# Hypersensitivity



## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

I found this description of hypersensitivity (http://similarminds.com/types/hypersensitivity.html) and I want to find out more about it. I also bought the book The Highly Sensitive Person yesterday so I've just started it. Does anyone know anything about it or have any good resources?


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## Perfectly~Flawed (Jun 13, 2005)

Here is a article I found about hypersensitivity it also metions the book you just bought. Hope it helps you.

http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh091304-story04.html


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## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

Thanks, that was a good article. It makes some of the points in the beginning of the book. This book is amazing even though I'm only a few chapters into it. It made my jaw drop. It explains so much.


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## On the way (Feb 9, 2006)

That's a great book. It really helped me feel better about a trait I've had forever, and that always made me feel out of place and "wimpy." I like how it brings home the strengths of sensitivity, and helps you understand processes like being overstimulated. It was very helpful to me. I even changed my email address to "hsp" for a while... Good stuff.


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## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

LittleZion said:


> It really helped me feel better about a trait I've had forever


 me too, so far. it points out the good and the bad whereas all I can find elsewhere is the bad. Why is it so horrible to be sensitive?


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## On the way (Feb 9, 2006)

pixiedust said:


> LittleZion said:
> 
> 
> > It really helped me feel better about a trait I've had forever
> ...


I just look at it as our culture's problem/blindness. We value the "warrior" types -- the go-getters, highly energetic, outgoing, highly productive types that are always interacting and pushing forward. Our culture is built around that, our economy depends on it, and people like that are by far the majority.

So I've come to think of myself as a unique minority, with unique gifts to lend to a culture bent on being as busy and productive as possible ... I think all sensitive people have gifts that the culture, and that other people around them, badly need. That certainly includes you, too.

Of course, I get overstimulated by this hyperactive culture so often, and anxious besides, that these gifts and abilities get "short-circuited," so to speak. but hey, I'm working on it...


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## inquisitive1973 (Nov 11, 2003)

I bought the HSP cd's and I found them really good - the description was great and very accurate. I wish they would link 'highly sensitive" as being similar to something else because there are not many books written on it and it's hard to know what to do if you're "highly sensitive". My best guess of where highly sensitive comes from is perhaps growing up with a critical parent, codependence and/or OCD.


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## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

You don't think we are born that way inquisitive1973? I don't really know. 

I think that issues like SA arise because of hypersensitivity. I see it as more of a cause and effect rather than a linear link.


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## Melusine (Jun 19, 2004)

Yep, i'm hypersensitive just reading the descriptions, fits me so well.


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## inquisitive1973 (Nov 11, 2003)

*sensory integration?*

Actually after thinking about this for a bit, another thing that hypersensitivity could be comparable to is having sensory integration troubles - where we can sometimes be hypersensitive in our sight, hearing, sense of touch, smell, taste or coordination - and sometimes hyposensitive (very unaware). I think 90% of people with ADD have some sensory integration troubles. I just ordered a book called sensory perceptual issues in Autism and asperger syndrome - it's one of the only books I could find on sensory integration. Personally, I'm sometimes hypersensitive to sounds but hyposensitive in sight. I'll notice every single sound going on around me (which can irratate the people making it) - but some days I can look at a group of 10 people and spend about 15 seconds looking at each individual face before I can pick out the person I'm looking for - which can be frustrating and annoy some people.

Pixiedust, I think it can be genetic because I believe sensory integration is genetic.

But another possibility is some of us may have been trained to be hypersensitive by being raised by a critical parent who expected us to read their mind to give them what they wanted. A great book on this is children of the Self absorbed by nina brown - it's about being raised by a narcisisstic parent - that is a parent that can only think of themselves and doesn't respect their children's rights to be their own person.

I hope more books are written on hypersensitivity so it's more clear what causes it and how to deal with it better in situations that are overstimulating.


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## Maseur Shado (Jun 7, 2005)

*Re: sensory integration?*



inquisitive1973 said:


> But another possibility is some of us may have been trained to be hypersensitive by being raised by a critical parent who expected us to read their mind to give them what they wanted. A great book on this is children of the Self absorbed by nina brown - it's about being raised by a narcisisstic parent - that is a parent that can only think of themselves and doesn't respect their children's rights to be their own person.


Or a third possibility...that you could have been born with a genetic tendency towards HSP, and one or both of the parents picked up on this trait early on in your childhood. And decided to use it to their advantage. Because I would almost lay a bet down that accounts for over half of the cases of HSP.

(None of the above said by me makes any sense. OF COURSE).


