|
Highly
Sensitive People
Know
your Stage of Awareness
Stages of Cultural
Awareness & Acceptance
The
following definitions are from Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of
the English Language, 1996.
The
examples following the definitions may help us to rethink what we have
been taught, what we have internalized and what we might do differently
when it comes to being a Highly Sensitive Person.
Stage
1: Disparage
To belittle, demean, ridicule, discredit
(HSPs
are weak, irritable, inferior, fearful,
too emotional, too nervous.)
Stage
2: Deny
To refuse to recognize or acknowledge (You're
too sensitive, you need to toughen up, bite the bullet, suck it up.) Stage
3: Acknowledge
To admit to be real or true; to recognize the existence
of different needs and ways of being (Yes...your
needs and mine are different ... help me to understand you, so I can help you to
understand me.) Stage
4: Affirm
To state or assert positively (HSPs
have a unique way of being in the world, we have a more finely tuned central nervous
system, and we process things deeply and purposefully.) Stage
5: Promote
To further, advance, or exalt; put in a higher position (HSPs
are not "better" than non-HSPs, nor are we superior...
HSPs have unique gifts,
talents, and skills and much to contribute to the world around us, our families,
our workplaces, relationships, etc.)
From:
Dr. Evonne Hedgepeth, Ph.D., "What Does It Really Mean to 'Affirm' Versus 'Promote'"
- a handout used in cultural diversity training. Modified for HSPs by Jacquelyn
Strickland
Home | About LifeWorks | Highly Sensitive People
Myers-Briggs | Families | WomenOutdoors
Links & Resources | HSP Highlights & Insights Newsletter
| 
|
