NOTE TO ALL READERS – Starting next week my blog updates ezine will hit your mail box every Wednesday. Instead of 3-4 posts in one mailer, it will only have one blog post per week, but will be on a regular schedule.
Call me crazy. Yes, I did. I said no to a luxury vacation in the mountains of North Carolina in a $2.6 million dollar, 5,000 square foot, McLodge just off Cedar Cliff Lake.
My boyfriend and his family rented this gorgeous place and invited me to join them and I opted out in the eleventh hour, even losing a $300.00 plane ticket. Why? Because the past 6 months, I have been super busy, and have not had my ample “just me” time, to think, write and create beyond my obligations, including my blogging. And as a creative, highly sensitive (HS) person this is like cutting off my oxygen.
I’m not complaining, I am grateful my life has been filled with giving keynote speeches on branding, working on a very exciting global brand transformation, enjoying two great relationships, one with a smart guy and the other with a very cute dog.
For years, I have felt this pressure, which often transforms into my most uncomfortable stress, and I didn’t know what it was or how to deal with it.
I recently discovered the work of Psychologist Elaine Aron in a Huffington Post article, called “Characteristics of Highly-Sensitive People.” I continued to learn more about this condition in her books and from other social science professionals’ works.
In her book The Highly-Sensitive Person, she claims that about 15 to 20 percent of the population is characterized as highly sensitive (HS).
She describes characteristics of highly sensitive people as:
1. Having great imagination
2. Having great intellectual abilities
3. Are creative
4. Having a curious mind
5. Are hard workers
6. Are good problem solvers
7. Are extremely conscious and compassionate
8. Are intuitive
9. Having a strong sense of aesthetic awareness
10. Respecting nature, art and music greatly
11. Having profound and intense sensations
12. Having the ability to access important information from the unconscious mind
13. Having a depth of understanding and feelings
14. Are objective and can see the bigger picture
This is me to a T.
Overall, she believes many of writers, creators, inventors, imaginaries, and people who have contributed greatly to this world may fall in the category of highly sensitive. If managed properly, these people can be big assets to society. If they don’t acknowledge that they are HS, they can suffer a lot of self-inflicted stress and frustration.
One way to manage HS is to have ample alone time, where the HS person manages their noise and other distractions. Aron contends physically, highly-sensitive people need time and space to be by themselves to process the amount of input they absorb. They may have a low tolerance to noise and anything too strong when it comes to sensations. They also seem to have more body awareness and can feel when their body is not comfortable in an environment. They also have to connect to nature and do regular exercise, relaxation, meditation and any other activities that go with their natural desire to calm themselves down and recharge after the over stimulation.
My work, and creating, is my greatest joy. Sufficient cave time and alone time often, without inner guilt or pressure from others, is the fuel I need to find this joy.
To my friends and family, thanks for understanding me.
More books on the subject of Highly-Sensitive People.
The Highly-Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide
