hypersensitivity | INFJ Forum

hypersensitivity

JGirl

JGirl

no chocolate flavored gum? wow
Nov 9, 2011
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Does anyone else have an issue with hypersensitivity?

i've been super sensitive to everything, and i do mean everything, my entire life. sound, smell, touch, air movement, temperature, clothing fabric, textures, colors, human emotions, you name it.

this is why i prefer wearing pajamas over any other type of clothing. any restriction is annoying to me. even the loose elasticized waist on pj pants gets on my nerves unless it's practically just hanging there on my hips.
i wear underclothes and socks inside out because i can't stand the seams against my skin. anything around my neck or armpits is a constant annoyance too. i feel as though i'm suffocating.
today i am wearing a pair of low rise jeans i just bought. i feel like i'm going to lose my mind with these pants. i feel as though they will fall right off me beccause they are sitting lower than my hip bones. i can feel every stitch and every tug and every pull and every overlap of fabric against my body.
gawd how do you people wear these things??
i hate having things in my pockets because i can feel the weight and bulk of them no matter how small.
(think princess and the pea syndrome lol)

and that is just the clothing issue.
the sounds and smells and human emotions that assault me every time i leave my house...as i get older i find i can tolerate these things less and less. i have tried meditation and hypnosis, i have even tried desensitization techniques - no success. no progress.

i admit there are advantages to hypersensitivity. i am an expert at reading body language and faces. i am highly intuitive to the point of it being a bit scary to people at times. i am a great judge of character, highly precise, highly creative etc.
i just wish the negatives could be controlled more - without drugs.
 
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Interesting. I'm very sensitive to temperature /climate and to loud sounds, especially I can't stand people screaming. I'm also a master in body language , I've also read many books about it. The clothing thing is quite new to my ears, never heard anything like that.
 
Loud sounds such as a dog barking are like knives. I can also only wear loose cotton clothing. I can't stand certain colors if they are garish. But it's noise that is my real problem. I live way out in the country and on a dead end street at the very end. Dogs barking is my chief threat. Every bark is like a bite. I really can't stand it if someone gets mad at me. I think it's possible to deaden this effect to a degree by doing something like going down the Tornado at Great Escape, or watching a really fantastic horror film like Drag Me to Hell. It overwhelms me and then for about a minute I don't mind loudness or things touching. The wet nose of a dog I don't like touching my knee is so painful I can't even think of it without almost fainting. Noise for me is the top problem but next is unexpected touching especially from someone I don't like, which is everybody but my wife and one small child that I dearly love. Everything else makes Drag Me to Hell seem very light.
 
Great thread topic - I feel the exact same way that you just described, JGirl. But it has gotten better with age, I now actually quite enjoy wearing nice shirts and jeans.
 
[MENTION=4235]problemz[/MENTION]
yes garish colors are really invasive to my eyeballs too. red is one of my worst colors, then green. the bluer colors are the less offensive i find them for some reason. for instance, i don't mind a blue/red (wine red) but orange/red (like tomato red) is really gross. very blue greens are ok but brown green or yellow green (unless it's very fresh and subtle) are also unpleasant colors for me to be around.
i only like brown in nature, or wood furniture and floors. otherwise it depresses me.
purple is one color that i find pleasant in any shade or hue. strange, huh?
i also like grey and black. pastels yech
 
vandyke said:
Great thread topic - I feel the exact same way that you just described, JGirl. But it has gotten better with age, I now actually quite enjoy wearing nice shirts and jeans.
Click to expand...

is it something you do now that you didn't do when you were younger, or you just found it lessened as you got older?

i seem to be less tolerant of it as each year goes by, not that it is any worse, just that i am not as resilient i guess lol
 
JGirl said:
is it something you do now that you didn't do when you were younger, or you just found it lessened as you got older?
Click to expand...

I think it's all in the fabrics for me. If it's too raw and hard on the skin I hate it passionately, and can't wait to get out of it again. I do feel like I'm suffocating in some of the more intense situations, but mostly it manifests itself as extreme self-consciousness and shyness.
 
Maybe you have what I believe is called High-Function on the Autism Spectrum but don't quote me on that. It brings some negatives of autism and my autistic cousin who is 6 is hypersensitive to sensations like sound and touch. He's a more severe case but whatever it is you have, that is my guess.

