Highly Sensitive Person – real or not?

So, I’m going to give a bunch of background which you probably don’t care about but too bad.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I started crashing at about 3-4 in the afternoon. I just would get so exhausted and would want to take a nap. On Wednesday, I blamed that I was sick. (I probably was. I had a headache and got exhausted after going to the potluck at church too.) But Thursday and Friday I had no excuse.

Because of that, on Friday did a quick google search to see if there is anything out there that would easily explain why I’m tired and what I can do to stop it. I found this website which I actually don’t trust because it looks scammy. (Sorry person.)  It also had adrenal fatigue which is questioned as a real medical diagnosis. So this is where I’m coming from.

It also had on the list a highly sensitive person. What is a highly sensitive person? In short, it is a person who processes information differently than the majority of the population and as such, notices a lot more of the details around them. (For example, the racket my brother makes while eating that annoys me to no end might not actually annoy someone else.)

The website also directed me to the quiz to see if you are hyper sensitive, which you can find here. (You may want to look at that before you read further. Don’t have to, but maybe.)

I figured, why not, I’m tired. I’m not doing much of anything else right now. Let’s see.

I am easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input. Let’s put it this way:  no matter how quiet the store is, I can only last about two hours shopping. There’s just so much color and texture.

I seem to be aware of subtleties in my environment. I honestly don’t know. I know I’m observant. Aware of subtleties? Maybe.

Other people’s moods affect me. I have called this one of my many curses, because I’ll immediately clam up if my dad is angry. I hate it went people aren’t happy.

I tend to be very sensitive to pain. Actually, I think I have a high tolerance to pain.

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. Yes, I like to get away. Especially during hectic days. I hate crazy days.

I am particularly sensitive to the effects of caffeine. False. Actually, the opposite. I just had a cup of coffee and I’m ready to fall asleep. But first I’ll finish this blog post. That may be related to a different type of metabolism  that I read in another book.

I am easily overwhelmed by things like bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens close by. Loud noises overwhelm me. I often close the blinds in my house because it’s just too bright outside. My favorite clothes are soft sweaters. I don’t even buy anything that isn’t comfortable.

I have a rich, complex inner life. Not fully sure what this means. But yes, I have a lot of things going on in my head.

I am made uncomfortable by loud noises. Uncomfortable? Try tense. I hate thunder storms. If I’m expecting it it’s mostly okay but not if I’m not expecting the noise. Hate hate hat.

I am deeply moved by the arts or music. Deeply is a strong word. I don’t think so. Not often.

My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to go off by myself. Yes. And my arms get shaky. I call it stress. If it’s really bad, I hide for a little bit.

I am conscientious. Totally. Especially if it’s something my name will be attached to. Or someone’s name that I’m helping with be attached to.

I startle easily. Yes. My dog started barking all of a sudden and I literally jumped.

I get rattled when I have a lot to do in a short amount of time. Pretty much. In November, I was in major stress mode. I pulled through, but major stress mode. I’m also very good at ordering, prioritizing, ect.

When people are uncomfortable in a physical environment I tend to know what needs to be done to make it more comfortable (like changing the lighting or the seating). Sometimes. I tend to notice if someone is having a problem at least. If it’s a smallish group.

I am annoyed when people try to get me to do too many things at once. Yes. It’s very stressful actually and I just tell them to wait and give me a sec.

I try hard to avoid making mistakes or forgetting things. Yes. Totally. Especially person to person or again, something with my name on it.

I make a point to avoid violent movies and TV shows. Not really. I avoid embarrassing things more.  Then again, I don’t watch many R things for other reasons.

I become unpleasantly aroused when a lot is going on around me. I don’t like a lot going on around me. Is that “unpleasantly aroused”?

Being very hungry creates a strong reaction in me, disrupting my concentration or mood. Yes to mood. We (myself and my mom) suspects it’s low blood sugar actually.

Changes in my life shake me up. Pretty much. I don’t like change that much. Especially unexpected change. Expected change is okay.

