Is anyone a highly sensitive being?

[alchemist]

I am.  I am sensitive to noise and have a great aesthetic.  I need a lot of alone time, even though I love to engage, go out to nice places and have fun with friends.  All I can say is the noise issue is really getting to me lately and I used to LOL at my crazy grandfather who I think was Asperger's because of his weird hobbies and the fact he reminded me of Burt on Sesame Street. 
Anyway, he used to literally take a broom and bang it on the ceiling in New York City when the neighbors made too much noise.  I would be laughing so hard but at the same time thinking WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?!  Now I am only 28 but I get incensed if people are making conversation too loudly or if I hear any noise coming from another condo in my building.  I am not an arsenic type personality as my grandfather was.  He was not warm and sociable as I am, however I think we share the sensitive trait.  The funny thing is about him-he was hard of hearing!!! So I don't understand-WHY he could not hear what we were saying but it bothered him if he heard the slightest noise from upstairs-maybe he wasn't sensitive   just spiteful-yes he was very spiteful.  I am not spiteful I simply cannot stand to hear the noise it hurts my sensitive nervous system.   

[Lingurine]

I am too. Had too laugh about your description of crazy making loud noises even if they are not loud.
I call it introvert, empath, high sensitive, they all fit me just fine. Much needed alone time to process things and Yes, the noise. Neighbours drilling their bathrooms and me up to the roof. 
It's like wires go of to short circuit in my brains and take a trip to lala land.

So, Yes, noises.

Lingurine

[alchemist]

Yes it is really insane.  I get this feeling as though they are doing it deliberately to annoy me-not the THOUGHT that they are trying to annoy me it is a feeling because the feeling is so horrible ! Sometimes I will run out of my house like a lunatic and in a barely controlled rage ask them to keep it down and they are just watching tv but REALLY loudly and I smile and realize, "what nice people". It's just nervous system overwhelm.  My nervous system is sensitive.

[Lingurine]

 

I totally get that! Seriously, I did run out of my house like a lunatic begging them to stop. 
Wrong idea, massive stupid idea even, an absolute no no idea
But what can you do?


It's just...the noise



Lingurine

[alchemist]

"begging them to stop?" Begging is NOT in my repertoire.  I tell them to turn down whatever it is that is bothering me while I tap my foot and they wonder  what it is about noise that changes this friendly good neighbor into a super B. I have spoken to the guy-he likes me.  He has a gf and he makes NO noise now and tells her to be quiet for my sake I told him noise sensitive and he understood because I am always nice to him and I noticed him always greeting me and looking at me and smiling so I have always been cordial and I saw him one day and told him.  He's really cool and he gets it.  I think I'm going to date him. I deserve him.

[sanmagic7]

very much so.  happily, my new 'home' is peaceful, respectful, and quiet, and i get a lot of alone time here, of which i'm so very glad.  my hub used to worry about me being alone so much, that i was isolating (in a bad way) but i told him that i've been in the middle of and caretaking people for most of my life, and i lovelovelove being by myself.

not to say i don't enjoy socializing, because i do.  i'm very outgoing and love people, for the most part.  but, i don't want to be around their noises, their noisy kids (that's the one that drives me up the wall), or loud noises in general.  i literally flinch when i'm startled by a noise no matter where i am.  my hub's sneezes were so loud and unexpected, i'd jump and yell, they startled me so badly.  i'm much happier living a very quiet life, very different from when i was young.  things change!

[Elphanigh]

I definitely am too. It is hard because everything seems to affect me more than it does most people. Like Sanmagic7, I just recently moved to a place where I am alone. It helps to have the quiet and less people's emotions surrounding me. I suck them in like a sponge, and with being highly sensitive I feel them times 10. You are definitely not alone 

[sigiriuk]

I read somewhere that this is very common in survivors. The article sees it as an aspect of hypervigilance. When we were little, we were in so much danger, that we developed our senses to a very high level.

We could then predict events from how the front door was closed, a tone of voice, certain atmospheres in the house, etc etc.

What interested me was that we survivors use every conceivable skill available.

We even attuned ourselves to more extrasensory predictions, eg. sixth sense.
Yes this was a scientific paper!

...and yes, I do believe that I have some abilities in this area. There, I said it! Bit embarrassed about sharing that.

[GlassChild]

Yeah, my doctor told me this was a normal symptom of CPTSD. He said that because we memorize everything in traumatic events, things that are in each one tend to bother us more like noise, light, etc. Things that are usually a part of any conflict, we develop a stronger sensitivity for because our brain thinks bright lights and loud noises means war.

[lexx]

Okay, obvious "me too" here..
For how many of you do sounds hurt? (the way nails on a chalkboard does to someone sensitive to that sound, if it were to just not stop...) ..
It's just that I don't get angry or physical easily, but this takes more restraint because it can actually hurt. I have a high pain tolerance, so why do things like this hurt?
Anyone else?

[Kat]

Lexx, yes!  The funny thing is I work in a very loud, chaotic environment, but it doesn't usually bother me.  I'm good at tuning it out.  Maybe because I feel safe enough?  But outside of that, noise bugs me.  Certain noises actually hurt.  One I can think of is the sound of coins being dropped on a hard floor.  Besides if hurting, it infuriates me and makes me want to punch someone or something--zero to irate in .0001 seconds--and I'm not one who does anger usually.

Here's a strange one--I can't stand carrying stuff.  One of my sisters won't carry a purse because it bothers her too much while another sister complains of having to carry stuff as well.  What I mean is the type of carrying that happens when you have to take in your things from your car--work bag, gym bag, lunch bag, travel mug, water bottle, papers...  It makes me angry.  Can anyone else relate to that one?

[deptofhearts]

omg yes! I have this, and find it incredible so many of you do too. I am a bit of an introvert and a musician but my multitasking around people is diminishing and I have to retreat from any noise fast or I get overwhelmed. Like a total crabby person.

[DecimalRocket]

Ah yes, I have problems with noise hypersensitivity. It used to be so terrible that noise wasn't just uncomfortable but outright painful. . . but I don't these days. I just feel more tired from the noise and it can be stressful when I seem to get tired more easily this way.

I've read somewhere that highly sensitive people have brains that absorb more information. Througn their senses, their thoughts and feelings. It can be too much for us this way, and we often need to retreat alone so we don't get exposed to places with lots of stimuli. Crowded places can make me cranky . . . so I have to take care of myself.

I used to lack the traits of deep empathy for much of my life though — in contrast to usual descriptions of highly sensitive people. I've softened a lot this last year though.

Eh. I'd rather go without the sensory sensitivities. But I tend to appreciate how deeply I reflect and how that has helped me. Feeling more deeply can be overwhelming when the emotion is negative but amazing when it's positive — allowing more gratitude and motivation for what's needed at the right times.

Well, whatever it is, I guess I have to live with it then.

[Elphanigh]

So glad I found this thread again! Reading through these responses I am just reminded that I am not alone. Noise can be such a problem for me, I have learned to deal with certain environments but certain sounds, and especially if my apartment is loud for any reason I can't handle it. Like that's noise can cause physical reactions not just mental ones.

[ah]

For how many of you do sounds hurt? (the way nails on a chalkboard does to someone sensitive to that sound, if it were to just not stop...) ..

Oh yes. It's physically so painful, like a lightning bolt.
People keep thinking it's impatience or anger but it's none of that, it's physical pain.
It makes a lot of sense if that's hyper vigilance that just recognized a threat and responded to it.
Hard to explain how painful it is