Highly Sensitive

Psychologists and creativity coaches note that Highly Sensitive People are often creative, and that the personality trait helps develop creativity.

By Deborah Ward in Sense and Sensitivity

Being a sensitive man can present unique challenges as men are still held to a standard of masculinity that does not often include showing their feelings.

~~~

Dr. Ted Zeff has researched highly sensitive boys and men in five countries, and notes there are some distinct cultural differences. For example, North American (U.S. and Canada) HSMs (highly sensitive males) who reported that they had supportive parents as boys and who played group sports as a boy were “never” or “rarely” teased for being sensitive., and most sensitive boys in all countries indicated they “usually” or “always” thought there was something wrong with them during their childhood, and didn’t fit in with other boys. - From my post: Ted Zeff on highly sensitive boys and men
http://highlysensitive.org/371/

Solitude can help develop creativity, as many artists have found, including George Orwell, J.K. Rowling, Ani DiFranco and others.

Writer Susan Cain notes: “Now that you’re an adult, you might still feel a pang of guilt when you decline a dinner invitation in favor of a good book.

“Or maybe you like to eat alone in restaurants and could do without the pitying looks from fellow diners.

“Or you’re told that you’re ‘in your head too much,’ a phrase that’s often deployed against the quiet and cerebral.

“Of course, there’s another word for such people: thinkers.”

Improv trains you to be here now. Planning and Analyzing keep us from living in the moment.

"You see, for most of my life, I have perfected the skill of hiding (a skill most Highly Sensitive People hone well). We are thinkers, analyzers, and planners; spontaneity is not something that comes natural to us. We like to know exactly what we are going to do/say before we do it or say it. Not only do we intellectualize everything, but we have to be convinced that it’s the “right” thing to do or say."

~~~

My related post: Improvising Creativity

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/creative-mind/2012/04/improvising-creativity/

The correlation between being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and an emotional eater is too significant not to share. It’s a pairing that I see often – and one that I see in myself. The aim of this post is to share my knowledge of the Highly Sensitive Person in an effort to provide a sense of sanity to your emotional eating habits.

Shyness and introversion may seem to be the same in some ways, at least on the surface, and we may have both traits – but they are not the same thing. And they are not the same as the trait of high sensitivity. But being shy can be more intense if we are also highly sensitive.

~~

Read related post: Shyness, Introversion, Sensitivity – What’s the Difference? http://talentdevelop.com/3316/

By David Dobbs. "The turn lies in viewing problems such as depression, distractibility, or even aggression as downsides of a heightened sensitivity to experience that can also generate assets and contentment." ...

“These genes aren’t about risk,” says Jay Belsky, a University of California, Davis, psychologist who helped conceive and establish the plasticity-gene hypothesis. “It’s about a greater sensitivity to experience. If things go well for you when you’re young, the same genes that could have helped make a mess of you help to make you stronger and happier instead. It’s not vulnerability but responsiveness — for better or worse.”

~~~

Related post: Gifts and challenges of being highly sensitive

http://highlysensitive.org/330/gifts-and-challenges-of-being-highly-sensitive/

One aspect of a highly sensitive nervous system can be a strong startle response or startle reflex, which can be related to a vulnerability to anxiety.

Among the items in the Self-Test for sensitivity by Dr. Elaine Aron is “I startle easily.”

In an edition of her Comfort Zone newsletter titled The Benefits of Being Highly Sensitive, for Ourselves and Our World, Dr. Aron notes that “our reaction time is actually faster than others, and we startle more easily — those are instances of super fast processing, thanks to a nervous system designed to do things thoroughly, so that it is also efficient.”

This trait of high sensitivity nurtures our creativity and social activism, but also brings challenges. Psychologist Elaine Aron and others describe it as a more finely tuned nervous system. She explains, "It means you are aware of subtleties in your surroundings, a great advantage in many situations. It also means you are more easily overwhelmed..." How does being a highly sensitive person impact our feelings and our lives?

Related post: http://highlysensitive.org/218/

"I was the shyest human ever invented, but I had a lion inside me that wouldn't shut up." - Ingrid Bergman
~ ~
Related posts:

Artistic confidence – Being shy and an actor
http://theinneractor.com/42/being-shy-and-an-actor/

Actors and High Sensitivity
http://highlysensitive.org/4/actors-and-high-sensitivity/

Shyness, Introversion, Sensitivity – What’s the Difference?

http://talentdevelop.com/3316/

“The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint”

Marianne Moore (American Poet, 1887-1972)

Many artists, including actors, are highly sensitive and use this trait to be even more creative. But it can also lead to being emotionally overwhelmed, if you don’t take care of yourself. Everyone has some sensitivity to inner experiences and emotions, to the moods of others, and to many other sensations. But highly sensitive people have unusually strong awareness and reactivity, and are more likely to be shy or introverted – even though those are all different traits.

http://theinneractor.com/using-your-high-sensitivity-personality-as-an-actor/

Many apparently very self-assured performers and actors have been shy or introverted as children. Many still are, as adults. And many have found that performing has changed their level of confidence. Being highly sensitive – as many artists are – can interact with shyness and introversion.

Rebel Wilson ("Pitch Perfect") was painfully shy...one day, her mother dragged her to an acting class..."

Many highly talented actors like Claire Danes report feeling shy, socially isolated and highly sensitive during periods of their life.

She commented about acting in her tv series My So-Called Life:  "I really was a miserable teenager. I did not perform well socially in junior high. I was a strange girl and I was in a lot of pain because of that like most teenagers. But I had the privilege of venting and complaining about it in a way people took seriously.“To have a forum to release my frustration and anger was an incredible gift. It was very cathartic."

Being highly sensitive may include or even encourage social isolation, and involve more than usual challenges with friendships and romance. True peer relationships can be rare and demanding.
http://highlysensitive.org/272/

http://highlysensitive.org/434/ - Are creative people unusually sensitive? Clinical and research reports confirm that is often true -- and is confirmed by many creative people about their own experience.