tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735505480920212951.post3236931414083507731..comments2023-11-11T12:15:22.723+02:00Comments on skryfblok: Yup, that's me: "Highly Sensitive Person"Skryfblokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00329458286217107784noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735505480920212951.post-88840447667958596252014-08-03T08:30:20.698+02:002014-08-03T08:30:20.698+02:00Gord,
Thanks for the nice long reply.
What I li...Gord,<br /><br />Thanks for the nice long reply. <br /><br />What I like about Aron's theory is that it helps me understand why some things seriously bother me, like the volume at the movie theater and the rest of the audience seem utterly content, or why I can hardly stand the brightness of the light in a room, while other people are quite oblivious to it. And as I mentioned, it opened up some coping strategies for me. <br /><br />As you mentioned, it doesn't seem to be an official clinical description, but it does offer me a framework to cope with.<br /><br />I like your idea of "geeks" likely being HSP. Makes sense.<br /><br />The concept of certain genetic traits going together also resonate with me -- I have noticed for instance in my own immediate and extended family how those with red hair (particularly the men) have a predisposition to becoming alcoholics; most of them are alcoholics. (Hence my own avoidance of alcohol.) <br /><br />Keep well!Skryfblokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00329458286217107784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735505480920212951.post-54514158051399288112014-07-13T21:35:31.587+02:002014-07-13T21:35:31.587+02:00Hey, Sanko!
So, I found this interesting. I think...Hey, Sanko!<br /><br />So, I found this interesting. I think it was about in about 2009 that my ex introduced me to the idea of HSPs, and gave me a copy of Aron's book, which I immediately read about half of, and was certain described me. I even posted about it briefly, as a partial explanation why some expats go bananas trying to understand Korea while others don't:<br /><br />http://www.gordsellar.com/2012/05/16/debito-arudous-micro-aggressions-what-really-drives-the-highly-sensitive-expat-crazy/<br /><br />(I've sort of abandoned the HSP component of that explanation since, mind.)<br /><br />I did a little more reading, inspired by some of the comments about Aron and her HSP designation, which... well, I'm a little more leery about whether it's a clinically valid differentiation, or maybe lacking some necessary complexity to be creditable; but surely people have different degrees of sensitivity, that it's probably linked to temperament, and that society tends to skew toward the middle of the bell-curve, as with so many things. <br /><br />It's just that while I found it comforting to be told I was part of a special group who are more sensitive, and more creative, and more likely to make great contributions to the world (which is something Aronson suggests at some point in her book). It's all very, well... emotionally rehabilitative, but maybe also seductive in a way where I'm not comfortable letting ti become too big a part of how I self-identify, if that makes sense. <br /><br />That said, I share a lot of these traits, especially the whole overstimulation and extreme sensitivity to pain and discomfort... which brings me to an interesting observation: there's a genetic predisposition to very different and higher pain sensitivity among people with red hair:<br /><br />http://io9.com/5890463/redheads-experience-pain-differently-than-the-rest-of-us<br /><br />And, maybe like with other traits, a recessive gene for red hair may affect temperament and particularly sensitivity:<br /><br />http://www.medicaldaily.com/even-if-you-dont-have-red-hair-recessive-gene-may-affect-your-health-243961 <br /><br />It may well be that there's some connection between pain sensitivity and other kinds of sensitivity. It may also be that there's a complex interaction going on, and that I only got part of it myself, because about half of the traits you list apply to me, and about half don't, or only apply in a limited way. Certainly by Aron's definition I'm an HSP, and in fact I suspect a lot of writers are--indeed, I imagine a lot of "geeks" are and was considering doing some research to see whether SF fandom in general might have some degree of HSP overrepresentation. <br /><br />At the time, I noticed that the whole HSP paradigm hadn't spread beyond Aron's diagnostic practice, generally speaking, and that her book itself felt more like a self-help book than a critical, nuanced discussion of human temperament. But there's more research going on, now, and... well, anyway. Just thoughts, I guess, and certainly not debunking or bashing, by any means! :)gordsellarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11465812613427778240noreply@blogger.com