So, apparently I'm Highly Sensitive. I'm not sure how I feel about this. When I first heard about Highly Sensitive People last week, I was curious. Is it like being highly-strung? Or is it more like having Asperger's? Or something else? So I went to the website to find out a little more. There's a quiz there to find out if you are an HSP, so I filled it out. I ticked 26 out of the 27 boxes.
Wow.
I was hesitant to give myself this label before finding out more, though. I found the Wikipedia page to be more enlightening than the HSP website itself, to be honest. But I think this site has the most enlightening short definition: "Being an HSP means you have a nervous system that is more 'highly tuned' than that most people. HSPs feel more, notice more and are often overwhelmed by the things they experience. " The page goes on with an excellent explanation of what life is like for an HSP, and I have to say, I can really relate to most of it! I always thought all that stuff was either: a) something that everyone experiences at times; or b) part and parcel of being an introvert. (Not all HSPs are introverts though, it just seems like it because they need more quiet time.)
And yet, I'm still reluctant to label myself as a Highly Sensitive Person. I think it's the word 'Sensitive' I have a problem with. To me it's always meant emotionally sensitive. Highly-strung. Special-princess-needs-her-fluffy-pink-eyemask type stuff. I fully admit that I've been like this in the past and still am occasionally! It certainly wouldn't be helpful to give myself this label if this was what it meant! (Then of course there's the danger that if I decide to tell others, they'll get the wrong impression!) But it doesn't. In this context it means physically and neuronally sensitive. I'm sure I could get my head around that.
It's just that - is being a HSP an handicap? A problem? An issue? Or just a way of being? Is it like being neurodiverse? Is giving myself this label creating problems where none existed? Or is it an extra way of understanding myself? Hmmm!
Additional Thought: At least I know I'm not the only one out there!
