How many of you have heard the comment “oh...you’re just too sensitive”? Maybe you feel hurt when people say that and think there is something wrong with you. According to Elaine Aron, Ph.D in The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), approximately 20 percent of the population has a highly sensitive nervous system. For these individuals (myself included), it's as if they wear their nerves on the outside of their skin. In the first part of this series on sensitivity I will discuss those who find themselves on the highly sensitive side of the HSP spectrum.
If you’re an HSP, you can experience external and internal stimulation rather quickly and with more intensity and duration. It’s as though your nervous system is an antenna running through your mind and body—always on and picking up signals from everything around you. As an HSP, you can become overstimulated and this “noise” or “static” can result in a variety of mental and physical complaints that may be difficult to diagnose.
If you’re an HSP, you can experience external and internal stimulation rather quickly and with more intensity and duration. It’s as though your nervous system is an antenna running through your mind and body—always on and picking up signals from everything around you. As an HSP, you can become overstimulated and this “noise” or “static” can result in a variety of mental and physical complaints that may be difficult to diagnose.
An HSP is often given a laundry list of diagnoses, and if you are HSP you may find yourself in your physician’s office for unexplainable physical complaints. Without getting adequate assistance, many of you have developed your own coping strategies, some that are helpful and some that are destructive. Common diagnoses of people with HSP traits:
PTSD
Dissociative Disorder
ADD/ADHD
Mood Disorder (Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorder)
Psychosis (paranoia, hallucinations)
Somatic Disorder (physical complaints).
Anxiety Disorder
Personality Disorders
Addictive Disorders
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Asthma and Allergies
Digestive Disorders
Most HSPs' don’t know the reason for their sensitivity and the challenges can outweigh the benefits of natural gifts and talents. This can lead to an imbalanced perception of yourself as flawed or defective. Criticism from others tends to make this worse with advice like “you just have to get over it” or “toughen up” or “what is wrong with you.” But once you understand yourself better, you can experience your talents and gifts that include:
Sharp Intellect
High Creativity
Deep Compassion
Authenticity
Spirituality
Strong Intuition
To get a handle on the challenges of your sensitivity you must learn to soothe and protect your nervous system. In the next part of my blog series I will discuss skills necessary for the HSP to develop in order to better navigate the world.
By Shannon McQuade, LCSW
PTSD
Dissociative Disorder
ADD/ADHD
Mood Disorder (Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorder)
Psychosis (paranoia, hallucinations)
Somatic Disorder (physical complaints).
Anxiety Disorder
Personality Disorders
Addictive Disorders
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Asthma and Allergies
Digestive Disorders
Most HSPs' don’t know the reason for their sensitivity and the challenges can outweigh the benefits of natural gifts and talents. This can lead to an imbalanced perception of yourself as flawed or defective. Criticism from others tends to make this worse with advice like “you just have to get over it” or “toughen up” or “what is wrong with you.” But once you understand yourself better, you can experience your talents and gifts that include:
Sharp Intellect
High Creativity
Deep Compassion
Authenticity
Spirituality
Strong Intuition
To get a handle on the challenges of your sensitivity you must learn to soothe and protect your nervous system. In the next part of my blog series I will discuss skills necessary for the HSP to develop in order to better navigate the world.
By Shannon McQuade, LCSW
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