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## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

*Re: sensory integration?*



inquisitive1973 said:


> Actually after thinking about this for a bit, another thing that hypersensitivity could be comparable to is having sensory integration troubles - where we can sometimes be hypersensitive in our sight, hearing, sense of touch, smell, taste or coordination - and sometimes hyposensitive (very unaware). I think 90% of people with ADD have some sensory integration troubles. I just ordered a book called sensory perceptual issues in Autism and asperger syndrome - it's one of the only books I could find on sensory integration. Personally, I'm sometimes hypersensitive to sounds but hyposensitive in sight. I'll notice every single sound going on around me (which can irratate the people making it) - but some days I can look at a group of 10 people and spend about 15 seconds looking at each individual face before I can pick out the person I'm looking for - which can be frustrating and annoy some people.
> 
> Pixiedust, I think it can be genetic because I believe sensory integration is genetic.


 Well I personally don't have any of those other disorders but I can say that I think I have hypersensitive hearing. I don't know much about sensory integration, this entire topic is fairly new to me. I don't know if it's genetic or not. I know that when I was born I was a fairly well adjusted baby, didn't cry much, slept a lot. When I was a young child (as in maybe under 4 yrs old) I was extremely outgoing. Nobody has really been able to figure out what happened causing me to change but I know by the time I was 7 I had some pretty serious anxiety and was very sensitive. It's the fact that some of the things that she describes like motion as a baby and my hypersensitive hearing that makes me believe that this could be gentic. But like I said, I'm new to the topic so I'm just trying to pick up on other's knowledge right now. For Maseur Shado, I don't think that my parents tried to take advantage of my sensitivity, I really believe that they tried to do their best but just didn't have the resources or knowledge to help me.



> But another possibility is some of us may have been trained to be hypersensitive by being raised by a critical parent who expected us to read their mind to give them what they wanted. A great book on this is children of the Self absorbed by nina brown - it's about being raised by a narcisisstic parent - that is a parent that can only think of themselves and doesn't respect their children's rights to be their own person.


 My parent's weren't narcissistic but my mom has anxiety and is overprotective and controlling, sometimes critical. (stereotypical, I know) I also had a sick sibling so I had to be a little more independent than normal. I was lucky enough to have dated a narcissist and I can't even imagine what it must be like to have had one as a parent. I came out very sensitive without that aspect so I don't know if I would have lasted in that kind of an environment.



> I hope more books are written on hypersensitivity so it's more clear what causes it and how to deal with it better in situations that are overstimulating.


 You seem very knowledgeable on the subject so you probably know that she has some other books out there. I don't know much about them yet.


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## Anxiety75 (Feb 10, 2004)

Fenikx said:


> Here is a article I found about hypersensitivity it also metions the book you just bought. Hope it helps you.
> 
> http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh091304-story04.html


 I think that is such a great article! I have printed it off and highlighted points and I'm giving some copies to friends.

:thanks


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## Perfectly~Flawed (Jun 13, 2005)

pixiedust said:


> Thanks, that was a good article. It makes some of the points in the beginning of the book. This book is amazing even though I'm only a few chapters into it. It made my jaw drop. It explains so much.





Anxiety75 said:


> I think that is such a great article! I have printed it off and highlighted points and I'm giving some copies to friends.
> :thanks


Youre welcome, Im just trying to do my part and help out where I can, glad the article helped in some way.


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## inquisitive1973 (Nov 11, 2003)

Pixiedust - you said your mom was sometimes critical - an overcritical parent I think may result in us being hypersensitive. But like you said, I agree there are some genetic factors to. One of the best books I read was emotionally unavailable - it talked about the effects of having a critical parent.

You also said another sibling had a disability of some kind. Being raised in a family like this can sometimes result in codependence - which I think could become related to being hypersensitive - because you feel like it's your responsibility to look after others' needs

I think some parents can use our hypersensitivity against us - depending on the parent


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## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

inquisitive1973 said:


> You also said another sibling had a disability of some kind. Being raised in a family like this can sometimes result in codependence - which I think could become related to being hypersensitive - because you feel like it's your responsibility to look after others' needs


Actually I think I became overly independent because of it. My mom was overprotective and always around but I probably had to take care of myself, at least emotionally, more so than most. My sibling's disability is mild but it still required a lot of doctors visits and really her needs came first. I know my mom tried her best though. While I do have some characteristics of co-dependency, it doesn't seem to really fit the bill for me. I can see how co-dependency would be related to hypersensitivity though.


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## GaryUranga (Apr 22, 2006)

I think this might be my case too, Im over sensitive to ppl making annoyign sounds and such, and not to mention how everyone says Im such a great advice giver.

maybe I have a bit of a genetical predisposition to this but my mom has always been really critical, my dad kind of gets in bad moods quite often so that definetly helped to make it a problem.