I notice and enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, works of art. I think so. Maybe. I get irritated if it is not delicate.

I find it unpleasant to have a lot going on at once. Yes. Unless I’m directing it. 🙂 But is this any different than three questions ago?

I make it a high priority to arrange my life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations. High priority? Maybe not. Priority–yes.

I am bothered by intense stimuli, like loud noises or chaotic scenes. Is this any different than one of the questions asked above? Pretty much. Though I did work well in a restaurant.

When I must compete or be observed while performing a task, I become so nervous or shaky that I do much worse than I would otherwise. I always say that I can do this, and watch, and then I fail. To the point I just prefer to do things quietly.

When I was a child, my parents or teachers seemed to see me as sensitive or shy. I don’t recall parents or teachers saying it, but I’d say it.  (Okay. I didn’t have teachers really. But…)

So, on the low side I have 16 true and on the high side I have 22 true. (If I counted right.) According to the quiz, 12 or above makes you HSP (highly sensitive person). So according to that, I would be.

Here’s my problem: HSP sounds like a scam. Not quite a hoax. But kinda like, “Well, I have a hard time doing this because of my ADD.” Now I can say, “Well, I have a hard time shopping because of I’m HSP.” So an excuse you could say.  So is the idea of an HSP real?

I don’t know. It began in 1996 with a book, which is now the most cited book on the topic online. I tried to look it up  and I found one site that said (I should have saved it) that scans of a regular person and an HSP person shows that different brain waves are emitted or something went given the same stimuli. But that’s all I found. And webMD says nothing on the topic. The person who seems to do the majority of the research on it is the one who coined the term. So all this seems questionable.

Yet, from what I’m reading, I fit a lot of it.

• I avoid crowds. I hate crowds actually. Black Friday would be torture. I’ve been wanting to buy new shoes and postponing it for over a month now because that requires shopping.
• I’ve also said for a long time I’m a texture junkie; I’ll touch everything in a store when we go shopping, just to see how it feels.
• I tend to stay a home a lot.
• I’m mostly introvert.
• I’ll listen to a conversation for a long time before putting in something.
• I process things deeply.
• I don’t like too much brightness. (I actually like the night better. It seems calmer.)
• I take comments a little too personally sometimes.
• I have a hard time forming what I see as real friendships, as I said on my last post. (Which why do you people keep liking it? What is there to like about that? Just wondering.)
• I have always been very careful in what I do.
• I’m creative.
• Care deeply. (I didn’t want to hit the bat that was in our house for fear of hurting it. Throw that in with being the only person who can see the bat and not scream and you get as close to a panic attack as I want. Yes. I’m still terrified a bat will be in my house.)

All these are traits of people who calm that they are HSP.

So, I do the next thing. I found out what people say to do if you’re an HSP and basically, it seems to me like they’re all logical things. Eat well, sleep enough, get away if you need it, keep yourself calm, ect. (You can find 10 tips here.) I already do all of this. If I don’t, I can’t function in life. I know this.

So, honestly, I don’t know what to think about it. It would seem weird if I went up to my mom and told her, “Hey, BTW, have you ever heard of highly sensitive people? Yeah, I think I”m one. Okay. Good. We can continue life now.” (And yes, I would say BTW and not by the way in a conversation.)

On that same hand, I’m one of those people who want a practical, logical reason for things. Do more people than this Elaine N. Aron who coined the term think it’s real? (And the people on the internet. I’m looking for medical people.) True, my 10 tips are from psychology today. So maybe there are more people out there who actually can say it’s real.

Then again, does any of this even matter?

Do you guys have any thoughts? Opinions? Does anyone else think they may be an HSP? Does it really change anything? It’s feedback that is the biggest reason I’m writing this post after all. 🙂

• Posted in: thoughts
• Tagged: highly sensitive person, HSP, life, medical diagnosis, personality, self, sensory input, sleepy, thoughts