Latest on MJJC

The topic of HSP ( Highly Sensitive Person) - Let´s discuss and chat

bluemoon7

bluemoon7

Premium Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2015
Donations
$5.00
Messages
3,359
Points
113
Location
Germany
Country
Germany

The topic of HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) is one close to my heart ...

I made this thread to discuss and chat about ...


- the definition of HSP / alternative definitions

- Can you relate? (own experience /experience in your family or with friends, colleagues)

- the good things and the down side of being an HSP

- your ideas and thoughts on the topic


Just a little backstory: I only found out about two years ago that I am a HSP (through a very cherished, wonderful and very patient 😅 therapist), and since then SOOO many of my actions, quirks and characteristics make much more sense lol.

Most important, I think, is to stress that HSP is neither a diagnosis nor a condition/healthproblem/illness, but can be a factor in contributing to health problems.
An example: If you ignore / don´t realize you have very sensitive hearing (e.g.: ambulance sound makes you wanna cry; you can hear about every conversation people have in a crowded restaurant) this may stress you out much much more than others.

To start with, I post this definition of HSP, taken from www.psychologytoday.com

"Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP, is a term coined by psychologist Elaine Aron. According to Aron’s theory, HSPs are a subset of the population who are high in a personality trait known as sensory-processing sensitivity, or SPS. Those with high levels of SPS display increased emotional sensitivity, stronger reactivity to both external and internal stimuli —pain, hunger, light, and noise— and a complex inner life."


There’s more to being a highlysensitive person than just being sensitive to stimuli. Other characteristics include

  • processing environmental stimuli more deeply
  • being more emotionally reactive to behavioral inhibition
  • being more physiologically reactive to behavioral inhibition
  • having stronger unconscious nervous system activity in stressful situations
  • having stronger emotional responses (both positive and negative)
  • being strongly perceptive of subtle differences
  • having a low tolerance to high levels of sensory input
  • having a low pain threshold
Source: Medical News Today

(I carefully chose these sources, but they are not irrevocable / perfect.)


Last but not least: It is said that HSPs can recognize each other easily. Do you think Michael Jackson might have been an HSP?

😘
 
I'm so glad to read this, it's a very sensitive topic. Thank you for mention it here. I think I'd be more comfortable talking about my own experience in private conversation, but I think it is very important talking about this. When I first read the words HSP, I felt something and remembered many things about my childhood and how I used to be when I was little. In that time I was already in therapy for some anxiety/overstimulation issues, and knowing that something like this exists, made me feel less alone and less weird, you know? I unfortunately didn't make any official test, so I'm not sure. I only experienced these "characteristics" and unfortunately was a little bullied because of this. It'd be a pleasure talking about this! For Michael himself, I genuinly believe he was. Even if his work brought him to live the most over-stimulated life ever since the first steps on this earth, I truly feel he was. 🤍
 
unfioredarancio said:
I'm so glad to read this, it's a very sensitive topic. Thank you for mention it here. I think I'd be more comfortable talking about my own experience in private conversation, but I think it is very important talking about this. When I first read the words HSP, I felt something and remembered many things about my childhood and how I used to be when I was little. In that time I was already in therapy for some anxiety/overstimulation issues, and knowing that something like this exists, made me feel less alone and less weird, you know? I unfortunately didn't make any official test, so I'm not sure. I only experienced these "characteristics" and unfortunately was a little bullied because of this. It'd be a pleasure talking about this! For Michael himself, I genuinly believe he was. Even if his work brought him to live the most over-stimulated life ever since the first steps on this earth, I truly feel he was. 🤍
Click to expand...

Thank you for your post! ♥️
 
I think I've heard about it but never actually delved into this topic, but I so can relate. I'll have to talk about this with my therapist because it is actually affecting my life in a negative way. I believe you can train yourself into not reacting that much. I also believe ерфе in combination with other mental issues this can be pretty annoying...
What do you think?
 
I can relate in this way (among some others) :

And some physical sensitivities where my threshold seems non-standard... (like I can start feeling like fever and thermometer actually thinks I'm too cold).

Now, I don't think that emotional stuff should get mixed with high sensitivity, I think we all get strong emotions, I think even sociopaths get strong emotions, though differently... I think it's all different from one person to another. And it's quite too vague to try to measure what's going on in someone's head and compare it to what's going in other people's head... I think it's often based on unproven hypothesis and it may become a kind of trap to get people to all kinds of "therapies"...

bluemoon7 said:
It is said that HSPs can recognize each other easily.
Click to expand...

