In response to my low, post-holiday mood, I received a flood of empathetic and encouraging words and an invisible duck. You just can't beat a duck. I'm checking in to report that this sensitive sensory processor revived nearly overnight thanks to your kindness and...wait for it...a prodigious atmospheric pressure change. This is the perfect moment to introduce you to the HSP concept and ask you to take a charmingly short self-diagnostic test.
Let's play bio-social scientists, wanna? Lots more fun and elitist-liberal than astrology and more useful for typing presidential campaign contenders and anybody else on your radar.
Two of the coolest tools in my self-regulation toolbox are a digital barometer and my -itises (arthritis and bursitis, the inflammatory twins, gifts of genetics and too many years of aerobic dancing and fitness walking on hard surfaces). The barometer produces both raw digital data, including temperature, humidity, and moon phase, and historical charting. In the days around the end of December that I experienced high joint pain levels and a bottom-dweller's mood and prospect, the barometric pressure had made an unusual cliff dive from the realm of my highest subjective sense of well-being ( 30.40 Hg) to my misery zone (29.65 Hg and below) over a shockingly short 12 hour period.
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| Local weekly barometric pressure chart, December 25th - 31st, 2011 |
HSP's make up between 15 - 20% of the population, too high a rate to make the trait a disorder, but encountered at a low enough rate to make HSP's feel strange and different in many settings. For you Myers-Briggs fans, most HSP's are Introverts, but some 30% of them are Extroverts (I'm an INTJ; Mr. Mature is an ISTJ, but he's never taken the HSP test, so--oh, goody). And before you start mentally profiling everyone you know, factor in that males and females are equally represented in the HSP population. We're conscientious, careful, often risk avoidant, hyper-aware of subtle details, often but not always shy, and share a rich and riveting internal life of the mind. We also can react viscerally, inconveniently, to unfavorable social and physical conditions.
For example, I am appalled to walk into a room and find people trying to socialize or even just exist under a single overhead light source; for their well-being, the success of their undertaking, and my own sanity, I have to turn that bad boy off and give the scene some friendly, lower level lamp light. And the light needs to be balanced in the room or, at least, enhancing to the task. The temperature needs to be right for the activity level and bare walls should be banned. Throw in some hard seating, echoing acoustics, MESS, and the wrong music for the nature of the moment and I am either out the door or pacing like a caged animal. If I'm hungry, I bite. If I'm overtired, you need to leave. If I don't know anyone in the room, most of the time I'm silent and ready to go home, but, if I have a role to play, feel safe, and the conditions are conducive, I can be warm, talkative, and very engaged. You'd like me, really. There's never been a cocktail party I couldn't hate unless I'm giving it. Which I don't. Almost hardly. But when I do, it's wildly successful. And don't get me started on colors.
Expect to find us among artists, writers of fiction, memoir, and poetry, designers, counselors, accountants, librarians, and totally fascinating people. Do not look for us among sales reps for, if we make that career mistake, we shortly self-destruct, but you might well find us in the ad copy department. I have a feeling (and we're good at intuitive hunches) that Jon Huntsman and Barack Obama might be borderline HSP's but Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and Newt Gingrich...nah, nope, uh-uh. And Ron Paul is an alien, which is why he talks funny.
So, here's the fun part. In blogging, we usually wind up attracting those who share at least one of our interests, but, I submit, quite often they also share our sensory-processing traits. I theorize that there will be more of you taking the HSP self-test (which is not a magazine gimmick, but a tested, reliable, and verifiable scientific tool, but also short, easy, and fun) who find you're also an HSP than who do not.
Please take the test HERE and leave your results and any thoughts you have in a comment. You might ask a mate, partner, or best friend to take it, too. I'll devote my next post to our results.
