POLL: Are you a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)?

[Rain]

If you are not sure if you are HSP or not, here is a test by Elaine Aron:

http://www.hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/

[voicelessagony2]

Even though I checked "no" I think that test was inconclusive. I can be highly sensitive, just not in all circumstances.

technical note: I found it extremely annoying that they didn't bother to use a sum function to add the checkmarks! That would be so freakin easy to do! I could not count b/c I had to scroll. X(

[schrödinger's cat]

Mine came out as "yes", but I'm not sure if I'm a HSP or not. I'm socially hypervigilant, so it might be simply that.

But I definitely think that one of my kids is highly sensitive. THAT would explain SO MUCH.    So thanks for the link to that test.   

[Sandals]

Yes, I am. This shows up in my affinity for the arts as well as my life in general.

Rain, do you have a hypothesis about being highly sensitive and a link to cptsd? Just curious.

[zazu]

Yes, I'm one, too. My psychologist years back thought that this contributed to my mental health issues as well. As in, I was already sensitive by nature, so mistreatment carried an extra wallop.

I'm also "non-neurotypical" as they say. Not on the autism spectrum, but my brain is probably wired rather differently than most folks, according to the same shrink. I have synesthesia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
and there are other differences, for example a piece of music that most people would consider as happy and upbeat will trigger intensely sad feelings (unrelated to PTSD triggers or suchlike) I also have an abnormally high IQ (not bragging here - it hasn't done me any good!) which is significant in that it differs drastically from the rest of my FOO, and these things are usually inherited. The psychologist thought this might be due to having been born to an older mother.
I've never known for sure if all these things were interelated with being an HSP, but it seems like it could be.

I have two highly sensitive children, so I try to stay extra-attuned to their needs. It can be a fine line to walk. My other son is not an HSP, he's as resilient as anything, bless him. If anything, he's the most intuitive of all of us - I think it's because he's not distracted by so much internal data bombarding him. He can stay outwardly focused most of the time.

[confident]

I was not quite at the 14 mark, and many of those I checked I would also say were indicative of hypervigilance more than true sensitivity.  If I hadn't been emotionally neglected, I am pretty sure I never would have learned half of those behaviors.

Its a chicken or egg scenario for me. But I said no.

[Badmemories]

sorry I corrected my response.. I counted it again and counted 20 out of 28 I first reported that


I did take the test... I scored 20 out of 28
The things that caught MY attention were...

I am easily overwhelmed by things like bright lights, strong smells,coarse fabrics,or sirens close by.

Like I really notice when the fabric in My blankets are rough. I remember When I got glasses for nearsightedness I could not wear the glasses long because I felt over stimulated.

I get rattled when I have a lot to do in a short amount of time.

This might be my cptsd 

I am annoyed when people try to get me to do too many things at once.

I make a point to avoid violent movies and TV shows.

keep on keepin on! 

[Badmemories]

Yes... One thing that sticks with me is that one preacher that gave me premarriage counseling said that he was amazed at how sensitive I was about sensing other peoples feelings. NOW after coming out of the fog... I understand it well! It was survival for PS( initials of inner child) to sense how the Minefield around me was going to play out. 
Keep on keepin on! 

[schrödinger's cat]

A Swiss website says that most HSPs are born like this, but that it's not impossible that some people have become highly sensitive after trauma, constant stress, difficult life situations etc.

I've looked for more tests, but I'm finding all of them a bit difficult. How do I determine whether or not I have a "rich inner life" or not? I can't really see how anyone would check the "No" box on this. Other questions are about whether I find "chaos" upsetting, or whether I find doing "too many" tasks at once stressful. Well, if I call it "chaos" and "too many", it's kind of implied that it's something negative and upsetting. Would anyone really say "oh, I just adore chaos, and doing too many tasks at once is just lovely"?

What I found interesting is that HSPs often are highly sensitive in one of three areas:
-- sensory awareness (noise/sounds, smells, taste, light, colours): able to appreciate fine nuances in taste or smell etc, highly and easily irritated by sensations that others find harmless (examples taken from ppl I know: highly irritated by ticking clocks; cut labels out of all shirts etc because "it's too scratchy"; on a quest to find the ONE pair of socks that won't have this seam at the toes that's irritating the living daylights out of them; when a radio plays a song they dislike, they're unable to just sit it out, and instead lunge for the off switch with a rather wild-eyed expression on their face; may complain that something smells off where others don't notice anything
-- emotions: able to notice fine nuances in other people's behaviour and relationships etc, are empathetic, helpful, often good listeners with strong intuition; often feel overwhelmed by the wealth of information they're taking in; may "read between the lines" of other people's words and behaviour to the point where they neglect to also keep in mind what that person was actually saying (examples taken from various websites on HSPs: may find crowds overwhelming, e.g. large concerts, malls, parties; are often told that they're 'oversensitive', that they're 'overthinking things'; are often seen as shy; dislike meaningless chatter and smalltalk, instead preferring to "really talk" to people about meaningful topics; often take things too personally, e.g. jokes or criticism; hate conflict and prefer to create harmony, sometimes at the cost of their own needs or opinions; find it difficult to watch the news or violent movies
-- cognitive: a strong "feel" for logic, for 'true or false'; can think very complex, highly interconnected thoughts; find it easy to think abstract thoughts; are "overthinking things"; are able to see various aspects of the same thing, various sides of the same coin, and can't understand how people can jump to simplistic conclusions; may feel the need to create something like a basic philosophical opinion about the universe, life, and everything, with an urgency and priority that others may not be able to understand