They say some forms of autism can give people "psychic powers" like an acute sense of people's emotions. I just call it empathy, congratulations on having so much of it.
 
I like the duller oranges and yellows of this early autumn season. Can't stand peppy flower bouquets that "spring" with color. It's just too much. Who thought photons could have such an impact? They can't weight them but they pack a powerful punch. Sheer visual noise. I don't like San Francisco because of the colorful houses. It actually creeps me out. White, especially a dull off-white, is my favorite color for a house. I don't like it when food gets too colorful either. Something white like mashedpotatoes is good, and then bread and maybe something like peas, and a veggie burger. Imagine the absolute worst: a car horn stuck nearby. A leaf blower at 7 am. Some of these things are worse than others. In general I don't like music because people like it too loud, and if I can't stand the tune I don't like it at all. I love libraries. I like cemeteries. I like deep forests. I hate the Blue Angels and their fancy aeronautical gymnastics. Fireworks make me sick to my stomach but sometimes will go with earplugs and hunting earphones on top of those and still it hurts like heck. Hunting with dogs and guns popping would be maybe the worst thing I could imagine. I would like a sensory deprivation tank but would be afraid I could still hear water gurgling or the sound of my own blood pumping through my head. Unwanted touching is terrible especially if I didn't expect it. Some people stand too close and hold my arm when they talk at church. I am getting panic attacks and wish I could run screaming. This is such a fun topic.
 
Top cat said:
Maybe this will help
http://www.hsperson.com/
Click to expand...

yes I am HSP that much i do know. i just don't know how to get control of the more negative effects of it without compromising the positive...or even if i do have to lose some of the positive, just so i can feel normal. whatever that is.
most of the sites having to do with hsp are geared toward selling that one book, have you noticed?
that sort of turns me off.
and the message forums devoted to it are less than helpful. more fluff than i think is logical lol
 
problemz said:
I like the duller oranges and yellows of this early autumn season. Can't stand peppy flower bouquets that "spring" with color. It's just too much. Who thought photons could have such an impact? They can't weight them but they pack a powerful punch. Sheer visual noise. I don't like San Francisco because of the colorful houses. It actually creeps me out. White, especially a dull off-white, is my favorite color for a house. I don't like it when food gets too colorful either. Something white like mashedpotatoes is good, and then bread and maybe something like peas, and a veggie burger. Imagine the absolute worst: a car horn stuck nearby. A leaf blower at 7 am. Some of these things are worse than others. In general I don't like music because people like it too loud, and if I can't stand the tune I don't like it at all. I love libraries. I like cemeteries. I like deep forests. I hate the Blue Angels and their fancy aeronautical gymnastics. Fireworks make me sick to my stomach but sometimes will go with earplugs and hunting earphones on top of those and still it hurts like heck. Hunting with dogs and guns popping would be maybe the worst thing I could imagine. I would like a sensory deprivation tank but would be afraid I could still hear water gurgling or the sound of my own blood pumping through my head. Unwanted touching is terrible especially if I didn't expect it. Some people stand too close and hold my arm when they talk at church. I am getting panic attacks and wish I could run screaming. This is such a fun topic.
Click to expand...

don't take this the wrong way but i'm actually glad i met up with someone who has it as bad as me.
 
dudemanbro said:
Maybe you have what I believe is called High-Function on the Autism Spectrum but don't quote me on that. It brings some negatives of autism and my autistic cousin who is 6 is hypersensitive to sensations like sound and touch. He's a more severe case but whatever it is you have, that is my guess.

They say some forms of autism can give people "psychic powers" like an acute sense of people's emotions. I just call it empathy, congratulations on having so much of it.
Click to expand...

i'll have to check this out some.
 
Mmm, I relate to a lot of what has been said. I personally think it's an Ni-dom thing, since our Se is inferior and quite sensitive to input. (Don't quote me, pl0x.)
 
It's a gift and a curse. I can't wear socks for long periods of time, be in rowdy crowds, or around overwhelming perfumes.

But I am also verrrrry sensitive to emotions and energy, which I find useful
 
don't take this the wrong way but i'm actually glad i met up with someone who has it as bad as me.