Now, wasn't that fun? Thank you for playing and thank you, too, for your kind thoughts on my last post. I've felt so upbeat and energetic the last three days (dry, clear, seasonally cold, 30.40 Hg, but dropping again today), I tackled a chore two days ago that I've avoided for six years: I lit a fire, turned on NPR, dressed in my softest, snuggiest stay-at-home clothes, got the lighting perfect, perched on my grandfather's overstuffed chaise and sorted through the big stack of boxes of the china my mother hand painted in her last ten years. I kept only four pieces, and disposed of the rest in a manner I feel great about. Huge accomplishment for me.
Here are some additional links that might interest you.
Top Ten Survival Tips For The Highly Sensitive Person
HighlySensitivePeople.com
The book: The Highly Sensitive Person, by Elaine Aron, PhD. (Good price cut. Audio, but not Kindle yet)
"Scientists Still Mulling Causes of Weather-Related Pain", USAToday
The study: Sensory-Processing Sensitivity and It's Relation To Introversion And Emotionality
The wiki: Highly Sensitive Person
Ultra Sensitive? It's In Your Brain
In depth, Introduction To Sensory Processing Concepts
OK I just scored a 13, two items short of what is no doubt a pretty fuzzy line to qualify as a HSP. Noise and busy environments don't bother me, or at least they didn't use to. On the other hand, other people's mood rubs off (love being retired) and I do not find any redeeming value to violent movies/games. If forced to sit through some horror flick, I'd probably spend a lot of time studying the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteSo...I guess I'm borderline. But you knew that already.
I'm an INTJ also and of course scored 26. It's all too true for me except for the caffeine question. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know as many as 15-20% of the population had to deal with this also since I usually feel fairly alone in my perception of things.
Odd? I had never heard of HSP. And you were right; those of us that follow your blog tend to be like minded...the fact is that I am an HSP with 19 questions answered.
ReplyDeleteSome odd behaviors in my life that others raise their eyebrows at includes the fact that I can't make phone calls when someone else is around. Oh, I can but I don't like it. Also, I will get up and leave the room if there is something frightening on TV. Same with books; I put them down and only approach them again with caution if the writer has me gripped in a frightening scenario.
Some of this might be attributed to my M-B Type of INFP, but not all of it.
Okay, Nance, I only scored an eight. Some of it I could relate to but the language seemed to indicate a strong reaction where mine was more mild discomfort. It's possible I'm not as sensitive because my life doesn't require me to run into those situations (e.g. I'm not a mommy; I don't go to many loud parties). It's true that I dislike noise a lot. Leaf blowers actually make me homicidal. And I don't like to be somewhere where sounds compete with each other. I don't remember my Myers-Briggs score except that I was a strong introvert. This surprised me at the time because I was not shy, but then it was explained to me that it has to do with where you get your energy. But I'm probably, in general, laid back to the point of being comatose. Do you still like me?
ReplyDeleteRubye Jack,
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of service, ma'am. I, too, score a 26, so you are not alone.
I had a lovely patient once, a violinist and social activist, whose husband had divorced her and she was left feeling like she was so foreign and incompatible that no one could love her. She feared to hear it, but she felt she should be diagnosed so she could have an explanation for her rejection.
When she learned she was a bona fide HSP, not an alien or a social pariah, she got instantly better, liked and understood herself, went back to school, got a whole new career, met all new people, and had a ball. Not everything should be pathologized.
Steven,
I was so hoping you'd see this early. I knew you'd prove a true HSP from these years of reading your blog. I confess, I don't like the phone at all and never have. You are my brother from another mother ;)
Murr Brewster,
I was pretty sure you weren't an HSP. Your self-expression is uninhibited and full of joy. And poop. No HSP would ever post a picture of themselves in the jake. But rest assured that your HSP fans gobble those free-spirited posts like candy and can't wait for more. Your pursuits (arts, quilting, writing) are Introvert specialties but your spirit is all open sunshine. I love you to pieces.
Mr. Mature (belaymylast),
Yep, honey, I knew that. There aren't many HSP fighter pilots. Although I think Leo was one and the best of the bunch, too. I doubt that there's room in this town for two with my scores, but you're perfect for me just as you are.
