Highly sensitive people have a more sensitive nervous system; they are just born that way. Studies have shown that they use different parts of the brain in different ways to non-HSPs. One of the effects of this different way of …
Category: Healing
Misinterpretations of Highly Sensitive People
HSPs have a more sensitive nervous system than 80% of the population. It takes less for them to become overwhelmed and need to go somewhere quiet. A visit to a busy shopping centre might become overwhelming, or give them a …
Do You Feel Valued as a Highly Sensitive Person?
Reading Elaine Aron’s wonderful book “The Highly Sensitive Person”, I came across this research. The study highlighted traits that made children more popular in different cultures. It revealed that Chinese children naturally value shyness more than Canadian children. In fact, …
Feeling Criticised as a Highly Sensitive Person
Aron (2016) estimates that 15-20% of the population is an HSP. Being HSP is no better or worse than not being an HSP, they are just different, and for an HSP growing up in a family of non-HSPs, it can …
Nervous System Sensitivities in Highly Sensitive people
What is it like to be an HSP? As an HSP, the world can feel overwhelming. Bright lights, loud noises, and itchy fabrics can be incredibly disturbing. For me, I have found the subtleties of relationships particularly intense. I have …
Being a Highly Sensitive Person
It is estimated that 15-20% of the population is highly sensitive. There is even a scale to measure it! (Benham, 2006). Elaine Aron’s book “The Highly Sensitive Person” discusses this personality type in depth. She has a short test – …
Expanding Your Window of Tolerance
With time and focus, you CAN widen your window of tolerance. The key is being able to make contact with strong emotions without becoming so overwhelmed that they cannot be integrated. The safest way to do this is with the …
Indications of Hypoarousal
It is difficult for healing to occur when we are in hypo or hyper arousal. We need to be within our ‘window of tolerance’ where the prefrontal cortex is switched on, and our cognition is online. Different self-regulation tools can …
How to Reduce Hyperarousal
Hyperarousal is when excessive energy is expressed as anxiety, panic, feeling out of control and wanting to run away. It is challenging to relax when this happens as our body has gone into fight or flight mode. It is difficult …
Indications of Hyperarousal
As we move through life, most of the time, we are within a safe range of arousal, which means a state where we can function well as human beings. We can self-regulate, feel grounded and present, and the reasoning part …