Yes, me too. I'm in really bad shape. It may be really what I can't stand about dogs. They are so darned friendly, and they are whacking their tail against me and leaping on me, and licking, and their noses are so wet. I'm supposed to deal with this but I just feel like crying and screaming I'm in so much pain from it. I want to defend myself, but I have to pretend to be friendly.

My whole family were sports people so I had to try and blend in, but it was a bit much when they wanted to play tackle football. I hid in the attic and read comic novels from the age of about five. I wonder if there's anything to be done about this easily overstimulated situation. You say you are an INFJ and a five. I didn't think you could be a five and an INFJ. Do you think you are a sexual subtype?

The sexual subtypes aren't necessarily more into sex, but actually less, or just want to have a good relationship with one person. But it's the relationship that matters, they say. I love to have one person I can converse with and who is funny and charming. I am lucky to have that but she wishes I could get out more. I try, but am baffled. Still, I have better actual social skills than she's got. I can fake it with people and nobody knows how screwed up I am. She can't fake things, but actually wants other people around.

I've sometimes wondered if I was a five. The descriptions vary. In general, I'm not anti-hedonic, and I am capable of having many friends. I just don't need them. I could live in solitary confinement for ten years and be pretty good as long as I had books. It might be a tad long, but I often envy the Unibomber. Imagine, he's in a nice facility and gets food every day brought in, and the guards keep people out. It's kind of ideal if you think about it. The only problem is the Oklahoma City bomber across the hall keeps trying to talk to Ted. Or he was. I think the OKC bomber got the chair and it sounds like he had an IQ of about 60. Ted's Unibomber manifesto actually made sense for the first three pages before he started ranting and raving. The OKC bomber never made any sense to anyone. He didn't have any kind of thought that I could make out.

Kazinsky was apparently a bubble baby because of some contagious disease he got. I wasn't that, but my mom stopped playing with me and had nothing to do with me for the first year because she fell into an enormous depression. I guess it was post-partum. Then, at age 1, my uncle came to visit and played with me. I always liked that uncle. He kind of saved my life. After that, my mom started playing with me, too. Do you have a background like that of sensory deprivation? I think we kind of get used to how things are going to be.

I can handle enormous input, but it has to be scheduled. I can do the Tornado at Great Escape. I can attend a party. But I have to spend all day thinking about getting through it. Then once it's done it's such a relief! But also really wonderful. Then I get to go back and revisit that time 500 times and relive it. It's just wonderful to have these oases of actual life, but I much prefer museums and books because I can remain in an analytical mode. I go to the beach once a year with my kids and am completely bewildered by the hundred thousand parasols up and down the beach, the kids sliding in the surf, the banners following airplanes (selling cell phones for 59.95) and the sailboats in the distance and further out, gigantic tankers with seagulls floating over them.

That kind of thing would be completely bewildering to me on a daily basis. I would lose my mind for sure. But once in a while I can manage it, and even really enjoy it.
 
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Do you mind me asking how you manage to get through work each day?
I'm genuinely wondering, because I'm so highly introverted and sensitive to input that at this point I cannot imagine having to work 8 hours out of the house starting next year. I'm wondering how it's done.
 
When I was younger I worked as a night watchman so that I just sat at a desk for eight hours in an empty factory. I had a television and books. I spoke to no one for eight hours and could nap if I wished. Then I was a ticket taker at a drive in. After the rush, I had three hours where almost no one came. I tried to get jobs where I sold time in exchange for absolute quiet. I worked once for four years for a company that was being sold to another company. My job was to answer the phone if it rang. It never did once in five years. I read a lot of philosophy and I got paid for it. Now I am a philosophy professor. I teach about two hours a day. The rest of the time I am in a closed office grading essays, surfing the internet, and reading more philosophy. Just don't try to be in customer service unless you're dealing with dead people in a morgue or something. I couldn't honestly handle that. I need about two hours of people in a day. I get about six because I have kids and a wife. I enjoy that much. More than that and I am getting overwhelmed. I try also to go for long long long walks (sometimes three hours or more) by myself. I can handle one other person on such a walk. I would like to be a mailman but there's the problem of dogs. What about a rural mail carrier where you are popping the mail from your car into a mailbox along the road. People would say, how lonely you are. Poor thing! And they wouldn't know that their conversation ruined your whole day because you had to respond to them. But just a dragon fly coming by and shining its ecstatic wings is quite a lot of company to deal with. Emily Dickinson was lucky she didn't have to leave her property because her daddy took care of stuff. For people who have to leave their property, there are jobs where you are selling time and some competence in exchange for the occasional need to be there. Lighthouse keeper would be good. We should come up with a list for you. There used to be fire stations in the Pacific NW where Kerouac and others got to sit for a summer with no one to bother them. Today that's all done by machine, I think. I don't know. I think I am set. I do occasionally get angry or obstreperous students and they can drive me crazy. I sometimes get students who pepper me with questions and try to get me to trip. I even had one once that was a lot smarter than me especially when it came to details. I cut a deal with him that he could finish the class by email.
 