Twenty-four and I'm not surprised. Not sure I would have had that many 10 years ago, though. Does age (ah-hem, wisdom) have anything to do with it? I do feel perceptive...more than ever. I thought of it as "life experience." Whatever, I think we're in some damn fine company!
ReplyDeleteKay from MB,
ReplyDeleteMr. Mature and I agree that we are both more sensitive with age--in terms of avoidance of over-stimulation. I'm not recalling anything in Aron's work to that effect, but it's anecdotally evident. I'm not sure if I'm more perceptive; it might be that I am so focused on avoiding sensory overload, I'm deliberately attending to fewer sources of stimulus and, thus, necessarily, less observant. My guess? If you sense that you're more sensitive in both respects, you probably really are. And we are in the very best company here.
Also an INTJ. Scored 22. Still away from home. Thanks for caring, Nance.
ReplyDeleteI scored an4... Further proof that it isn't genetic I guess! My big issue is noise and music at the same time (like radio static or a baby cry in the same room as music) and I don't like overhead lights. Otherwise... I'm good to go. I must give you HUGE props for keeping your relative cool when visiting my house... We r a HSP nightmare!
ReplyDeleteJerry of The Edge,
ReplyDeleteThat's a good, strong score. I wonder if INTJ's are highly represented in the HSP cohort.
Paula,
You're a delightful aberration, honey: all the sensitivity, sweetness of spirit, and creativity with none of the avoidance and timidness. I know of no one who could better fill your special shoes as glamorous, adventurous Navy wife and mother to a houseful of guys and dogs. HSP traits may be genetically transmitted but they are not 100% inheritable. I think Papa probably was HSP and Nana, most definitely not.
Nance, I get upset and nervous when taking a psychological test that's trying to pigeonhole me into a group of letters. Gulp ... does that make me HSP?
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I scored 15, so I'm kind of borderline on the whole HSP scale.
ReplyDeleteI was an INTJ when I took the personality test as a college student, and I probably still am. I suspect that bloggers tend to be introverts, since blogging reflects an active inner life.
Sightings,
ReplyDeleteCome on, buddy, I take your surveys. It's for Science. Be brave!
Ahab,
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should be looking for INTJ's.
Argh. These sorts of things drive me crazy (which response probably immediately pigeonholes me).
ReplyDeleteI scored a 12 on the HSP scale. Couldn't remember any of the Myers-Briggs results from earlier tests, so I went here and took a quick-and-freebie Myers-Briggs(ish) test which claims I am an INFJ (Introverted / Intuitive / Feeling / Judging, relatively weighted 67 / 62 /12 / 1 respectively).
Whenever I take personality tests like these, I'm beset with half-subconscious background radiation, so to speak: irrelevant but quite staticky considerations like "What are they going to say about me?" and "What do I *want* them to say about me?" keep making me lose the thread of the test-taking. With the HSP test, about halfway through I concluded I was in a category which you might call "highly sensitive but heavily armored." This seems to have been borne out by that ambiguous 12.
I scored 16, very intersting indeed
ReplyDeleteI watched this film last night. Buck. It was about a horse whisperer, in fact, the guy who schooled Redford for the part. You sound a lot like one of the horses he, Buck, worked with. Really sensitive, high spirited, and aggressive to the point that even Buck couldn't help. They had to put him down. Just an observation, you know.
ReplyDelete17. Never thought that I was all that sensitive. As a guy I am supposed to play it down. So now I am repressed and need a hug.
ReplyDeleteOh my. 23. But I think there might have been some redundancy in that test. All the same, bright lights scare me. As do loud noises. And too much to be done at the same time... ;)
ReplyDeleteJES,
ReplyDeleteYou are the very soul of an INFJ and a high-functioning example of that .5% of males with that profile. And, since INFJ males are often pulled thin by demands, heavy armor is a good idea. I think female INTJ's are about equally rare or a little more so; one site quotes .8% of females. Lord, it's lonely at the top ;)
Christy U,
I thought about you when I posted this. I had you pegged for an HSP. Wonder if the trait will strengthen as you get older?
