Are You a Highly Sensitive Person?

It was May 1996. I was waiting in Marin County, California in a bus shelter in the rain when an old, out-dated flier caught my eye. It asked:

Do you:

• Find yourself needing more down time during you day, especially to process stressful events?
• Tend to be aware of subtleties in your environment?
• Make it a point to avoid violent movies and TV shows?
• Have a rich, complex inner life, with a keen imagination and vivid dreams?
• Tend to be deeply moved by the arts or music?
• Find yourself greatly soothed by being in nature or near water?
• Get overwhelmed when you have a lot to do within a short amount of time and need to take breaks to get re-centered?
• Tend to need more sleep than the average person?
• Grow tired of others telling you that you are "too sensitive?"

If you answered yes to these questions, you are probably a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP).

This was Elaine Aron's original flier when she was looking for research subjects to complete her Ph.D. while writing her now famous book, The Highly Sensitive Person, How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You. This book has now sold over 1 million copies and been printed in 13 different languages.

Elaine Aron & Jacquelyn, 23rd HSP Gathering in Santa Barbara, CA

This was a synchronistic experience for me and is how I (eventually) met Elaine Aron, which led to the HSP Gathering Retreats Elaine and I co-created in 2001.

According to Elaine, approximately 15-20% of the human (and animal) population are thought to have a more finely tuned nervous system. This in turn, causes us to be more susceptible to environmental stimuli, whether that stimuli is positive or negative. The more positive the environment, the more we thrive; the more negative the environment, the more we suffer. Thus the HSP trait can be a blessing and a challenge, depending upon the environments we find ourselves in and depending upon how we have learned to cope in those environments.

If this sounds like you, you may be highly sensitive.

Click on the link below to take the self-test on Elaine Aron's website.

When you click on the link, you will open a new browser window.

When you have completed the test, simply close, or minimize, the browser window, and you will return to this page.

http://hsperson.com/pages/test.htm

You can also visit Elaine Aron's other website pages here: www.hsperson.com Be sure to sign up for her online newsletter, The Comfort Zone, under that link.

What more can you do to honor your sensitivity?

Home  |  About LifeWorks  |   Highly Sensitive People
 Myers-Briggs  |  Families  |  WomenOutdoors
Links & Resources  |  HSP Highlights & Insights Newsletter