Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

Yes, reading your post makes me think that I am.

Like you, I can't watch violent TV shows or films, though i cant really explain why, other than by saying that they make me feel bad.
I can't function without proper alone time, either, and hate people 'watching' me.

Too much noise really sets me on edge (which is a problem in my daily life as my DH has TV on constantly, and loud too because of his poor hearing).

The mention of certain fabrics against the skin reminds me of my childhood. I can remember not wanting to sit on the furniture in one relatives house because I found the feel of the fabric on my bare legs unbearable - it had the same effect on me as the sound of chalk on a blackboard.
Sandpaper has a similar effect on me, in fact just thinking about it makes me cringe!

BlueBelle also says things that I can strongly relate to.
In recent years, I've come to strongly suspected that I am autistic, though there is one classic trait that I seem to have the opposite of - far from not being able to read people's emotions, I am ultra-sensitive to them.

I scored 16 on the questionnaire.

Hello AussieGran, thank you for this, it's so interesting for me. I've always been highly sensitive, needing plenty of time on my own but just put it down to being an introvert. Like you Fanny I hate summer and am in my element in cold climes. Winter can't come quickly enough for me. I feel like I'm in an alien land when everyone is talking about this 'lovely hot weather' and I'm thinking 'nooooooo!!!!' Oddly enough I adore bright colours and find beige/magnolia/camel colours really unsettling! I blurt out stuff I don't mean to say but fortunately I have lots of lovely friends who seem to understand me. As a child I used to hide under a hedge in our garden and have always wondered what I was avoiding at home. Now I realise it was my way of finding silence. My six-year-old granddaughter is, I think, similar. She asks not to have birthday parties, hates the noise and attention, but always has to endure them. After all, what parent wouldn't want to give a young child a birthday party!! I loathed parties as a child, too much of everything!

Thanks for that, Fanny. I scored 11 on that so not highly but somewhat. I think when I was younger I would have scored a fair bit higher I have to say !

I’d forgotten the startling easy thing!
Anything and everything startle me. People walking into rooms I’m in, or talking to me when I’m not expecting it.
I literally jump in the air.
DH calls me Skippy, after the kangaroo ?

This is probably the best website.
There is a quiz / test too
hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/

nanna8 I wouldn’t say that ‘saying the wrong thing’ is a trait of an HSP
They are more likely to say the ‘right thing’ due to a heightened sense of empathy; and (over) thinking things through very carefully

Hello Aussiegran
Thank you for starting this thread.
It’s a very interesting subject
Yes. I found about the HSP thing about five years ago.
I am definitely, 100% an HSP
It made such a lot of sense to me, and I understood various ‘odd’ things about me.
Especially my hatred of Summer and hot weather (sensory overload)
And having to wear loose clothes and certain fabrics.
My father’s side of the family is very much on Autism Spectrum, and I do wonder if the two things are related. I think that they probably are.

No, I’m not but I do know someone who is and it is hard for them because people judge them and the one I know is a bit isolated. She does tend to say the wrong thing at times but there is not a nasty bone in her body, it is just her way.

It can be connected to autism too ….highly sensitive to certain noises, feelings, clothes on skin, more acute hearing that even small things can jangle your nervous system
I m sure it’s not comfortable living on this high alert But there are tips and ideas that can help different sensitivities Music can often help