“It is also good every so often to go away and relax a little for when you come back to your work your judgment will be better, since to remain constantly at work causes you to deceive yourself.” Leonardo da Vinci This need to “get away” from work and other people, even our own overactive [...]
“So, I listened to this guy, and he’s got a hypnotic effect. He plays acoustic guitar, of course; and he is a real poet; and he’s a very sensitive guy.” Record producer John Hammond, about Leonard Cohen [BBC Interview.] Psychologist Elaine Aron and other researchers find that approximately 20 percent of the population has the [...]
“I am shy and I don’t start relationships with people normally. I guess I have a way that can seem aloof and sort of cold. They didn’t like me that much, but I never resented it. I was different than they were.” Actor Kristin Kreuk. made other comments in an interview about being in high [...]
Being highly sensitive probably increases our vulnerability to anxiety. I’m sure that has been the case for me, and I have had varying degrees of anxiety for most of my life. Part of my motivation in researching and creating my series of sites is to better understand a variety of social and psychological issues that [...]
“He is so sensitive and the way he directs you is so silent.” Director Ang Lee recently won his second Academy Award for “Life of Pi” (his first was for “Brokeback Mountain”). Actor Adil Hussain, one of the stars of “Pi” described how the Taiwanese filmmaker works. He commented that Lee is “so sensitive and the [...]
About 15 to 20 percent of us have this trait of high sensitivity, which nurtures our creativity and social activism, but also brings challenges. Psychologist Elaine Aron, PhD and others describe it as a more finely tuned nervous system. She explains, “It means you are aware of subtleties in your surroundings, a great advantage in [...]
Peter Messerschmidt (also known as ‘Denmarkguy’) notes he is “a writer by calling, but make my actual LIVING from a system of ‘patchwork economics’ that includes writing, consulting, coaching, eBay entrepreneurship, being a a rare stamp dealer, a beach comber and overall Creative Slacker…I am an HSP, INFJ and enneagram type 9, and have spent [...]
Ane Axford, MS, LMFT (she pronounces it like “Annie”) notes: “I am a highly sensitive person, who is also high sensation seeking, introverted, a licensed mental health and relationship therapist who specializes in working with highly sensitive persons.” In her interview podcast “On HSPs as Entrepreneurs with Marie Forleo,” Ane and Marie talk about being, [...]
Winona Ryder starred in the film based on Susanna Kaysen‘s novel Girl, Interrupted, and thinks Kaysen “captures a mood we’ve all experienced. “It’s like a reflective time we’ve all had in our lives, whether to kill ourselves, whether to be miserable or move on. You go through spells where you feel that maybe you’re too [...]
By Judith Orloff, MD. In my book, I emphasize the importance of learning how to stay centered in a stressful, highly emotionally charged world. Since emotions such as fear, anger, and frustration are energies, you can potentially “catch” them from people without realizing it. If you tend to be an emotional sponge, it’s vital to [...]
By Jenna Avery. As a sensitive soul, you are likely to have a high degree of empathy. Empathy is the ability to feel another person’s emotions as if they are your own. In many ways, being empathic is a gift, because it allows you to fully experience, understand, and support others. In other ways, it [...]
“I’m very sensitive in real life. I cannot not cry if someone around me is crying…even if it’s not appropriate. I have that thing in me, a weakness or sensitivity.” Jessica Chastain Such a powerful, dynamic and emotionally expressive actor, in films including “The Tree of Life”; “The Debt”; “Lawless,” and “The Help,” (for which [...]
Many self-assured performers and actors have been shy or introverted as children. Some still are, as adults. And many have found that performing has changed their level of confidence. Being highly sensitive – as many artists are – can interact with shyness and introversion. Also see article: Shyness, Introversion, Sensitivity – What’s the Difference? A [...]
“You were very sensitive as a child; family and school problems, childhood illnesses, and the like all affected you more than others. Furthermore, you were different from other kids and almost surely suffered for that.” Elaine Aron, PhD. “I did not perform well socially in junior high. I was a strange girl and I was [...]
“At least 50 million Americans have a finely tuned nervous system.” Ted Zeff, PhD His books include: The Highly Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide: Essential Skills for Living Well in an Overstimulating World Highly Sensitive Person’s Companion: Daily Exercises for Calming Your Senses in an Overstimulating World Shrink Rap Radio audio podcast interview with Dr. Zeff [...]
One aspect of a highly sensitive nervous system can be a strong startle response or startle reflex, which can be related to a vulnerability to anxiety. Among the items in the Self-Test for sensitivity by Dr. Elaine Aron is “I startle easily.” In an edition of her Comfort Zone newsletter titled The Benefits of Being [...]
Coach Jenna Avery describes her programs: “These self-study classes are the product of my many efforts to find ways to be a happy, healthy, highly sensitive soul. “I have investigated everything I could get my hands on about energy skills, energetic boundary strengthening, interpersonal boundaries, flower essences for sensitive souls, empathy, intuitive development and more. [...]
By guest author Lisa A. Riley, LMFT, Creativity Coach Throughout my practice, I have encountered a connection between highly sensitive people and their own creative impulses. This characteristic does not discriminate between painter, actor, or musician—they all appear to have one thing in common: they experience the world differently than the average individual. Creatives often [...]
A number of people claim to have had an idyllic or happy early life, the sort evoked by this photo: “The Walk to Paradise Garden” [1946] by W. Eugene Smith. But for many of us who have been highly sensitive all our lives, or had especially challenging experiences as children, that image does not feel [...]
Julie Christie “I found films to be turbulent and stressful. They have caused me an enormous amount of anxiety, because I do not have a lot of confidence. You are working, intellectually and mentally, and you are having to be with people and socialize all the time. Actors like it, on the whole, but I [...]
“Highly sensitive people are all creative by definition.” Elaine Aron, PhD adds that it is “because we process things so thoroughly and notice so many subtleties and emotional meanings that we can easily put two unusual things together.” Sensory sensitivity also comes into play in many creative endeavors. When Therese Borchard of Beliefnet interviewed me [...]
Psychologist Susan Meindl writes: Highly sensitive people…have nervous systems and minds which permit more stimulation to enter without automatically and unconsciously shutting it out, and further, that they then cognitively process the stimulation that they receive in more detail than others do. Stimulation comes in on all sensory channels: sights, sounds, smells, vibrations, touch. HSP’s [...]
“Creatives often feel and perceive more intensely, dramatically, and with a wildly vivid color palate to draw from, which can only be described as looking at the world through a much larger lens." – Creativity Coach Lisa Riley - from the page: Being Highly Sensitive and Creative.
Shyness and introversion may seem to be the same in some ways, at least on the surface.
They can overlap, and we may have both traits – but they are not the same thing. And they are not the same as the trait of high sensitivity.
Follow the link to my post with more, including a video.Jenna Avery "uses her intuition, deep empathy, and innate practicality to help her visionary, creative clients step fully into their creative ideas, dreams, and ability. Learn about her programs including Self-Study Classes for Sensitive Souls, and the Writer's Circle at JennaAvery.com
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.
Author of books:
• Developing Multiple Talents
• The Creative Mind: Identity
• Being Highly Sensitive and Creative
For more info, see Résumé.
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