So maybe it's more helpful to approach the topic keeping this in mind? It's probably easier to tell whether or not you're one of those three subtypes. They make it easier to think of specific points where people generally react one way and you tend to "overreact". The difference seems to be one of degree: so it's like everyone finds it a drag if there's several people talking (during a dinner party for example) and the conversation simply doesn't 'take off' and everyone's tense, but normal people will sigh and surreptitiously check their watch, while highly sensitive people will find this not just unpleasant, but actively and acutely stressful, and they'll afterwards be able to give a detailed account of what everybody was feeling.

Another thing: HSPs not only suffer more when circumstances are wonky, but they profit more when circumstances are just right. So the sensitive subtype will be in raptures over his favourite whiskey, or a good meal, or the beauty of nature, or a pieced of music. The emotional subtype will wilt in a difficult social setting, but put her in a good, supportive situation and she'll profit ever so much from that - while normal people don't suffer quite as much, but neither do they profit/enjoy the good things quite as much.

(My kid is highly sensitive, so I spent yesterday evening researching this a bit.)

[Rain]

Elaine Aron is the one who did the web page that I listed in the first post in this topic, and she is the one who developed the HSP term/description.

There are several books on HSP by Aron, and Zeff.    The Susan Cain book, Quiet has a chapter on it also.

I doubt there is ever a perfect test, set of questions for HSP.    Maybe we can just use Aron's for now, and just take a good guess at it.

Yes, Aron says HSP is genetic.

[Sandals]

I have two highly sensitive children, so I try to stay extra-attuned to their needs. It can be a fine line to walk. My other son is not an HSP, he's as resilient as anything, bless him. If anything, he's the most intuitive of all of us - I think it's because he's not distracted by so much internal data bombarding him. He can stay outwardly focused most of the time.

My one son is highly sensitive, the other not, and I find exactly the same thing.

Also, it boggles my mind at how horrible schools are at making for sensitivity.

[Rain]

(My kid is highly sensitive, so I spent yesterday evening researching this a bit.)

You have amazing researching and writing skills, Cat.   Thanks for the excellent summary, and the depth of information.

I smiled with your last line above in the quote ...I can almost just see you last night.   

Thanks again, and I hope you are feeling better and better each day!!

[schrödinger's cat]

Thanks, Rain.    It was funny, actually... I researched and researched, because I simply had to find out more, then hit the bit about cognitive HSPs, looked at my research, looked at the definition again...

A couple of things, yes, Elaine Aron said the same thing in her book that HSPs do not fare well being abused --more so-- than most children.    You said it well, it is an extra wallop.

I stumbled upon this thing she calls "Vantage Sensitivity": that HSPs suffer more from abuse, BUT: they also profit more from being in a good, supportive environment. I found that encouraging.

Also, it boggles my mind at how horrible schools are at making for sensitivity.

Absolutely. The mere fact that kids are constantly being corralled into ginormous groups of at least two dozen people, that they then have to spend hours and hours with those people, without a fair chance to simply withdraw and be by themselves... I remember finding it stressful to be always in the same room with so much tension. All that boisterousness, the shrieking, the bullying, the teasing, the pranks, the jumping over tables, the throwing things about... It's like being locked in a cage full of overcaffeinated monkeys. In an ideal world, a classroom would have a mosh pit for the lively kids and a gallery where HSP kids can sit and work in peace.

And it's probably best to not even get started on "...and now we're going to do a fun group activity!"

[schrödinger's cat]

I heard about how difficult it is to be an introvert in America. Our culture is a lot more introverted, and there's always the archetype of the "sensitive artist" you could tap into... how respected that archetype is depends on where you're from (rural areas value solidity), but at least it's there.

I'm an ENFP, so hi, fellow intuitive.

[Rain]

True, Cat.  You have an excellent point.

In the States, it seems like there is a lot of Rambo-like, sports metaphors, teamwork, achieve, sell, innovate, in corporate gatherings.

Now, Cat ...did you mean INFP or ENFP?   I imagine you are INFP ...and hi back, fellow intuitive.