For more on this personality trait, see the Highly Sensitive site.
I don’t have any particular psychic ability, but am fascinated by it, and appreciate the more sympathetic depictions in movies such as “Hereafter” directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Cécile De France and Matt Damon as a professional psychic. It’s a word that has a wide range of associations, including some pretty negative or dismissive ones. [...]
Dr. Cheryl Arutt is a clinical psychologist, specializing in creative artist issues and other topics. She is also a forensic and media consultant. Topics in our audio interview include high sensitivity, regulating disruptive feelings, destructiveness vs creativity, pain and creativity, being unconventional vs rebellion against the self, the fight-or-flight response, and other issues which can [...]
In a recent Marie Clare article, Are You Too Sensitive?, Helen Kirwan-Taylor discusses her process of self-discovery related to her own highly sensitive personality. Once upon a time, HSPs might have been written off as shy or even neurotic, but Aron [Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person] believes these labels are demeaning and inaccurate. [...]
As one of the characters in the movie “Hereafter,” Matt Damon portrays an intuitve, someone who seems to be able to communicate with dead people. One of the other characters impacted by those abilities is Marie, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who revealed in a recent news story her own psychic experiences. She knew early [...]
Being shy may not be uncommon for children, but when it endures for us as teens and adults, shyness impedes the kinds of social connections that can enhance our talents and creative expression. Research is helping explain shyness in terms of brain physiology, particularly involving the amygdala (technically amygdalae) – a pair of structures in [...]
“I think being different, being against the grain of society, is the greatest thing in the world.” That’s actor Elijah Wood (“Lord of the Rings”), quoted in my post Exceptional and out of bounds – eccentrics and society. Being unusual and eccentric may be easier for some people. It may not be so easy for [...]
There can be many challenges for people who are highly sensitive, including reactions from others (“Why are you so touchy?”), feeling “wrong” and with lower self-esteem in a culture that is so extroverted and high-speed, and being more vulnerable to stress (see my post Sensitive to anxiety). But there are also many strengths and values, [...]
One of my constant internal dialogs revolves around whether or not I’m being authentic. Am I compromising myself? Trying too hard to avoid conflict by keeping silent? Is my desire to have other people feel understood an authentic part of me or counterproductive? And just because a trait is authentic, should I nurture it? Personal [...]
Does being sensitive include the strength to endure and survive hardships? Could it be that what makes us more vulnerable might also make us more durable? I believe in aristocracy, though–if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power…but…of the sensitive, the considerate…. Its members are [...]
“All forms of self-expression that tap into curiosities, talents or deeply held interests, when pursued to excellence, are deeply nourishing.” That quote by Kenneth W. Christian, PhD is from his book Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement. There are many deeply rewarding aspects of being gifted and talented, creative, with exceptional [...]
Why do people seek to live solitary lives? Even though I’m often extroverted, I need an awful lot of time by myself to feel comfortable with my life. Are solitary creatures like me somehow sick, neurotic or abnormal? The New York Times recently ran a story on someone who has chosen a life that is [...]
Joss Whedon (writer, producer, director: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse, etc) received the 2009 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism from Harvard. In his acceptance speech, he talked about discovering existentialism as a teenager from seeing Steven Spielberg’s movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” “Literally, I just had an epiphany,” Whedon (pronounced ‘weedun’) [...]
The BioElectric Shield company has products to counteract electromagnetic radiation. An article on their site says: A large number of people who come to us are suffering as highly sensitive people. … This sensitivity can dramatically impact your ability to cope with the ever increasing chaos and energy in the world today. I get on [...]
Many interviewers and entertainment writers have described Twilight Saga actor Kristen Stewart as “cautious” and “shy.” At least one news story refers to her as a “Self-proclaimed introvert.” By the way, I am not presuming Kristen Stewart is shy, introverted or highly sensitive, and I don’t know her personally. But just from my gut reaction [...]
In her article, How To Stop Being So Hard On Yourself, excerpted below, expert on highly sensitive living Jenna Avery explains why sensitive people are so self-critical, and how we can stop: Every time I work with a fellow sensitive soul, it seems like we always bump into some kind of fear or limiting belief [...]
Therapist Noreen Barron writes: Highly sensitive people can be considered “weak” “soft” “pathetic” and “cry babies”. They are often shamed and criticized for their “over the top” responses, so they swallow and stuff many, if not all, of their needs, experiences, feelings, thoughts to keep “it all in” and contained, so as not to feel [...]
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Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.
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