Hsp Quotes

The Highly Sensitive Person

Sometimes qualities that get lumped together as part of introversion or anxiety are more closely related to a concept known in psychology as high sensitivity. Some of the typical characteristics of a highly sensitive person (HSP) include tendencies to:

--Process things deeply
--Get easily overwhelmed by too many things to do
--Get their feelings hurt easily
--Be sensitive to other people's moods
--Find negative news very upsetting, even if it's about people they don't know well
--Find it difficult to hide their true feelings, such as when they lack interest in a topic
--Find it difficult to filter out particular types of stimulation, such as being easily irritated by background noise or scratchy textured clothing

People who have a lot of these tendencies aren't necessarily anxious. However, they will often become anxious if they're forced into environments that overwhelm their capacity to filter excess stimulation. ~ Alice Boyes

Anger tried to help me feel better about myself by pushing the blame onto someone else. ~ Yong Kang Chan

I'm an HSP to the core. I avoid violent imagery (I abandoned reading Elaine Aron's The Highly Sensitive Person on my first try because - in typical HSP fashion - I couldn't handle the frequent references to sexual abuse). I'm very empathetic, and I feel as though my head will explode when two people try to talk to me at the same time. I have difficulty making dinner while the counter is cluttered with the morning's dishes. I lose my mind when someone is singing while the radio is playing a different song. Watching the news makes me want to assume the fetal position and never get up. ~ Anne Bogel

Consider that the simplest social interactions between two people requires performing an astonishing array of tasks: interpreting what the other person is saying; reading body language and facial expressions; smoothly taking turns talking and listening; responding to what the other person said; assessing whether you're being understood; determining whether you're well received, and, if not, figuring out how to improve or remove yourself from the situation. Think of what it takes to juggle all this at once! And that's just a one-to-one conversation. Now imagine the multitasking required in a group setting like a dinner party.
(p237) ~ Susan Cain

It is true that even when exhausted you still are providing something to those you serve. But you are out of touch with your deepest strengths, role-modelling self-destructive behaviour, martyring yourself, and giving others cause for guilt. ~ Elaine N. Aron

When you're living so intensely in your head there isn't any different between what you imagine and what actually takes place. Therefore, you're both omnipotent and powerless. ~ Chris Kraus

Make good boundaries your goal. They are your right, your responsibility, your greatest source of dignity. ~ Elaine N. Aron