Understanding HSPs

About a year ago, I was scanning the shelves of Barnes and Noble, waiting for my sister to check out so we could leave the busy store. I'd been feeling more and more tired since the moment I'd walked through the doors, and I remember thinking, "There's too much to look at in here, it's exhausting."That's when I spotted a book in the self-help section entitled, "The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You," by Elaine N. Aron. Immediately, it caught my attention. Reading the title again, I thought, this sounds like me, but are there actually other people in the world who feel the same way? I grabbed the book and began reading the back to find out what a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) actually is. "Do you have a keen imagination and vivid dreams?" It asked. "Is time alone each day as essential to you as food and water? Are you 'too shy' or 'too sensitive' according to others? Do noise and confusion quickly overwhelm you?"

I couldn't believe what I was reading. This is me, I thought, and obviously I'm not the only one in the world feeling abnormal and isolated, because somebody wrote this book. It was like I'd been stuck in a room, and the only way out was a door that had been closed and dead bolted, and that door had just flung wide open. I was free to walk out and roam, taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of this new world I'd just been introduced to. It was a true comfort to realize I was not alone in feeling overwhelmed by people, places, noises, and life in general. Everyone seemed to know exactly how to live and thrive in this mile-a-minute world, and I had no clue. I thought for sure I was the only one, but this book proved otherwise.

It became my bible. I read it, reread it, studied it, thanked God for it, even slept with it under my pillow, hoping to absorb any scrap of information I may have missed. I breathed in every word, wanting desperately to understand myself and others like me, as Dr. Aron made me believe I was okay, that it was normal to take more enjoyment out of being alone, journaling, reading or drawing, instead of partying with a mob of friends, like it seemed everyone else was doing. That there's nothing wrong with me when I feel completely drained and irritated after being in a mall, grocery store, or cafeteria, it's just my highly sensitive nervous system being overworked without any kind of filter allowing me to tune out extra noises, objects, and movement. That all HSPs feel every emotion more deeply, which is why we get our feelings hurt so easily and why other people's moods affect us so much.

She taught me that even though we HSPs are a minority, only 15 to 20 percent of the population, we have a whole lot to offer, and its time we start realizing our strengths, and thriving off of them, instead of hiding away in a world we once felt we did not belong.

I have found some great information on HSPs at these sites:
http://sensitiveandthriving.com/
http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/hsp-notes
http://www.hsperson.com/index.html