Mr. Charleston,
This is majorly weird, dude! Mr. Mature and I watched that documentary, "Buck," last night, too. We didn't quite finish it, will watch the last 30 minutes tonight. So far, I haven't seen a horse Buck couldn't tame. You do mention that the rogue horse was a "him." Why, I'll have you know that I share traits with Jane Austen and Katie Couric and where would the world be if you put down Katie Couric?! They'd be stuck with Sarah Palin in office, that's where. Oh, dear. I'm having a hard time finding my way out of this little diatribe. Shucky durn.
Jono,
"As a guy I am supposed to play it down. So now I am repressed and need a hug."
I am collecting HSP males. Got yer hug, rightchere.
Jayne,
Of course, you are! That's how come you write so beautifully. And all valid tests have redundancy on the most heavily weighted questions.
Oh Lord, I didn't even have to take the test to know I was HSP. I did though:)
ReplyDeleteYou should see the lighting in my house. Dimmers on the recessed, carefully placed antique lamps with soft bulbs, and twinkly white lights in corners. And candles. But I do know my limitations well and handle them accordingly. My husband also calls me Underdog for my uncanny hearing ability.
I'm still laughing at Mr. Charleston's and Jono's (respectively) comments.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to dig out my Myers-Briggs scores from 30-ish years ago but I believe I was also INTJ. My HSP score = 18.
My friends will tell you I am reserved but not the least bit shy. I actually have a high tolerance for pain and I can often block out chaos. But I prefer a cricket-serenaded unpopulated (by people) wilderness 10000X over any event involving a crowd of humanity.
Give me a quiet, secluded corner table in a restaurant, please. And when I absolutely have to attend a public event, I'll take a seat in the back of the room ... and leave early so I can be the first one out of the parking lot.
I'm very laid back and people (especially women) who are too "perky and bubbly" as if they're always performing set my teeth on edge ... and make my slapping hand all twitchy (I know that sounds terrible but it's true! What the hell is wrong with them?). And the grocery store, where some shoppers push carts with the same level of incompetence with which they drive, is my definition of hell.
I feel so much better. Thanks for a fun ride, Nance!
Meg,
ReplyDeleteI'd be right at home at your place. I know there'd be wine, too.
Cognitive Dissenter,
"But I prefer a cricket-serenaded unpopulated (by people) wilderness..." With wolverines. Don't forget the wolverines. Mr. Charleston is just asking for me to go wolverine on him. (Oh, and INTJ is a good profile for a woman lawyer.)
I took the sensitivity test but became agitated that it didn't provide an numerical sensitivity score. As a result, now I have to purchase a new computer monitor!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I suffer more from Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), the longer periods of darkness I tend to find depressing. I use a light box to some degree... my preferred treatment, though, is to vacation in Mexico or Hawaii this time of year. If only I could get a prescription from my doctor for that [sigh]!
Robert,
ReplyDeleteFor research purposes, should I consider this a YES for HSP? I'm gonna. I've seen your work.
Until now, I've never heard the term HSP! Fascinating and it fits me. All of this time I've just thought of myself as weird! I scored a 22. I actually like scary movies and action shows. However, it's not the violence that attracts me but the moral dilemmas with which the protagonists must confront. Oh,and I'm also an INTJ. Thank you, Nance. I feel as if I'm in good company.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Mr. Charleston's comment is rather bizarre and vaguely threatening. Nonetheless, it contradicts my ethical sensibilities to recommend that he be put down but I have no problems with advocating that he be confined in maximum security.
