She is a very big fan of Dr. Elaine Aron’s work , Dr. Aron’s book “The Highly Sensitive Person” is a wonderful book . She came across the term “Highly Sensitive Person” by chance . She learned about M.B.T.I. personality test and was very keen to learn about introversion . Her search on introversion led her to the description on trait of high sensitivity . Knowing about introversion revealed partial picture of her personality, there were many things that she could relate to but still a lot of things weren’t clear. Reading about H.S.P. made many things clear .
Let’s meet this person and find out why does she believe that she is a Highly Sensitive Person?
– She takes a lot of time in decision-making . Making a choice is very hard for her : Shopping is a nightmare for her , She gets very overwhelmed and couldn’t decide . As the number of choices increase so does her confusion and frustration .Before reading about H.S.P. , she was unable to understand what’s wrong with her .She pondered for hours that why a task (shopping) that made other people happy left her so confused ? There were times when she started crying because she was taking a lot of time to decide what to buy .
– She gets easily overwhelmed :– She likes quiet environment and does not want to be the center of attention . Loud noises affect hers . Before learning about high sensitivity she felt strange as others did not feel the same way . There was an incident , a loud sound made her head ache once and as a result she fainted .
– She likes comfortable clothes ,coarse fabric bothers her .
– She cries a lot even on small things : Small gestures can make her cry . A memory of past can trigger deep emotions . She cries even when she is lost in her imaginative world or thinking about a story .
– She hates to upset others : She hates to see other person in pain or unhappy it makes her unhappy so she tries to make them feel happy . When someone asks her to give her stuff to them she instantly gives them that stuff so that they become happy .
– Other people’s emotions affect her : Mood of other people affect her greatly , if the people around her are unhappy or hurt it affects her too.
– She over-analyzes things and situations .
– She needs alone time to unload her thoughts : Alone time helps her recharge her energy and to think .Her energy drains quickly and needs sleep or regular breaks .
– She is quiet and reserved (introversion related): She doesn’t open up to others .
– She wants to make positive change in this world i.e. to somehow make it a better place for less privileged .
– Making a career choice was one of the hardest decision of her life: At that time she didn’t have any information about her personality type and the trait of high sensitivity . She was so confused and frustrated with herself because most of her friends and classmates were very clear and quick in decision-making they knew what they wanted . On the other hand she wanted to do something special and meaningful .She made some horrible choice , due to time pressure and to avoid conflict she took decisions related to career choice that were wrong and not suitable for her personality.
– She likes to help others : Although she is quite reserved and a quiet person . She likes to teach others . Whenever one of her friends or classmate has an issue or difficulty with their studies they seek her help and she tries her best to explain those topics . She feels sorry to disappoint others .
– She cries a lot : Watching someone die on a TV show or movie makes her cry . She still cries on small things and can’t stop her tears .
– She follows rules : She likes order and structure .
– She hates being late : She plans ahead and reach places 30-45 minutes before the given time .
– She hates being watched or judged .
– Negative comments and failure affect her deeply.
– She is a highly achiever : She wants to do everything right and pay attention to small details and minute requirements .
– She tends to undervalue her self : Regardless of all her achievements , she tends to doubt her capabilities and undermine herself . – She is not good at verbal communication the thought of being watched overwhelms her .
– She feels extreme temperature more than others i.e. she feels more cold and use more jackets and warm clothes than others.
– She is not a risk taker and changes affect her very much : She needs time to be prepared for things.
According to some online tests and her understanding of Dr. Elaine Aron’s work she is a highly sensitive person .
