So I've been lurking in the self-help aisles at Barnes & Noble and have come across several books dealing with this personality type: the Highly Sensitive Person. The author that coined the term, Dr Elaine Aron, says this:
Quote: This trait is normal--it is inherited by 15 to 20% of the population, and indeed the same percentage seems to be present in all higher animals. Being an HSP means your nervous system is more sensitive to subtleties. Your sight, hearing, and sense of smell are not necessarily keener (although they may be). But your brain processes information and reflects on it more deeply. Being an HSP also means, necessarily, that you are more easily overstimulated, stressed out, overwhelmed. This trait is not something new I discovered--it has been mislabeled as shyness (not an inherited trait), introversion (30% of HSPs are actually extraverts), inhibitedness, fearfulness, and the like. HSPs can be these, but none of these are the fundamental trait they have inherited. The reason for these negative misnomers and general lack of research on the subject is that in this culture being tough and outgoing is the preferred or ideal personality--not high sensitivity. (Therefore in the past the research focus has been on sensitivity's potential negative impact on sociability and boldness, not the phenomenon itself or its purpose.) This cultural bias affects HSPs as much as their trait affects them, as I am sure you realize. Even those who loved you probably told you, "don't be so sensitive," making you feel abnormal when in fact you could do nothing about it and it is not abnormal at all.
One isn't really diagnosed, but you recognize yourself in questions like these: I am easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input. Other people's moods affect me. I find myself needing to withdraw during busy days,into bed or into a darkened room or any place where I can have some privacy and relief from stimulation. I am made uncomfortable by loud noises. I startle easily. My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to go off by myself. I make a point to avoid violent movies and TV shows. I am bothered by intense stimuli, like loud noises or chaotic scenes. When I was a child, my parents or teachers seemed to see me as sensitive or shy. And if you're like me, you go "A-ha! That describes me perfectly!" So this particular doctor has written several books on life as a HSP and life with a HSP, and there are several others as well. The thought occurs, there would seem to be a lot of potential connection between high sensitivity and the kind of digestive issues we deal with. Any of you read any of these books? Thoughts?
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HSP- are you one?
