As highly sensitive people (HSPs), we may know ourselves to be conscientious, thoughtful, empathic and attuned to others’ emotional states. We might also be aware that these qualities make us much less likely to treat others harshly. Thus, experiencing uncomfortable emotions like resentment or jealousy or learning that we’ve hurt someone’s feelings may be particularly difficult for us. We may even start to question ourselves, “How could I feel this way? What’s wrong with me?” Let’s dive a little deeper to learn why we might feel this way and how we can better understand ourselves.
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Your heart starts pounding. Your muscles tense. You get hot and start to sweat a little. It’s hard to think straight. You just want to get out of there ASAP. You, my sensitive friend, are in a moment of overwhelm.
Being overwhelmed is no fun for anyone, least of all highly sensitive people. When we human beings feel completely overloaded, our brains and bodies instantly go into survival mode.
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Have you ever:
Found yourself avoiding crowds of people?
Felt bothered or agitated by certain sounds--like chewing, a neighbor’s TV blaring, a repetitive drip when you’re trying to sleep, even if they didn’t bother other people around you?
Wished you could just hide at home in bed?
Struggled in open workspaces?
Hated fluorescent lighting?
Had a hard time focusing or concentrating if there’s any background noise?
Found yourself being jumpy when a siren goes by?
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Life is hard. Sometimes there are heartbreaking, painful, overwhelming circumstances we must deal with—a job loss, a breakup or divorce, a cancer diagnosis. These kinds of situations can bring anyone to their knees. Often, people understand that and can offer sympathy and kindness for such potentially life-shattering events.
What can also be heart-rending and soul-sucking pain, especially for Highly Sensitive People, are the times when there aren’t obvious reasons for emotional pain. Life may be going along just fine, and then blam, you wake up one day or one week or several weeks feeling . . .blah.
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Are you a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) who keeps meaning to spend some time exploring this trait and understanding yourself better? Maybe such precious time spent investing in yourself keeps getting pushed to the bottom of your "to do" list. Or, maybe you've only recently discovered this trait of sensitivity and are ready to understand what it means for you and how to work with your sensitivity, instead of against it. Perhaps you've never really thought about what being a HSP means but want to learn how to flourish in your own skin.
Elaine Aron, PhD, who first coined and researched this trait, speaks about sensitivity and shares some great tips for us HSPs . .
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