One of the reasons I can't work in an office is that I'm easily overstimulated or thrown off balance by small things.
I much prefer my own environment, where I have some measure of control over various factors -- temperature, what I'm wearing, how I'm sitting/standing, noise levels, airflow, lighting, whatever.
Scarlett
Aquarel·la sobre paper
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#colorful #highlysensitive #watercolor #portraits by #peixious
How to say you're #ActuallyAutistic without identifying as autistic 😎(I scored 100% on this profile - it's the differences in how I perceive & process sensory & other information that are fundamental characteristics of being autistic, for me.)
Like identifying as 'gifted', identifying as 'highly sensitive' is a socially acceptable way for us to understand our differences, be kind to ourselves about things we find difficult, & potentially, to find our tribe. I am all for anything that helps us do this.
These labels also avoid confronting the ableism that makes us feel uncomfortable recognising how much we have in common with our more visibly disabled neurodivergent siblings. *They allow us to continue to deny those parts of ourselves about which we still feel shame. And for which we stigmatise others.
Which is why I identify as #ActuallyAutistic rather than as #HighlySensitive
*edited / expanded for clarity
In speaking to a friend who is likely also highly sensitive, she said that she'd like more information. I sent her the test and will link it here in case it's helpful for someone else.
For me, it's explained so much, and as I've come to embrace it and appreciate those parts that are helpful and learned to cope with those that aren't, I'd like to find people who also see it in themselves.
I've found that leaning into it is helpful by way of self-validating. YES that packaging is awful design (and ready to injure someone), NO this fabric does not breathe, OOF indeed this person is feeling left out (and stop trying to tell me that what I'm sensing isn't what I'm sensing), WHY doesn't anybody else taste/smell this mold/mildew?, and HOW can anyone stand all this noise?
I keep mentally returning to this piece on what highly sensitive people need, and the point about beauty has been on my mind.
While I'm not a nature person (my HSP qualities don't like to sweat or insect bites or natural areas where other people are being noisy), I do appreciate a good view or home surroundings.
My apartment is a brown box, and that is draining every day. I don't currently have means to make it beautiful and cozy.
On the other hand, I used to live in an apartment that overlooked a square with a fountain. Behind the fountain on the other side of the street was a church. The sun would rise over the church and the fountain would sparkle with the first morning light. I was always buoyed by that and never took it for granted. It holds a special place in my heart. (I had to leave that place because nearby construction created so much dust it became a health issue.)
When people ask me why I don't "just move" to a certain place, it's impossible to give the reason that it's "not beautiful" because they likely wouldn't understand. Many people treat this need as a "nice to have," and when I say it's necessary they think I'm somehow reflecting entitlement.
I'd like to get better about talking about it, but I'm still stunned into silence when I express how something is important to me and I am dismissed. When someone tells me something is important for them, my first reaction is not to tell them why it shouldn't be.
https://highlysensitiverefuge.com/things-highly-sensitive-people-need-happy/
Strobe lights are one of the largest banes of my existence. It’s difficult, and personally embarrassing, to be a highly sensitive jam band fan. #phish #highlysensitive #highlysensitiveperson #photosensitive #photosensitivity
Study suggests ‘high sensitivity’ label is used by narcissists and psychopaths as a manipulative tactic
Kajdzik, M., & Moroń, M. (2023). Signaling High Sensitivity to Influence Others: Initial Evidence for the Roles of Reinforcement Sensitivity, Sensory Processing Sensitivity, and the Dark Triad. Psychological Reports, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231152387
3 dinners with friends, 1 showcase, 2 conferences, several work meetings — all in one week. For a #highlysensitive ambivert like me, that creates an “interesting” arousal curve, to say the least: Moments of surfing on a joyful wave of adrenaline, moments of being completely peopled out. A new lesson I’ve learned: intimacy helps me prevent an emotional crash. Close friends, spending time with my partner, our dogs, taking care of the house: these all ground me.
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Fortsetzung öffentliches Profil von @asha
"#NotJustSad, #highlysensitive, #rants, #puns, #vaxxed, #CovidIsNotOver, #WearAMask | minors, please do not follow me 🔞
he, him, de, eng, at, and i love 🐺
avatar - hugs | banner - neuronal cells""
There is no such thing as oversensitive. If something hurts you, it is irrelevant whether anyone else thinks it should have or not.
"Therefore, the interaction between the highly sensitive trait, stress, or psychological vulnerability may increase the likelihood to develop health complaints (no matter how much stress or how many stressors). What is also worth adding here is that there is a good level of evidence . . . that demonstrates that trauma-related symptoms, and lifetime stressors, play an important role as a risk factor for chronic pain conditions, too."
For much of my life, I've been poked at or derided by people who are threatened by high sensitivity.
I'm grateful to now have people in my life who don't take it personally, who accept it, and who even respect it. It makes all the difference.
Are HSPs Cassandras who sense danger and are dismissed when we report it? It certainly often feels that way.
https://www.okdoomer.io/youre-not-a-fearmonger-you-have-sentinel-intelligence/
Study suggests ‘high sensitivity’ label is used by narcissists and psychopaths as a manipulative tactic
Kajdzik, M., & Moroń, M. (2023). Signaling High Sensitivity to Influence Others: Initial Evidence for the Roles of Reinforcement Sensitivity, Sensory Processing Sensitivity, and the Dark Triad. Psychological Reports, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231152387
Much like a cat hates their paws being touched, as a highly sensitive person, I can't bear being jostled.
I know what I brought was valuable. But my voice wasn't loud enough both figuratively and literally, and I did not have the energy to be stubborn.
How many people like me who have something to offer, who have good ideas, step out of the room because they are drowned out and dismissed?
Probably a lot.
Let's collectively listen more carefully. Let's collectively include people intentionally.
I have been thinking in the past couple of days about how highly sensitive people sense things that others do not or before others do.
I am in a situation where nobody wanted to take on one element of a group project, so I did it, and I tailored it to the audience -- young, inexperienced, overwhelmed local government officials with few resources.
I did the work and it wasn't flashy enough for the rest of the group. They were not in a listening mood. So I removed myself.
Feeling anxious today. I cannot tell if it was the 1/4 cup of black tea or the beautiful glass of rose I consumed yesterday (probably both).
I'm highly sensitive to sugar and caffeine and avoid them, for the most part. The next day after a slip is always a reminder to stay the course.
Re #Introduction for another new instance. I am an introverted gay Puerto Rican/German-American cis male (he/his). I work as a psychotherapist, and a writer. I live in Chicago with my husband and cat. #Writer #Novelist #Author #Screenwriter #TVWriter #Comedy #Humor #Mystery #MurderMystery #Theater #Psychotherapy #Psychology #Gay #LGBTQ #MentalHealth #HighlySensitive #HSP #INFJ #ProUnion #LaborUnions #PuertoRico #BLM #Atheist #GayNerd #GayGeek #Gaymer #StarTrek #Superman #TeenTitans #Chicago
Cool morning air means fresh ginger-and-turmeric tea.
I can't do caffeine (too sensitive to it), so I've had to find workarounds for a warm morning beverage.
But now I really enjoy the slightly peppery flavor of the ginger, and chopping up the ingredients is a morning ritual.
