Ah ha! I finally found those files I had been talking about. I knew there was at least one document I had on this condition/personality type but I thought I remembered 2 and fortunately, I did find both. I sincerely apologize because I know that I have been adding links to tests and adding information, but haven't yet personally responded to individual comments and asked further questions. That's only temporary. This phase that I have been in thus far is just gathering as much information as possible to have an informed understanding of the both of you, [MENTION=5437]Paladin-X[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2710]jimtaylor[/MENTION] ... so far I have learned a lot, only adding to what I sensed intuitively.
So - as both of you know by now, I did test on the spectrum between 31-34, which was the same for you Jim and 38 for Paladin. Both of those numbers are within range for what's called "HSP" or Highly Sensitive Person/Personality. Some call it a "disorder" and others consider it simply a personality type, which is why to my knowledge, it is not yet included in the DSM, unless it was recently added. When most people hear "Highly Sensitive Person/Personality," often their minds go straight to being overly emotional, easily hurt, etc. Being a HSP is much deeper than that, and in many cases, they don't even have those traits at all, whereas others may, because HSP falls on a spectrum too. HSP and those considered High Functioning or AS on the spectrum have a ton in common. Speaking for myself, while I do have traits on the spectrum that would cause most to put me in a High Functioning category, I am really 100% a HSP. It is documented that 15-20% of the population are HSPs but from my experience, the number is significantly lower than that. It has been correlated with MBTI and naturally, the most common MBTI type to also be HSP are INFJs. When I came across this documentation years ago, I was really amazed in many ways with its accuracy in so many areas. It has also been found that many people who are on the Autistic spectrum, are also HSPs. On the flip side, there are many who have been diagnosed especially as High Functioning that are actually really just HSPs. So there are a lot of links here for why it is relatable. At least 98% of the documentation online these days is very poor, which is why I wanted to find my documentation before mentioning what it was I had in mind. There is a short & simple test that is available, if you're interested. It's here: http://www.hsperson.com/pages/test.htm
The absolute best document I have is a bit lengthy. I thought perhaps I would post some and see if either of you or both of you were interested in more. I was able to find what seems like the entire e-book online that you could read at your convenience if you would like to know more and think this really fits you. There are tons of great tips. You can read that here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/79852262/hsp
Special But Deeply Misunderstood
HSPs take in a lot - all the subtleties others miss. But what seems ordinary to others, like loud music or crowds, can be highly stimulating and thus stressful for HSPs.
Most people ignore sirens, glaring lights, strange odors, clutter and chaos. HSPs are disturbed by them.
Most people's feet may be tired at the end of a day in a mall or a museum, but they're ready for more when you suggest an evening party. HSPs need solitude after such a day. They feel jangled, over-aroused.
Most people walk into a room and perhaps notice the furniture, the people-that's about it. HSPs can be instantly aware, whether they wish to be or not, of the mood, the friendships and enmities, the freshness or staleness of the air, the personality of the one who arranged the flowers.
If you are an HSP, however, it is hard to grasp that you have some remarkable ability. How do you compare inner experiences? Not easily. Mostly you notice that you seem unable to tolerate as much as other people. You forget that you belong to a group that has often demonstrated great creativity, insight, passion, and caring-all highly valued by society.
We are a package deal, however. Our trait of sensitivity means we will also be cautious, inward, needing extra time alone. Because people without the trait (the majority) do not understand that, they see us as timid, shy, weak, or that greatest sin of all, unsociable. Fearing these labels, we try to be like others. But that leads to our becoming over-aroused and distressed. Then that gets us labeled neurotic or crazy, first by others and then by ourselves.
The Good News and the Not-so-Good
What this difference in arousability means is that you notice levels of stimulation that go unobserved by others. This is true whether we are talking about subtle sounds, sights, or physical sensations like pain. It is not that your hearing, vision, or other senses are more acute (plenty of HSPs wear glasses). The difference seems to lie somewhere on the way to the brain or in the brain, in a more careful processing of information. We reflect more on everything. And we sort things into finer distinctions .. Like those machines that grade fruit by size - we sort into ten sizes while others sort into two or three.
This greater awareness of the subtle tends to make you more intuitive, which simply means picking up and working through information in a semiconscious or unconscious way. The result is that you often "just know" without realizing how. Furthermore, this deeper processing of subtle details causes you to consider the past or future more. You "just know" how things got to be the way they are or how they are going to turn out. This is that "sixth sense" people talk about. It can be wrong, of course, just as your eyes and ears can be wrong, but your intuition is right often enough that HSPs tend to be visionaries, highly intuitive artists, or inventors, as well as more conscientious, cautious, and wise people.
The downside of the trait shows up at more intense levels of stimulation. What is moderately arousing for most people is highly arousing for HSPs. What is highly arousing for most people causes an HSP to become very frazzled indeed, until they reach a shutdown point called "transmarginal inhibition." Transmarginal inhibition was first discussed around the turn of the century by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, who was convinced that the most basic inherited difference among people was how soon they reach this shutdown point and that the quick-to-shut-down have a fundamentally different type of nervous system.
No one likes being over-aroused, HSP or not. A person feels out of control, and the whole body warns that it is in trouble. Over-arousal often means failing to perform at one's best. Of course, it can also mean danger. An extra dread of over-arousal may even be built into all of us.
