Today seems like a perfect opportunity to talk about being HSP – a highly sensitive person. It’s the day of our annual neighborhood block party, and that can be a real challenge for me. All large gatherings are, but there’s an additional element here. These are my neighbors, a bunch of mostly lovely, kind, and friendly folks, and while individual encounters are perfectly fine, a street-full of these very same people feels overwhelming, particularly 10 hours worth.
Current estimates suggest that between 15-20% of the population are HSP, and I like this graphic for how it explains things.
I’m pretty skilled at monitoring my energy and taking good care of myself. I’m upfront about it what I need; I’m vigilant about my centering and grounding practices; and I find flower essences and aromatherapy support very helpful.
Here are three classic flower essences from the Bach line, which most people find readily available:
- Walnut for balance
- Mimulus for taking the anxious edge off interacting with people
- Elm for a little bolstering reminder of one’s overall capability
But while I think it’s important to take care of yourself – to figure out what maximally supports you, I also want to be clear that I think being highly sensitive is a gift. And I think we need to do a little shifting in our collective thinking about this. It’s often talked about as though it’s a curse – that life would somehow be better if we were less sensitive.
I really beg to differ about this.
I don’t think we want to toughen up, and I think the gifts of sensitivity, gentleness and empathy are precisely what the world needs more of.
There’s no doubt question in my mind being HSP is one of the reasons I’m so good at my work. My heightened receptivity makes it very easy to access my intuition; very easy to connect and read energy; very easy to both read the Akashic Records and to be a channel. And research defines other gifts that being highly sensitive can bring that I find delightful as well, such as increased creativity, deep awareness of rich sensory detail, heightened perception of nuance; greater empathy, and great emotional awareness. For me these are all pluses that make my life so fabulously wonderful.
I believe we were meant to perceive deeply, to pay attention to what’s around us, and to experience our beautiful world as fully as possible. Let’s celebrate how sensitive we can be; understand we can figure out how to navigate this world in ways that feel good to us; and begin thinking of it as the superpower it’s meant to be.
What do you say? You know I love to hear.
All the things in that graph are so spot on – but I was blaming all those traits on being a Libran or of living in a bubble as someone once accused me of!! (I like my bubble) I’ve recently realised that a lot of my strong feelings are belonging to the person I’m talking to rather than me, but it’ll take a while to figure out how to deal with that and be aware of it. Thank you as always Deborah for being so open and try and enjoy the street party – you could try to slope off into people’s gardens to admire them and have a respite:)
I know a lot of people who feel so much better Fil when they realize they’re actually HSPs – it gives them a clearer understanding of how they might better navigate with greater ease.
I like the idea of bubbles as well – we should all have perfectly-fitting, tailored-to-us bubbles of fabulousity!
I took good care of myself at the party and did lots of getting away when I needed. That’s a wonderful thing about such a party – your house is never further than a block away. 🙂
There was a time when I navigated my world through my brain, rules set by others – now it’s purely through my gut feelings. My intuition levels are high and my gut is always right.
I LOVE hearing that Evalina!
What an interesting graph! Although it can be challenging sometimes because the world seems to revolve around large groups of people, I am learning to embrace my sensitivity so I appreciate this post on looking at it as a gift. Thank you!
It can be so life-altering when we look at who we are with genuine kindness and compassion and love for ourselves. And I think looking at the gift of things. And everything that brings us clearer understanding of who we are and helps us understand and decide how we want to navigate in this beautiful container we call our life, is indeed a gift, isn’t it?
Deborah, I’m looking forward to checking out the graph (must leave that for another day, but suspect I already viewed it in one of your prior posts). I so get that party drain. I’ve come to realize a more useful description of introverts (energy comes from alone time) and extroverts (energy comes from being around others) but know there’s much more to all of this. Had to learn to turn off the empathy thing (to a degree) as it was making me crazy (hurt more for those that were hurting than they did). I feel for you. Try to enjoy the party with planned escapes :-).
The graph was new to me Nanette so you haven’t seen it here before. But I agree with your definition of introvert/extrovert, and in fact that’s how they were originally defined.
I celebrate that you’ve found perfect-for-you ways to navigate Nanette – this is such an exciting part of knowing we’re all sovereign. Yay you!
Loved reading this blog post Deborah and the info-graphics you shared here made me laugh at the truth of it all, ESPECIALLY the list of things that make me cry!
However, I have been wondering if it’s possible to have ‘late onset sensitivity’ as one ages? I have had some sensitivity through out my life, yet I feel that I get more sensitive as the years pass…or maybe there have just been some traumatic events I’ve suffered within the past few years that have thinned the membrane of strength I seem to have always had most of my life, as people have often told me that I am a ‘strong’ person, but I never really felt that way…
I agree that now is a good time to start speaking about HSP and what it means to be one and how important it is to take care of YOUR SELF in the face of being a sensitive person. I’ve seen other HSP’s who were unaware of their issues and would blame the world for their feelings, which is not really very fair to those who don’t know about HSP or that it even exists. Thank you for sharing the info-graphic and for opening the discussion to sensitivity! And glad you were able to take care of your self during the party!
I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said Monica. I do believe it’s possible to have “late onset” sensitivity (love that term!) as a result of a build up of things, but I’m guessing it’s just as likely that it can be a result of letting down some of the walls that one previously held too.
I think when we come more fully into ourselves – being who we truly are as opposed to trying to be what others might want/expect of us, everything has a chance to realign itself. And for most of us that’s something that happens later in life.
But in any case, I agree it’s good to talk about the issue – and for all of us to take responsibility for our responsiveness and find ways that nurture and support us.