This book is being passed around at work:

Making Work Work for the Highly Sensitve Person by Barrie Jaeger

Sensitive is used here to mean perceptive and deep.

Is there anybody who can relate to preferring a quite working environment as opposed to big open plan noisy offices?

An excerpt at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0071...0V#reader-page

Yes, I definitely prefer a quite working environment, as I'm a Highly Sensitive Person. I've read the book "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elain Aron.

African Princess, there are some interesting posts on this forum which give some more understanding:

http://www.aimoo.com/forum/freeboard...p;NoCaches=Yes

Evidently HSP's (abbreviation) make up 20% of the population in America. Don't know what the percentage is like for the UK.

Think I would include myself as one.

If you find you are a highly sensitive person, or your child is, then you need to be aware of the following points:

• This trait is normal--it is inherited by 15 to 20% of the population, and indeed the same percentage seems to be present in all higher animals.
• Being an HSP means your nervous system is more sensitive to subtleties. Your sight, hearing, and sense of smell are not necessarily keener (although they may be). But your brain processes information and reflects on it more deeply.
• Being an HSP also means, necessarily, that you are more easily overstimulated, stressed out, overwhelmed.
• This trait is not something new I discovered--it has been mislabeled as shyness (not an inherited trait), introversion (30% of HSPs are actually extraverts), inhibitedness, fearfulness, and the like. HSPs can be these, but none of these are the fundamental trait they have inherited.
• The reason for these negative misnomers and general lack of research on the subject is that in this culture being tough and outgoing is the preferred or ideal personality--not high sensitivity. (Therefore in the past the research focus has been on sensitivity's potential negative impact on sociability and boldness, not the phenomenon itself or its purpose.) This cultural bias affects HSPs as much as their trait affects them, as I am sure you realize. Even those who loved you probably told you, "don't be so sensitive," making you feel abnormal when in fact you could do nothing about it and it is not abnormal at all.

The book The Highly Sensitive Person is a general introduction to the topic.

The Highly Sensitive Person's Workbook can be used alone, without the first book, although its chapters parallel those in the first book. Its purpose is to help HSPs integrate their understanding of their trait into their lives. I have found that HSPs need to spend time reframing their past, getting used to how to think and talk about themselves, and planning for a life based on a deeper understanding of their basic nervous system. The Workbook is designed for that. At the request of many, it also has a long section on how to run a discussion group for HSPs.

pasted from:

http://www.hsperson.com/

CD/tape .....might get this as I can find more time to listen than read a book:

http://www.hsperson.com/pages/store.htm

Ignore the fact that she is trying to sell her books...still some food for thought.

Yes, it was really helpfull and such a reliefto read her books. When I read her book I had alot of "aha moments". I could definitely relate to the real-life patientscenarios she was describing.

I don't live in the Uk, but in Holland. I've read somewhere on a Dutch site that approximatly 15 % of the Dutch population isa HSP.

I always felt like I should be tougher and that I shouldn't be affectedby peoples emotions. Especially now I'm in uni and attending class with sometimes200 people at the same time. It can be very stressfull not to be affected by other people's moods, noises etc. People think I'm confident (on the surface that is), so I feel like I have to hide the fact that I'm very sensitive.

However, I do feel there are alot of postive points of being a HSP. I can easilysense how other people feel and empathize, I notice these little sublte things that other people miss, I can intensly enjoy beauty, art, music etc. , I can be very passionateabout things,people in my lifeand I haveastrong intuition. But I think I have to learn to trust my intuition. I really feel like whatever I'm experiencing(good or bad) it's deeply.

There is a test based on theCarl Jungs typology. If you take the test you will find out to what type you belong.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

@African Princess, Madame Butterfly:

Yeh, totally agree. What a relief to know I'm not the only one!

I would encourage people to 'come out' it is really empowering. It beats hiding a part of yourself away for the sake of fitting in. But its not always safe to admit that we have traits which are not encourage in the society we live in.

Being spiritual (not religious), creative are what makes us able to feel stuff which goes over the heads of others; and because they don't see it they think it isn't so,and thinkwe must be the odd ones!

But nobody is odd, we just have different traits. Traits which make living in the fast paced, competitive, 'me, me, me' world hard.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOps .....It has just come to my notice that I should have posted this on 'Book Review'.

Oh well nobody's perfect!

lol@madame butterfly

'Spirituality
Once HSPs stop trying to become strong and tough extroverts, they often develop a keen interest in and gratitude for their consciousness, which benevolently takes them into unexplored realms. These complex inner realms, largely avoided by others, become their individuated paths to wholeness and happiness.'

This is our reward if we are brave enough!


or

Your mission should you choose to accept it.....

blkexercise blkexercise blkexercise

I also reccomand the book"Are you really too sensitive?" by Marcy Calhoun. She gets into the deeper meanings of being Highly Sensitive(spiritual and metaphysical)

"The introverts advantage" by Marti Olsen. But it depends onif you're a introvert or an extrovert, as you can still be an extrovert and a HSP at the same time.

@ Madam Butterfly, I know what you mean by picking things up others don't see. Sometimes I comment on something and people willask in a sceptical way"how do you know?"and I just say"I just have that feeling..I don't know". It sometimes makes me look like a fool lol. But it's good to trust your instincts, as you're usually right(not always obviously).

Yay!!! So now I know that there are others like me...

I looked at that whole page and a lot of it rang true...
HSP Extrovert... that's me...

@african princess: I just did that test. As usual I find it hard to answer when I have have two choices as in different circumstances I behave differently (I suppose we learn from this our environment to survive). So I found it hard to know what I would do given no social constraints.

Anyway, I gave it a go......result ...INFJ

Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging....hmmmm I'll have to read the blurb to see how well it fits me.

Thanks for the book recommendations!