I rememebr this one time I was like 8 and I came over to my aunt's house with this friend of mine (a girl) and I got so overly bothered by my older cousins about it, since then Ive always been afraid of talking about liking a girl to someone when its not online.. if thats not hps I dont know what it is.


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## inquisitive1973 (Nov 11, 2003)

A lot of what I've read in this thread sounds familiar. For myself, I think the following affect me:

-being hypersensitive - being aware of almost every sound (and trying to hide this awareness)
-having an overly critical mother - who I think was also a narcissist
-codependence - feeling responsible for others feelings and behavior
-independence - wanting to be seperate so I don't have to be responsible for others
-OCD - obsessing about being criticised, others been mean, being misinterpretted etc
-I think sensory integration problems - trouble processing what I see very quickly (like seeing the individual trees but not the forest - if that makes any sense)
-sometimes possibly autistic (not interested in others)
-sometimes possibly ADHD (just wound up, thinking and moving really fast. Short attention span)

The books that I've found most helpful were "the highly sensitive person", "emotionally unavailable", "the feeling good handbook", "Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder", "codependent no more" and "Driven to Distraction". 

I recently tried taking celexa for OCD and I find it works great. I rarely feel socially anxious and I don't overthink - I find I'm much more laid back. I've had no side effects - other than that I've had a few girlfriends since I started taking it. I find I'm less hypersensitive, less tense, more confident which have all helped me a lot socially.

I don't know how many of the traits above tie together exactly - but from what I read in this thread, it looks like many of them happen in a cluster. It'll be interesting understanding how many of these are related.


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## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

I think your definitions of all of these disorders are a little off and I don't have most of them. I believe I'm hypersensitive and independent but I don't have any of the other issues that you listed. I also think it's really dangerous to label yourself or others with all of these disorders. I'm sorry to blow your theory but I don't think they're all related. I'm glad you found something to help you and you're getting better, just be careful with all of the diagnoses.


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## inquisitive1973 (Nov 11, 2003)

I didn't mean to say that everyone else has these same things. I'm just writing out my thoughts. Everyone needs to judge for themselves what is applicable to them and what are not.


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## GaryUranga (Apr 22, 2006)

ohhhh buuuurn


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## pixiedust (Aug 11, 2005)

I didn't mean it as a burn. :? I just don't want people to read this and think "oh no, does that mean I have OCD" or "does that mean I'm codependent"? I think the definitions were a little off and very simplistic and it would be easy for a lot of people, especially here and myself included, to squeeze themselves into those disorders based on those definitions.



> OCD - obsessing about being criticised, others been mean, being misinterpretted etc


 I think most of us here overthink being criticized and worry about being misinterpreted, we might even be a little obsessive about it, but that doesn't mean that we have OCD. There are times when its very normal to have recurring thoughts about real life situations.

From NIMH...


> Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as handwashing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called "rituals," however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety. more>>
> 
> Signs & Symptoms
> People with OCD may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. They may be obsessed with germs or dirt, and wash their hands over and over. They may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly.


I'm just saying, we all need to be careful with self diagnosis. I think inquisitive1973 put some good information out there but I think we just need to be careful about tying all of these disorders into hypersensitivity, especially when you read something like "from what I read in this thread, it looks like many of them happen in a cluster". I am genuinely glad that inquisitive1973 has found something to help him, I don't think anyone here deserves to suffer. If I could cure everyone here I would and I like hearing success stories like his, it gives me some kind of hope.


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## On the way (Feb 9, 2006)

I agree that there's a danger in piling too many labels on yourself. You hardly know where to begin. Overcomplicating things is itself a source of anxiety. As Thoreau said, "Simplify, simplify!" 

Also I agree with pixiedust that some of the characterizations (e.g., of OCD or autism) are too broad. Don't give yourself problems you really don't have.


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## drummingforsanity (Apr 21, 2006)

*Addiction, Isolation, Anger*

The reasons are many - from dysfunctional family, abandonment, domestic violence, witnessing insanity from the age 0, genetics and more. Maybe it's from a previous lifetime. All I know is that I'm like a square in a round peg and have been that way since inception. Highly sensitive, I think it's a gift if learned how to be used wisely. That's the key, wisdom. But ha, I drink wine every day, I used to smoke pot - I wear ear plugs 24/7 and even still I wake up during the night due to the noises around me. I'm referring to even mosquitos sneezing. That's been my life and it's the path of suffering. Or so I've been told.

Thin skin.
Perceptions heightened
Heart brotken.
Mind hiding.


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## inquisitive1973 (Nov 11, 2003)

inquisitive1973 said:


> For myself, I think the following affect me:
> 
> .


Did anyone read this??? I was writing about myself - I was not defining OCD!

It sounds like everyone here is experts on everything so I'll just sit back and learn from the masters :nw


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