Do you find yourself
*Affected by others moods
*Needing to withdraw from stimulation and recover in quiet and privacy
*Sensitive to emotional or physical pain
*Aware of things in your environment that others don’t notice, details and subtle distinctions
*Sensitive and sometimes overwhelmed by stimulation in your environment
*Sensitive or overwhelmed by noise, light, touch, smell or tastes
*Easily exhausted or worn out by day to day demands
*Easily surprised or startled
*Sensitive to changes in life, especially unexpected or upsetting ones
*Uncomfortable with chaotic or unpredictable situations
*Seen by others as sensitive or shy
*Feeling pressured at work or at home by external demands that exceed your capacity
Research has verified that Sensory-Processing Sensitivity occurs in about 15-20% of human and other species. The brain of the Highly Sensitive Person – HSP – processes information in a different way than the majority of the population. There is increased awareness of more of the environment with more activation occurring in the brain, frequently in areas associated with emotion, emotional processing and memories.
Sensitivity is an undervalued characteristic in our society. The lifestyle that we are taught to live is frequently unsustainable for the HSP. This gift of sensitivity can feel like a curse at times especially in a society where this trait is undervalued. HSP’s hide, trying to survive an often unbearable world of artificial smells, sounds, touch, and visual experiences. With an increased understanding of this trait, you can notice, appreciate, allow and adjust to what is happening around and within you rather than feel overwhelmed and saturated by day to day living. Life can be managed rather than always feeling uncomfortable, painful and unmanageable.
Sensitive people care when the world doesn’t because we understand waiting to be rescued and no one shows up. We have rescued ourselves, so many times that we have become self taught in the art of compassion for those forgotten.
-Shannon Alder, Taking Better Care of the Empaths
You can develop a more accurate radar system for your internal reactions that allows you to adjust and live a more comfortable life. You can learn when to speed up and when to slow down, when to allow more into your life and when to allow less. You can learn to react to your internal thermometer and adjust it to a comfortable temperature. You can develop healthier boundaries with energy vampires, narcissist, sociopaths or psychopaths.
You can learn to feel a part of rather than always separate or different, to understand and appreciate your needs and wants within a world where you are aware of or often overly focused on the needs of others. You can begin to appreciate and prioritize the need for quiet process time in a noisy world that is constantly demanding your attention in many ways. Through the development of these skills, you can live a balanced, calm and fulfilling existence that supports your dreams and goals.
Request an appointment for a consultation regarding Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) help HERE
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. -George Washington Carver, scientist (1864-1943)