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Actors and High Sensitivity

Actors and High Sensitivity

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 [...]

Cheryl Richardson on protecting our high sensitivity

Cheryl Richardson on protecting our high sensitivity

Author and coach Cheryl Richardson points out, “We all have varying levels of sensitivity. “It’s the fundamental part of us that allows us to be touched by beauty, signs of grace, or intimate moments with others.” She adds that it is also “the mechanism that provides us with an internal warning signal that lets us [...]

Highly Sensitive Personality and Creativity

Highly Sensitive Personality and Creativity

By guest author Lisa A. Riley, LMFT (Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist) 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 [...]

Elaine Aron on our emotional challenges

Elaine Aron on our emotional challenges

In addition to helping fuel creativity and a richer experience of life, being highly sensitive can make us more vulnerable to emotional overwhelm, anxiety, self-criticism and other issues. Healthy self concept and self esteem can be especially challenging. As John Lennon once put it, “Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other [...]

Jenna Avery audio interview on thriving as an HSP

Jenna Avery audio interview on thriving as an HSP

Jenna Avery is “The Life Coach for Sensitive Souls” – helping individuals recognize and more fully express their gifts as highly sensitive people. In our interview, she talks about some of the challenges we may face in taking care of ourselves and living our purpose, such as being overly self-critical or not setting good self-care [...]

Audiobook excerpt: The Highly Sensitive Person

Audiobook excerpt: The Highly Sensitive Person

The Highly Sensitive Person, By Elaine N. Aron Narrated by Barbara Caruso Audiobook: The Highly Sensitive Person, By Elaine N. Aron ..

Video: On Being Sensitive

Video: On Being Sensitive

The trait of high sensitivity is experienced by 15 to 20 percent of us. In this video are some quotes by and about Winona Ryder, Heath Ledger, Amy Brenneman, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, and Ellen DeGeneres about their experience of sensitivity. Maybe you can relate to some of them. .. Winona Ryder has said, “You [...]

Video: nurturing our sensitive self: Ted Zeff, PhD on strategies

“At least 50 million Americans have a finely tuned nervous system.” Books by Ted Zeff, PhD : 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 [...]

Neuroscience and sensitivity – our superior colliculus and amygdala

Neuroscience and sensitivity – our superior colliculus and amygdala

A recent news item by ScienceDaily reported on research that may explain more about the neuroscience that underlies high sensitivity. “Researchers have discovered that a primitive region of the brain responsible for sensorimotor control also has an important role in regulating emotional responses to threatening situations. “This region appears to work in concert with another [...]

Sensitivity and stress – Winona Ryder: “Maybe I’m too sensitive for this world.”

Winona Ryder and depression 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 [...]

Our high sensitivity personality: normalcy, wholeness, acceptance

Our high sensitivity personality: normalcy, wholeness, acceptance

In her authoritative book The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You, Elaine Aron, PhD notes, we are at “the extreme end of the dimension of sensitivity,” but she adds, “..for many HSPs the real challenge is to achieve the middle ground. “No more ‘too shy’ or ‘too sensitive’ or too [...]

Judith Orloff on Sensitive People and Relationships That Work

Judith Orloff on Sensitive People and Relationships That Work

Adapted from Dr. Judith Orloff’s book Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life. Loneliness gets to some more than others. But why it hangs on isn’t always apparent when read by traditional medical eyes. In my practice and workshops I’ve been struck by how many sensitive, empathic people who I call [...]

Video by Judith Orloff: How to stop absorbing other peoples energy

Dr. Judith Orloff says if you have ever been labeled as “overly sensitive” you can keep your energy high, even in negative or frustrating situations. She is author of the book Emotional Freedom. Also hear / read my interview with Dr. Orloff. shy personality, introverted personality, high sensitivity personality, highly sensitive relationships, highly sensitive books

Erika Harris on moving beyond “coping” or “surviving”

In her ebook “You’ve Got Nerve!” An Empowerment Toolkit for Highly Sensitive People, Erika Harris helps readers celebrate and nurture themselves. She writes, “Yes of course, we must first master HSP basics like self-care, energy-management, boundaries and joyful work. “And while I will certainly help you with those things in each celebration, those concerns are [...]

The shy personality and two kinds of social phobia

“There are two different types of social phobia. The first is generalized, where anything and everything in the way of social interaction has the potential to send your nerves into overdrive. “People who are only afraid of a few or a particular type of social interaction have non-generalized or specific social phobia. “To help determine [...]

Video: The Highly Sensitive Person by Therese J. Borchard

“Do you get overwhelmed easily? You could be one of the lucky highly sensitive persons living in an overwhelming world.” Therese J. Borchard is the author of the hit daily blog “Beyond Blue” on Beliefnet.com, which is featured regularly on The Huffington Post and was voted by PsychCentral.com as one of the top 10 depression [...]

Singer Joss Stone on being a ‘little empath’

This is a clip of Joss Stone at the 2005 Grammy Awards, singing a tribute to Janis Joplin. My commentary, mostly quoting Stone, is added. Stone has created three top-selling albums and earned a  Grammy. In a recent magazine interview, she talked about being highly sensitive. “I think I’m just very, very emotional. My mom [...]

Highly sensitive people: latent inhibition and creativity

One aspect of high sensitivity is increased sensory input. There are some intriguing research studies on how this works at the level of the brain and nervous system, and how it affects creative ability. photo credit: LeTiger One study, for example, found that the brains of creative people appear to be more open to incoming [...]