adrien Brody - Melanie Griffith - Kim Basinger - Anthony Hopkins - Drew Barrymore - Glenn Close - Mr. Rogers - Andy Kaufman - Jon Favreau - Greta Garbo - Joaquin Phoenix - Elijah Wood - Kevin Kline - Kenneth Williams - David Hyde Pierce
writers
Edgar Allen Poe - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Emily Dickinson - W.B. Yeats - Paul Celan - The Bronte Sisters - Marcel Proust - Virginia Woolf - Marina Tsvetaeva - Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Sir Thomas Moore - E.E. Cummings - Hermann Hesse - Sylvia Plath - Anne Sexton - Allen Ginsburg - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Anton Chekhov - James Baldwin - Angela Carter - Kahlil Gibran - DH Lawrence - Henry David Thoreau - Robert Frost - Walt Whitman - Tennessee Williams - Wendell Berry - Rabindranath Tagore - Yukio Mishima - Paul Celan - Primo Levi - Charles Baudelaire - Franz Kafka - Deepak Chopra - Marianne Williamson - Spike Milligan - Selma Lagerl?f - Thomas Mann
artists
Leonardo Da Vinci - Vincent Van Gogh - Salvador Dali - Georgia O'Keefe - Picasso - Frida Kahlo - Frank Lloyd Wright
Musicians
Beethovan - Mozart - Morrissey - Tori Amos - Bjork - Jewel - Celine Dion - Babyface - Jean Sibelius - Shostakovich - Roky Eriksson - Sid Barrett - John Coltrane - Neil Young - Janis Ian - P.J. Harvey - Lara Fabian
others
Abraham Lincoln - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Harry S. Truman - Martin Luther King - Malcolm X - Jimmy Carter - Thomas Beckett - Steven Spielberg - Kate Bush - Hildegard von Bingen - Princess Diana - Elisabeth, Empress of Austria - Carl Jung - Einstein - Newton - Edison - Christy Turlington - Dalai Lama - Buddha - Jane Goodall - Mother Teresa - Eleanor Roosevelt - Saint Francis - Joseph Campbell - Ingmar Bergman - Gandhi
How can you take advantage of your talents?
First of all, think positively about being sensitive.
I know I do.... Because the key to activating these talents within us,
is to look positively at ourselves, and feel good about being sensitive.
Realizing that we do have our unique talents - is especially important.
Once we can see them, we need to work with them to fully activate them.
I write whenever I can, and that has lead me to the recent breakthrough of becoming much more prolific.
I have been blogging my ideas extensively over the last few days.
It's been like a faucet that wasn't turning off, and so I just kept going (following my bliss)
Where I once have had trouble even with small posts in the past,
now it just flows out, and I don't always know where it all is coming from, but I know it's good.
These concepts are a part of our "sensitive" human nature,
and I can guarantee it will work for you - if you stick with it.
Follow your bliss and have a joyous life