Indeed, sometimes I think I recognise people who are especially sensitive to noise.

bluemoon7 said:
Do you think Michael Jackson might have been an HSP?
Click to expand...
No real signs that I can see. What would they be? (Unless you count extreme kindness as a sign...)
 
Last edited:
ticklebickle said:
I think I've heard about it but never actually delved into this topic, but I so can relate. I'll have to talk about this with my therapist because it is actually affecting my life in a negative way. I believe you can train yourself into not reacting that much. I also believe ерфе in combination with other mental issues this can be pretty annoying...
What do you think?
Click to expand...

You can definitely do something. Once you find out what it is specifically that causes you stress, you can protect yourself (for example, I often wear earpluggs now to block out noise). You can also learn methods for stress relief, like meditation, breathing techniques, ... anything that calmes your nervous system generally and in specific situations.
 
Maxym said:
I can relate in this way (among some others) :
Click to expand...
Wow, interesting, never new that about specific sounds ...
Maxym said:
No real signs that I can see. What would they be? (Unless you count extreme kindness as a sign...)
Click to expand...

Well, he was very empathetic
He was sensitive to pain
He was a deep thinker
He thrived on other peoples energy

(just some examples)
 
bluemoon7 said:
You can definitely do something. Once you find out what it is specifically that causes you stress, you can protect yourself (for example, I often wear earpluggs now to block out noise). You can also learn methods for stress relief, like meditation, breathing techniques, ... anything that calmes your nervous system generally and in specific situations.
Click to expand...
I think meditations can really work for a long lasting effect. You can also train yourself on reacting way more calm if you take time to reflect on your reactions.
 
Today, I feel like talking about some positive aspects that often come with HSP:

- high creativity

- being empathic, feeling really connected to people, animals, and nature

- enjoying art on a deep level

- being able to intensely experience / feel things like ...

... colors🔴🔵🟣
... a sunset 🌇
... a single flower 🌻
... petting an animal 🐰
... eating a piece of cake 🍰
... listening to music 🎵
... etc. etc. etc.

 
bluemoon7 said:
Today, I feel like talking about some positive aspects that often come with HSP:

- high creativity

- being empathic, feeling really connected to people, animals, and nature

- enjoying art on a deep level

- being able to intensely experience / feel things like ...

... colors🔴🔵🟣
... a sunset 🌇
... a single flower 🌻
... petting an animal 🐰
... eating a piece of cake 🍰
... listening to music 🎵
... etc. etc. etc.
Click to expand...
And this... is Michael 🤍
 
Each film always leaves a mark on us, it's a feeling that can stay with us even for weeks, I really understand you. Someone can maybe also relate to another thing I was talking about with @bluemoon7. Does anyone feel overwhelmed using social media, especially TikTok? I tried to install it sometimes, because many people around me always tell me that there are so many news there, viral videos, all kind of stuff. But all I see and hear is noise... Too many faces, sounds, gossip, one by one, and viral things that disappear after a little time giving space to another little and irrelevant viral thing. I feel a bit "cut off" sometimes, but I really don't want to expose my mind, it just feels too much to handle 🙏🏻
 
unfioredarancio said:
Each film always leaves a mark on us, it's a feeling that can stay with us even for weeks, I really understand you. Someone can maybe also relate to another thing I was talking about with @bluemoon7. Does anyone feel overwhelmed using social media, especially TikTok? I tried to install it sometimes, because many people around me always tell me that there are so many news there, viral videos, all kind of stuff. But all I see and hear is noise... Too many faces, sounds, gossip, one by one, and viral things that disappear after a little time giving space to another little and irrelevant viral thing. I feel a bit "cut off" sometimes, but I really don't want to expose my mind, it just feels too much to handle 🙏🏻
Click to expand...
It is mostly because we get too much information in a short time. It’s kinda hard for every nervous system but especially for ours…
 
POV of an HSP:

You walk into a supermarket perfecly cosy and content.
Then a sad song plays in the background, and you are being sucked into a vertiginous emotional funnel, rethinking your life´s path, and contemplating the fate of your ancestors.

😵‍💫😅
 
bluemoon7 said:
POV of an HSP:

You walk into a supermarket perfecly cosy and content.
Then a sad song plays in the background, and you are being sucked into a vertiginous emotional funnel, rethinking your life´s path, and contemplating the fate of your ancestors.

😵‍💫😅
Click to expand...
Trapped in front of the tinned beans as if they are the most fascinating thing ever invented but, of course, you're not even seeing them! Too many whirling thoughts! :ROFLMAO:
 
Grrrrrr..... incoming rant! 😅

Health professionals keep telling us that our problems (pain, anxiety, ear noises - in German it is called "Tinnitus" -, body tension, .....) are not real, are in or minds, that we are JUST stressed out!

