You may not want to answer this question given that Western society appears to look at sensitive people unfavourably, constantly suggesting you grow a thicker skin. However, being highly sensitive is an innate temperament trait, it is a part of who you are, you were born that way and you are not alone. In 1997, Elaine Aaron a research psychologist and University professor recognised not a disorder or condition but an innate temperament trait of high sensitivity. From her research Elaine Aaron went on to write a book called The Highly Sensitive Person and attests to being one herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\nhighly sensitive person can be introverted or extroverted, male or female and are\nabout 20% of the population. Often they feel misunderstood or misperceived by\nothers as being difficult, shy or overly emotional when in fact they are just\neasily overwhelmed due to their highly sensitive nervous system. In essence the\nhighly sensitive person or HSP\u2019s are deeply moved by the arts, music and\nnature, get easily overwhelmed, readily notice sensory changes, process what is\nhappening around them more deeply and possess strong emotions and empathy.\nBiological reasons have been found for all the components of this trait and it\nis known that HSP\u2019s brains are wired differently and their nervous systems are\nhighly sensitive. This hyper-excitability contributes to increased emotional\nactivity with a lower threshold for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If\nyou are a HSP it is important (like all of us) to know yourself in order to\ntake care of yourself. Some things you can do to keep you from overwhelm,\nstress, anxiety and eventual burnout are as follows. Reduce the number of\nintense stimuli in your environment; limit the number of tasks when\nmulti-tasking; notice early warning signs of burnout, such as feeling anxious;\njournal your thoughts and deep emotions to decrease rumination; meditate, be\ncreative and allow yourself guilt free space and time to relax and unwind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While\nbeing a HSP has its downside in that being a highly sensitive person can\nincrease your risk of depression and anxiety, being sensitive isn\u2019t all bad.\nOften HSP\u2019s are more conscientious, are better at paying attention to detail\nand are incredibly creative. You don\u2019t need to grow thicker skin, you just need\nto ensure you take care of your specific needs and use your high sensitivity to\nSHINE bright in the world. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You may not want to answer this question given that Western society appears to look at sensitive people unfavourably, constantly suggesting you grow a thicker skin. However, being highly sensitive is an innate temperament trait, it is a part of who you are, you were born that way and you are not alone. In 1997,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9],"yoast_head":"\n