Are you a highly sensitive person?

After being alive for 20 years, I have finally realized that I am a highly sensitive person. It may be as much of a biological trait as it is a product of my upraising. I strongly believe that being highly sensitive is in my nature. Being overly stimulated is exhausting and frightening. I worry about things that people say cannot be changed. My genetic trait apparently means that I am easily overwhelmed by taking risks, and that i am more sensitive to pain than the average person. This trait makes sense from a survival point of view because i would be an organism who would be extra careful to stay alive and pass on my genes which must be how i got them in the first place. I believe it is from my mother who reacts to everything and is overprotective of me. Do you have any tips on living in a world where the threshold for pain stimulatuon is higher. It has affected my social life and work life negativelty.

Yes, i believe i am HSP, as i tick-all-the-boxes in online HSP tests.
My AvPD (avoidance) i guess is partly the result of being HSP, as i am always wanting to avoid anxiety-inducing physical/sensory situations.

Practically, the only advice i can give is: wear earplugs (greatly reduces the audio hyper-sensitivity). I now wear them all day, every day, including while asleep. They make all noises seem less "harsh", certainly less loud.

Otherwise, maybe you could check out some websites or forums on it (eg hsperson.com). Even better would probably be to buy a book/s on it (eg "The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You" by Elaine Aron). I probably should do this, but i alays have other issues/things that always seem much more important to do.

I am an HSP as well. Just being alive is traumatizing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/o...f-being-alive.html?pagewanted=2&smid=li-share

This is how life is. Some people have it worse than others. People who can't take the trauma of life are eliminated from the race for survival.

What I notice in successful people is they have very thick skin. They are impervious to insults from other people. I think their sense of pride/ego is big.

It's also good to have hobbies you can fall back on when the going gets tough. When I went through rough times, I watched funny youtube videos and read manga.

I suspect a lot sufferers of anxiety are sensitive. I am.

Some people say it's a blessing in disguise, that the world needs more sensitive people, or highly sensitive in my case, but in reality the world needs men who are men, not whining heartbleeders which I naively thought was just a phase growing up. I despise being hypersensitive and resent others who reflect the same characteristic.

I'd say so...

I am. Its a hard trait to live with sometimes. Specially when you're around people who are either way oversensitive or cold as ice.

Aye! It's hard, though. Especially when yer aroon people who aren't particular emotionally sensitive. Well, fur me, anyway...

Ah don't know... :idontknow: Mibbe am just a difficult c*nt tae live wi'... ?!