No! Our issues are real! Everybody´s issues are real! So it is JUST stress? It is ONLY in our minds? Is that not a valid cause? grrrrrr...

We often, especially as HSP, store stress in our BODIES. It is not enough to say OHMMMMM and drink hot tea! Psychohygiene is very important, yes, but we need to INCLUDE our bodies.

My dear therapist gave me this sentence - it is a quote from someone, let me look it up, but here is what it says:

There is no mind-body-connection,
because there is no mind-body-seperation in the first place

/end rant 😅❤️
 
bluemoon7 said:
Grrrrrr..... incoming rant! 😅

Health professionals keep telling us that our problems (pain, anxiety, ear noises - in German it is called "Tinnitus" [...]
Click to expand...
Interesting that tinnitus would be dismissed as 'all in the mind' when there are many musicians (rock musicians especially, it seems) that suffer from tinnitus in later life. It can't be a coincidence, surely? There's got to be a legit physical element to that, I would think.

bluemoon7 said:
[...] My dear therapist gave me this sentence - it is a quote from someone, let me look it up, but here is what it says:

There is no mind-body-connection,
because there is no mind-body-seperation in the first place
Click to expand...
That's a really good quote. Makes so much sense.
 
bluemoon7 said:
Grrrrrr..... incoming rant! 😅

Health professionals keep telling us that our problems (pain, anxiety, ear noises - in German it is called "Tinnitus" -, body tension, .....) are not real, are in or minds, that we are JUST stressed out!

No! Our issues are real! Everybody´s issues are real! So it is JUST stress? It is ONLY in our minds? Is that not a valid cause? grrrrrr...

We often, especially as HSP, store stress in our BODIES. It is not enough to say OHMMMMM and drink hot tea! Psychohygiene is very important, yes, but we need to INCLUDE our bodies.

My dear therapist gave me this sentence - it is a quote from someone, let me look it up, but here is what it says:

There is no mind-body-connection,
because there is no mind-body-seperation in the first place

/end rant 😅❤️
Click to expand...
It is true! Even if you’re working on your mind and your reactions to “not stress that much” it takes time. Some people are not taking everything as close to themselves as we do. But that’s who we are.
 
zinniabooklover said:
Interesting that tinnitus would be dismissed as 'all in the mind' when there are many musicians (rock musicians especially, it seems) that suffer from tinnitus in later life. It can't be a coincidence, surely? There's got to be a legit physical element to that, I would think.
Click to expand...

I think so, too! For example, the Tinnitus increases when I have a clenched jaw and neck pain ... which probably is due to stress, I can see that. Well, my ear doctor said: Your ear canals look rosy and fine, it is stress, goodbye! lmao. NO solution. Like what kind of stress? What would be a good workout to relieve that stress?
ticklebickle said:
It is true! Even if you’re working on your mind and your reactions to “not stress that much” it takes time. Some people are not taking everything as close to themselves as we do. But that’s who we are.
Click to expand...

Yes! ❤️
 
If only there was a clinic / house where all kinds of doctors, therapists, psychoanalysts, physical therapists, holistic healers, shamans, religious leaders, atheists, athletes, artists, etc, etc. etc. could reside in ONE place and work together to help people. 😅

But I guess it would end in complete chaos and violence. No to speak of the amounts of money this would cost :LOL:
 
bluemoon7 said:
I think so, too! For example, the Tinnitus increases when I have a clenched jaw and neck pain ... which probably is due to stress, I can see that. Well, my ear doctor said: Your ear canals look rosy and fine, it is stress, goodbye!
Click to expand...
Well, that's helpful. Not! ☹️

My first introduction to all of this was when I was a child. One of my neighbours was asthmatic and sometimes the attacks did seem to be psychosomatic (obvs didn't know that particular word at that point, lol). Certainly, if they were super stressed out an attack was more likely to happen. So then they would need their inhaler. So, to my mind, the stress might be something that needed to be sorted (worked that out when I was older, obvs) but the physical symptoms were very real and needed to be dealt with, also. Tinnitus might be made worse by stress but is stress always the cause of the tinnitus? In every single case? (I would suggest it isn't). And, even if it is caused by stress, the tinnitus itself is a physical thing that needs to be dealt with.

Come on, medical people! Do better! Patients are willing to take responsibility for their health but they need some assistance with that.

bluemoon7 said:
lmao. NO solution. Like what kind of stress? What would be a good workout to relieve that stress?
Click to expand...
Exactly so.

I get that medical services are over-stretched but, seriously, this just isn't helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top