Highly Sensitive

Many performers and actors experience shyness and are introverted or highly sensitive. Many people find performing changes their level of self confidence.

Amy Adams says, “Being an actress hasn’t made me insecure. I was insecure long before I declared I was an actress.”

Are you tired of conforming to society’s standards or the expectations of others just to fit in? Are you ready to allow the creative artist in you to emerge fully in the world?

Those quotes by coach and author Cheryl Richardson relate to her extensive writing and teaching on self-care for creative and highly sensitive people.

She is presenting “Self-Care for the Creative Soul” with Alanis Morissette – a retreat March 2-6, 2014, at Miraval Resort in Tucson, Arizona.

As creativity coach Eric Maisel notes, emotion is the life blood of art - but that doesn’t mean you should be a slave to your emotions.

The creative process helps us define what we want and how to achieve it. It helps us develop our own authority and therefore manage our lives better.

One aspect of high sensitivity is increased sensory input. There are some intriguing research studies on how this works at the level of the brain and nervous system, and how it affects creative ability.

"When you can clearly identify and regulate your own emotions, you’ll tend to be able to function skillfully in the presence of strong emotions (your own and others’), rather than being overtaken or knocked out of commission by them."

Karla McLaren - author of The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life's Most Essential Skill. http://buff.ly/1ipyp1G

Jean Houston thinks "what we call the psychic trait is something that is extended through our nervous system as part of our perceptual sensibilities."

Build your reputation — without the schmoozing.

by Dorie Clark - 'I had just finished a talk at a leading technology company when an engineer approached me. “I liked your ideas about personal branding, and I can see how they’d work,” he told me. “But most of them aren’t for me — I’m an introvert. Is there anything I can do?” What he didn’t realize is that (like an estimated one-third to one-half of the population) I’m one, too.'

book: Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future by Dorie Clark. http://shrd.by/Rt29O4

Cultures can support our well being but when they do not, the people can suffer from cultural depression - the symptoms of living in an unsatisfying system.

Like many talented artists, Emma Watson identifies herself as introverted:

“I feel like I’ve been given a lot of credit where it isn’t due that I don’t like to party. The truth is that I’m genuinely a shy, socially awkward, introverted person."

Cheryl Richardson: "The more you become your own best champion, supporter, cheerleader, and trusted confidant, the better able you’ll be to fully and joyfully express your blessed creativity. That’s when your art becomes more and more successful in the world. It begins with treating yourself with love, respect, kindness, and compassion."

Learn more about her Live Online Course: "The Art of Extreme Self-Care" starting Feb 12, 2014. http://highlysensitive.org/TAoESC

Shyness, introversion and high sensitivity are different, but can overlap and interact. There are many resources for helping us thrive with these traits.

“We introverts often find ourselves succumbing to this pressure to join the fun, so we push past our point of psychic exhaustion…But we have to pace ourselves, manage our energy, and in this most wonderful time of the year, we sometimes have to rely on subterfuge to do so." Sophia Dembling

Winona Ryder starred in the film based on Susanna Kaysen‘s novel "Girl, Interrupted" and thinks Kaysen “captures a mood we’ve all experienced."

Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. has said she has seen “too many” highly sensitive children and adults “whose depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem prevent them from expressing whatever talents they have.”

Many creative people are considered shy, sensitive or introverted, or identify themselves as one or all of these.

But shyness – a form of anxiety – should be clearly distinguished from the personality traits of introversion and high sensitivity, although all three can overlap in many ways.

Photo: "Solitude has its own very strange beauty to it." Liv Tyler

In an article of hers, Elaine Aron, Ph.D. describes some of the basic qualities of the personality trait of high sensitivity. Here is the article.

You may belong to the 20% of us who innately prefer to think before acting.

Are you famous for being slow to make decisions?

Do you need more down time than your friends do?

Are you bothered by noise, crowds, and having too much going on at once?

Are you unusually conscientious? Creative? Have a rich inner life?

Acclaimed for her performance in “Zero Dark Thirty” (she garnered an Academy Award nomination) as a CIA analyst named Maya who untiringly pursues Osama bin Laden, Jessica Chastain has talked about some aspects of her personal life that may have helped her create such powerful characters.

In an interview on the Charley Rose Show, Jessica Chastain talked about being somewhat a loner as a child, and with an active imagination – like many artists. She also says that at age seven she discovered her identity as an actor. [Hear audio clip]