The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) research and subsequent publications have done a considerable service in putting sensitivity on the map to the point where millions of people across the world who connect personally to the Highly Sensitive Person trait have some framework from which to start owning their gifts. But as someone who has both the High Sensation Seeking trait (HSS) and the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) trait in abundance, my own process of owning my sensitivity has been an unusual one. ... Read More
HSP Journey
HSP Journey is a place for you to share your stories, discuss common traits within those who consider themselves highly sensitive, and be sensitive and be free.
Finding Your Freedom as a Highly Sensitive Person
It can be hard to find your freedom in being highly sensitive. Before understanding the Highly Sensitive Person trait, I felt as though my sensitivity was a trap and something I couldn't handle well. I was afraid that I'd cry unexpectedly if someone criticized me at work. I was fearful that my boss would give me too many projects and I'd feel so quickly overwhelmed that I'd lose my cool. I avoided confrontation at all costs, knowing it would send me into a tailspin. Until I discovered the HSP trait in midlife, I had virtually no understanding of what it meant to be highly sensitive. Today, Finding your freedom as a Highly Sensitive Person is a reality within reach.... Read More
Bittersweet by Susan Cain Exceptional New Book for Highly Sensitive Person
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole (Crown, 2022) is a new book by Susan Cain that details the role of sadness and beauty in sorrow as critical components to a happy life. If you're more of an optimistic or extroverted HSP, you might not fully understand what this book captures. This new book doesn't bill itself as a book for the Highly Sensitive Person, but let me tell you, as an HSP, many of us are wired to notice the subtleties in music, to appreciate the sorrowful songs, and to notice the hurt and broken people around us. It's both a curse and a gift, I can safely say. ... Read More
10 Tips for Transforming Overthinking as a Highly Sensitive Person
Is it hard to shut your mind off and stop thinking? You are not alone. One of the defining characteristics of being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is deep processing. It can leave us stuck in analysis paralysis, without reaching a conclusion or beginning to act. That's why I've written these 10 tips for transforming overthinking as a Highly Sensitive Person. ... Read More
Why the Highly Sensitive Person Trait is Not Connected to Narcissism
research study came out in the psychological community this summer stating that there were significant similarities between those with vulnerable narcissism and the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) trait. While initially many were curious, Dr. Elaine Aron, initial researcher and author of The Highly Sensitive Person, published a rebuttal stating why the Highly Sensitive Person trait is not connected to narcissism. ... Read More
The Compelling Debate Between Extroversion, Introversion, and High Sensation Seeking in Highly Sensitive Persons
If you consider yourself a Highly Sensitive Person, have you thought about where you draw your energy from? The debate of introversion (drawing energy from alonetime) or extroversion (drawing energy from being with people) is complex. Yet, it's a simple question, and you might think, "duh, I'm an extrovert or an introvert." But we aren't exclusively just one or the other. Most likely, we are a combination of both, and other innate traits make it easy for us to err in thinking we are solely one or the other. There's a third trait, the trait of High Sensation Seeking (HSS) also at play. Let's take a closer look at the relationship between extroversion, introversion, and High Sensation Seeking in Highly Sensitive Persons.... Read More