I won't add anything else for now just to prevent this getting extremely long. I hope this isn't too much information being tossed out to absorb it all. I am just going by what I sense and what I feel could be very helpful, I hope. I know it was of great help to me when I read the article years ago in either '98 or '99. There is another much shorter article I have that I can post, not found online, if you are interested. Just let me know what you think
So - as both of you know by now, I did test on the spectrum between 31-34, which was the same for you Jim and 38 for Paladin. Both of those numbers are within range for what's called "HSP" or Highly Sensitive Person/Personality. Some call it a "disorder" and others consider it simply a personality type, which is why to my knowledge, it is not yet included in the DSM, unless it was recently added. When most people hear "Highly Sensitive Person/Personality," often their minds go straight to being overly emotional, easily hurt, etc. Being a HSP is much deeper than that, and in many cases, they don't even have those traits at all, whereas others may, because HSP falls on a spectrum too. HSP and those considered High Functioning or AS on the spectrum have a ton in common. Speaking for myself, while I do have traits on the spectrum that would cause most to put me in a High Functioning category, I am really 100% a HSP. It is documented that 15-20% of the population are HSPs but from my experience, the number is significantly lower than that. It has been correlated with MBTI and naturally, the most common MBTI type to also be HSP are INFJs. When I came across this documentation years ago, I was really amazed in many ways with its accuracy in so many areas. It has also been found that many people who are on the Autistic spectrum, are also HSPs. On the flip side, there are many who have been diagnosed especially as High Functioning that are actually really just HSPs. So there are a lot of links here for why it is relatable. At least 98% of the documentation online these days is very poor, which is why I wanted to find my documentation before mentioning what it was I had in mind. There is a short & simple test that is available, if you're interested. It's here: http://www.hsperson.com/pages/test.htm
The absolute best document I have is a bit lengthy. I thought perhaps I would post some and see if either of you or both of you were interested in more. I was able to find what seems like the entire e-book online that you could read at your convenience if you would like to know more and think this really fits you. There are tons of great tips. You can read that here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/79852262/hsp
Special But Deeply Misunderstood
HSPs take in a lot - all the subtleties others miss. But what seems ordinary to others, like loud music or crowds, can be highly stimulating and thus stressful for HSPs.
Most people ignore sirens, glaring lights, strange odors, clutter and chaos. HSPs are disturbed by them.
Most people's feet may be tired at the end of a day in a mall or a museum, but they're ready for more when you suggest an evening party. HSPs need solitude after such a day. They feel jangled, over-aroused.
Most people walk into a room and perhaps notice the furniture, the people-that's about it. HSPs can be instantly aware, whether they wish to be or not, of the mood, the friendships and enmities, the freshness or staleness of the air, the personality of the one who arranged the flowers.
If you are an HSP, however, it is hard to grasp that you have some remarkable ability. How do you compare inner experiences? Not easily. Mostly you notice that you seem unable to tolerate as much as other people. You forget that you belong to a group that has often demonstrated great creativity, insight, passion, and caring-all highly valued by society.
We are a package deal, however. Our trait of sensitivity means we will also be cautious, inward, needing extra time alone. Because people without the trait (the majority) do not understand that, they see us as timid, shy, weak, or that greatest sin of all, unsociable. Fearing these labels, we try to be like others. But that leads to our becoming over-aroused and distressed. Then that gets us labeled neurotic or crazy, first by others and then by ourselves.
The Good News and the Not-so-Good
What this difference in arousability means is that you notice levels of stimulation that go unobserved by others. This is true whether we are talking about subtle sounds, sights, or physical sensations like pain. It is not that your hearing, vision, or other senses are more acute (plenty of HSPs wear glasses). The difference seems to lie somewhere on the way to the brain or in the brain, in a more careful processing of information. We reflect more on everything. And we sort things into finer distinctions .. Like those machines that grade fruit by size - we sort into ten sizes while others sort into two or three.
This greater awareness of the subtle tends to make you more intuitive, which simply means picking up and working through information in a semiconscious or unconscious way. The result is that you often "just know" without realizing how. Furthermore, this deeper processing of subtle details causes you to consider the past or future more. You "just know" how things got to be the way they are or how they are going to turn out. This is that "sixth sense" people talk about. It can be wrong, of course, just as your eyes and ears can be wrong, but your intuition is right often enough that HSPs tend to be visionaries, highly intuitive artists, or inventors, as well as more conscientious, cautious, and wise people.
The downside of the trait shows up at more intense levels of stimulation. What is moderately arousing for most people is highly arousing for HSPs. What is highly arousing for most people causes an HSP to become very frazzled indeed, until they reach a shutdown point called "transmarginal inhibition." Transmarginal inhibition was first discussed around the turn of the century by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, who was convinced that the most basic inherited difference among people was how soon they reach this shutdown point and that the quick-to-shut-down have a fundamentally different type of nervous system.
No one likes being over-aroused, HSP or not. A person feels out of control, and the whole body warns that it is in trouble. Over-arousal often means failing to perform at one's best. Of course, it can also mean danger. An extra dread of over-arousal may even be built into all of us.
I won't add anything else for now just to prevent this getting extremely long. I hope this isn't too much information being tossed out to absorb it all. I am just going by what I sense and what I feel could be very helpful, I hope. I know it was of great help to me when I read the article years ago in either '98 or '99. There is another much shorter article I have that I can post, not found online, if you are interested. Just let me know what you think