ReplyDeleteSheria,
ReplyDeleteI was about to message you on FB to make sure you got a shot at the test. That's two women lawyers who endorse INTJ and HSP in the Comments so far. I'd be willing to bet my cousin Donna is another. Hope she sees this.
We just finished watching that horse whisperer documentary, "Buck." The horse in question was a neglected stud that was brain damaged by lack of oxygen at birth. He bit and wounded people. Very sad, very disturbing. I don't think Mr. Charleston, with whom I've had a cordial blogger relationship, really meant to be hurtful. Surely not.
Count me in. I scored a 23. (I was having a caffeinated Diet Dr. Pepper at the time, which will probably keep me up 'til 2 am, so add another point.) When I was a kid I couldn't abide wearing anything that was scratchy or stiff and drove my mother nuts if a bow on my dress didn't lie flat. Even now, comfort is the key component in clothing. I would have, what I now recognize as, anxiety attacks if I was in a new or strange situation. My mother used to say that I "lived in my own little world," which she was always trying to figure out.
ReplyDeleteJust today I was musing that I should get back into the Tarot card reading I used to do, but the thought of having to deal with all the unfamiliar energy that comes flowing in made me decide to nix that idea.
I, too, have been unusually affected by muscle and joint aches the last couple of weeks and dogged by depressed, negative thoughts and feelings. Maybe we're channeling each other's moods.
Thanks for this test---now at least I know I'm not alone in my strangeness. :)
Yes indeed, there is some ESPN going on here, but you will never convince me that artists, writers and poets are cut from the same cloth as accountants and librarians. Geez, you might as well throw in astronauts and pole dancers.
ReplyDeleteI scored 18
ReplyDeleteha....i scored 15, and i probably would have scored higher, especially on the questions dealing with noise, but i'm deaf. (i've always known that it's been a huge relief not to have to hear absolutely everything, especially if the sound is loud. leaf blowers....)
ReplyDeletebasically, i'm just a cranky old woman who enjoys her own company. call that whatever combination of initials you will.
texastrailerparktrash,
ReplyDeleteIs it science if I keep saying, "A-ha! I thought so!"? Probably not.
My mother was annoyed with me, too. She grew up in a rollicking household of eight sturdy, mouthy young 'uns. She had one and that one was always hot, cold, hungry, tired or some damn thing. We were oil and water. As you know, that makes for a complicated relationship as time goes by.
Mr. Charleston,
Yep, accountants and librarians. Not all HSP's share the same set of qualifying traits. But what those jobs have in common with the arts crowd and the soothsayers is that they usually work alone, in quiet circumstances where attention to detail and meticulous concentration are assets.
I have seen plenty of pole dancers in therapy, and can tick off the likely HSP's in my head. Yep, over-represented in that population. There's got to be some powerful dissociation happening on the stage and dissociation is just the flip side of acute concentration. You know, just a girl (or a guy) and that pole. Poles don't say much.
Space is reportedly kinda quiet, too ;) I can totally see it. I've also known at least one astronaut personally and I think he might have been borderline qualified. If there's a clear social role (pecking order) and a predominance of task-oriented, as opposed to socially oriented, interaction, a high functioning HSP would be superb in space. If he or she was one of the 30% of HSP's who are also extroverted? Slam dunk.
Xtreme English,
ReplyDelete"basically, i'm just a cranky old woman who enjoys her own company. call that whatever combination of initials you will."
Ah, a COWWEHOC. Sister, join the club.
Thanks for posting the easy test where I scored a 19. I thought I was sensitive to light and sound because of Lyme disease. I've also never understood my aversion to overhead lights my whole life. Years ago I stopped going to violent movies and agree I've become more sensitive with age. Oh, and I'm a painter. Guess I'd better read the book before I have my knee replacement next month and have some things in place at home for my recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.
Jan
Definitely HSP, overwhelmingly so.
ReplyDeleteBut weren't a lot of the questions repetitions?