problemz said:
don't take this the wrong way but i'm actually glad i met up with someone who has it as bad as me.

Yes, me too. I'm in really bad shape. It may be really what I can't stand about dogs. They are so darned friendly, and they are whacking their tail against me and leaping on me, and licking, and their noses are so wet. I'm supposed to deal with this but I just feel like crying and screaming I'm in so much pain from it. I want to defend myself, but I have to pretend to be friendly.

My whole family were sports people so I had to try and blend in, but it was a bit much when they wanted to play tackle football. I hid in the attic and read comic novels from the age of about five. I wonder if there's anything to be done about this easily overstimulated situation. You say you are an INFJ and a five. I didn't think you could be a five and an INFJ. Do you think you are a sexual subtype?

The sexual subtypes aren't necessarily more into sex, but actually less, or just want to have a good relationship with one person. But it's the relationship that matters, they say. I love to have one person I can converse with and who is funny and charming. I am lucky to have that but she wishes I could get out more. I try, but am baffled. Still, I have better actual social skills than she's got. I can fake it with people and nobody knows how screwed up I am. She can't fake things, but actually wants other people around.

I've sometimes wondered if I was a five. The descriptions vary. In general, I'm not anti-hedonic, and I am capable of having many friends. I just don't need them. I could live in solitary confinement for ten years and be pretty good as long as I had books. It might be a tad long, but I often envy the Unibomber. Imagine, he's in a nice facility and gets food every day brought in, and the guards keep people out. It's kind of ideal if you think about it. The only problem is the Oklahoma City bomber across the hall keeps trying to talk to Ted. Or he was. I think the OKC bomber got the chair and it sounds like he had an IQ of about 60. Ted's Unibomber manifesto actually made sense for the first three pages before he started ranting and raving. The OKC bomber never made any sense to anyone. He didn't have any kind of thought that I could make out.

Kazinsky was apparently a bubble baby because of some contagious disease he got. I wasn't that, but my mom stopped playing with me and had nothing to do with me for the first year because she fell into an enormous depression. I guess it was post-partum. Then, at age 1, my uncle came to visit and played with me. I always liked that uncle. He kind of saved my life. After that, my mom started playing with me, too. Do you have a background like that of sensory deprivation? I think we kind of get used to how things are going to be.

I can handle enormous input, but it has to be scheduled. I can do the Tornado at Great Escape. I can attend a party. But I have to spend all day thinking about getting through it. Then once it's done it's such a relief! But also really wonderful. Then I get to go back and revisit that time 500 times and relive it. It's just wonderful to have these oases of actual life, but I much prefer museums and books because I can remain in an analytical mode. I go to the beach once a year with my kids and am completely bewildered by the hundred thousand parasols up and down the beach, the kids sliding in the surf, the banners following airplanes (selling cell phones for 59.95) and the sailboats in the distance and further out, gigantic tankers with seagulls floating over them.

That kind of thing would be completely bewildering to me on a daily basis. I would lose my mind for sure. But once in a while I can manage it, and even really enjoy it.
Click to expand...

wow it's like we have the same life! i want to delve into your post more but i'll do it in a bit
 
oceanbreeze said:
Do you mind me asking how you manage to get through work each day?
I'm genuinely wondering, because I'm so highly introverted and sensitive to input that at this point I cannot imagine having to work 8 hours out of the house starting next year. I'm wondering how it's done.
Click to expand...

actually i had the same problem. now i work in the janitorial field and i am totally alone for my shift. i let myself in the facility, and let myself out when i'm finished. i rarely see anyone, and if i do they're in their office, busy.
it's not a glam job but it's one that i can tolerate.
 
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