I've learnt to cope, and avoid areas that stress me, but I'm also quite able to simply withdraw to the point where some people think I'm a moron, who never listens. But I'm only shy when it suits me. And never here in blogland.
Is there anything people like to do more than take psychological self-tests??
ReplyDeleteI already figured I was in there with you - my score is 16 and I've been told I'm an INTP.
And I'm so glad you're feeling better, because when you are, I am. (yup, I ticked that question)
It's hugely entertaining to come here.
Correction: Did I say my mother grew up in a household of eight young'uns? I did. I meant a household of eight with six young'uns. My family would have me committed for an error that gross.
ReplyDeleteJan Heigh,
Welcome! How'd you find this? Thanks for adding to the data and I hope you'll come again.
Friko,
You were another I had in mind as an HSP. One begins to get a feel from the blogs visited frequently. You turn your traits into the loveliest writing!
Deborah,
Yep, another HSP reports in. Your introspective, Austenesque pieces shout it...very softly. And you are a true empath. I'm so grateful for your visits here.
I'm an ESTJ and scored a 7 on the test. I'm quite unobservant, and because we had a lot of kids and noise I learned to tune a lot of things out.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still like reading your blog!
I scored an 18....I don't mind violent movies and most noise doesn't bother me. I'm an ISFJ, I think?? I was surprised that Christy didn't score higher too; but I think she's like me with violent movies and noise. I think she was more sensitive when she was little. I am growing more sensitive with age. I had the Sensitive Child Book when Jacob was little...trying to figure out what was going on with him (ADHD). He and Connor were (and still are to some degree) very sensitive to the feeling of fabrics, such as clothing, sheets, blankets. They refuse to wear certain items if they have appliques or iron-ons. They are both very finicky about they're shoes, too. Very interesting Watson.
ReplyDeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still like it that you read my blog.
Dianne,
Being a mommy notches us back on the sensitivity for a while, I think. The Mommy Switch is all powerful!
Well I hate the drab days and find myself looking at ways to get out of it by reading or watching movies. Lately I lie around too much!! I'm an HSP and have many environmental sensitivities. Foods too!
ReplyDeleteI scored 11. A lot of the questions were really vague. Like your response to arts and music. That would depend on the art or music.
ReplyDeleteI'm not placing much faith in this test, but it was interesting.
HSP to HSP---Beam me up, Scotty. Yep, I rang in a decent 21, enough to qualify. No surprise. As for pain, I have to say a good deal of mine left the room once the deteriorated bone etc left my poor, inflamed body. I still have other itisi(?) but they're easier to deal with than pre-THR.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I hate chaos, especially chaotic people who create chaotic situations by not being able to commit to a schedule, a sequence of events, whatever. We have people who visit us but can't tell us in advance exactly when they'll arrive or leave. That makes me nuts. I'm supposed to just hang loose and let it happen, I know, but I can't. I need facts, cold hard data. I don't handle surprises well. Is that part of the HSP syndrome, too, or just aging crankiness?
paula,
ReplyDelete"I don't handle surprises well. Is that part of the HSP syndrome, too, or just aging crankiness?"
It sure the heck is part of my HSP syndrome. Not sure if it's getting better or worse with age. Lemme think. Worse.
I didn't know I was going to have to take a test when I got here. I didn't study. I don't do parties. Bamboo under the fingernails instead, please. But, I scored 14. Border country, DMZ, or good old fashioned mediocrity? What does it meeeaaann?
ReplyDeleteTeresa Evangeline,
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're here. Can't oblige you on the fingernail bamboo, but welcome to my highly sensitive world. You passed!
SOrry, I am late on this!! I first heard about Highly Sensitive People back in 2000 when someone suggested i might be one. Er, yes! Read the book back then. I scored 22 on the test...
ReplyDeleteDropped by via Rubye Jack's blog, and find this fascinating. Officially, I scored 17, but would never, ever have categorized myself as even mildly sensitive.
ReplyDeleteRoxanne
The Good Luck Duck