I was reading the book Quiet by Susan Cain about Introversion and its benefits… I highly recommend it to any introvert, by the way. It was such an awesome read.
There was a section on HSP- Highly Sensitive Persons and the research behind it. I have since read even more on the subject because I love a deep dive into these things.
I think I fit rather well into that category, especially once I read The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You . More HSP are introverts but they can be extroverts (roughly 30% are extroverts) as well.
Signs of a Highly Sensitive Person– check out this short list of traits
One thing is clear the HSP is hyper-sensitive to their environment and stimulus. And I always have been. The texture of clothes. Sounds. Lights. It astonished me how much I fit the criteria for an HSP from a child to now as an adult. And it explained a great deal.
The true, research-backed definition of a “highly sensitive person” is an individual who “has a sensitive nervous system, is aware of subtleties in his or her surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment,” according to Elaine Aron, PhD, a psychologist who has studied high sensitivity since 1991. Prevention
And basically, you need your downtime. And even meditation can help calm your mind. Tips for a HSP
HSP show as being high in Openness, Introversion and Neuroticism in the Big 5 Personality traits.
The reason why many highly sensitive individuals act in an introverted manner might be that social interactions generally are a major source of stimulation (Aron & Aron, 1997). Consequently, social withdrawal would be a natural strategy for reducing stimulation for highly sensitive people. Thus, highly sensitive individuals seeking to reduce an uncomfortable level of stimulation are considered introverts by others. Furthermore, SPS and neuroticism seem to have much in common. A possible reason is that both highly sensitive and fearful individuals tend to respond to stimuli in a cautious manner (Smolewska et al., 2006). As highly sensitive individuals are more aware of their surroundings, and are more easily aroused, it would only seem natural to respond to stimuli in a cautious manner but without this implying that highly sensitive individuals are necessarily fearful and neurotic (Aron & Aron, 1997).Sage Journals
I found that correlation to personality factors interesting since I do rank very high in introversion, openness and neuroticism. And it is true that introverts do withdrawal and seek alone time as a response to over-stimulation. Just being an introvert according to that book I read means we are more easily stimulated and that is why we like our alone time, to recover basically. Whereas extroverts seek more stimulation because they have a lower threshold.
Potential health consequences
A possible explanation was that heightened sensitivity increases general physiological arousal, leading to a chronic stress to the body with subsequent health consequences (Benham, 2006). Another explanation is that highly sensitive people are more aware of somatic symptoms that others may not notice. Accordingly, persons scoring high on SPS are more affected by pain (Aron, 1996b), medications, caffeine, and to have a higher rate of somatic problems like migraine, headaches, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue (Jawer, 2005; Jonsson, Grim, & Kjellgren, 2014).Sage Journals
It also suggests a poor response to stress overall or a heightened Awareness to stress. You can see how constant overstimulation can lead to chronic stress and chronic stress can have health consequences if it is not dealt with. Chronic stress can be the precursor to a lot of chronic illnesses if left unchecked.
It occurred to me with migraine and fibromyalgia… maybe they are risk factors of an HSP. Not Necessary connected. But a Risk factor is based on the natural sensitivity already there and the sensitivity to pain, the environment and stress. In other words, if you had a risk for FM or migraines and are an HSP… then it might trigger those conditions to come out if you were an HSP that was sensitive to pain, your environment and stress. Definitely if you are in a state of chronic stress for too long it would show in some sort of chronic illness eventually.
I had joint hypermobility syndrome as a child and now, of course, but now its called something different (hEDS I believe). Anyway, it caused me a lot of joint pain I used to complain about as well as horrible insomnia. I believe this caused my body to be in a lot of stress. In addition to being HSP led to more chronic pain by my teens and eventually by 20 a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and chronic migraine disease.
There is no direct link between them, but as I listed above we are more prone to specific health conditions including chronic pain and migraine disease. Perhaps due to the sensitivity to our environment, the sensitivity to pain itself or the sensitivity to stress. It creates a perfect breeding ground for chronic pain, migraine disease and other chronic conditions to flourish in. Especially if we are not aware and do not manage that stress effectively. I certainly do not manage stress effectively. Or didn’t.
Things I know now
- I am aware now that I have a very low tolerance to stress
- I know since I was a kid I have always had a sensitivity to chemicals, to texture, to my environment
- I was very sensitive as well until I learned to bottle all that up as a coping mechanism, which I do not think is an effective one
- I am too empathetic even when I shouldn’t be
- I think my low tolerance to stress did lead to chronic stress and may have triggered health issues which spiraled into more health problems.
And what I think that means in regard to chronic pain conditions is:
- I need my downtime
- I should limit my exposure to loud over stimulating environments
- I should be very careful in choosing a work environment and run as fast as I can from any toxic one
- I should continue my meditation practices
- I should continue my exercises to de-stress
- I should continue my practices that relax me such as journal writing, writing, and art
No matter how you look at it when you have chronic pain, you have chronic stress. And when you have chronic stress you need to practice ways to de-stress all the time. Like meditation or other methods that suit you for your well-being. It is a constant assault on the body we need to manage.
Anyway, there is nothing wrong with being an introvert, I happen to like that about me. And there is nothing wrong with being a Highly Sensitive Person, since 20% of humanity IS. What it means is that we have to be aware of our self-care in specific ways. Perhaps if we do fall ill for whatever reason even more so focus on self-care. Anyway, it is a factor that needs to be considered in pain management for sure.
Also think about your alone time as recovery time. Consider your environment as a factor in your life when doing things. Consider your environmental triggers. Be careful of toxic people but also toxic environments and remember you may have a low-stress threshold so those people and environments may affect you fast. And chronic stress not only exposes us to illness but aggravates the chronic illnesses we Have.
Regardless of this, once you have chronic illnesses and chronic pain we have to focus on our well-being in its entirely. If I didn’t before, I certainly do now.
However, if you read the books on HSP from the original researcher or Quiet on introversion, you will understand that being an HSP or being an introvert are not negative things. A HSP comes with a lot of benefits as well. It has a lot of positive traits. And introverts are not broken extroverts. Likewise, introversion comes with extensive benefits and skills. Both books are worth reading just for the fact of understanding neither of these are flaws. Nor does being an HSP correlate to being chronically or mentally ill either. Like other personality traits on a spectrum it comes with various risks associated with it, but not necessary to it. I will write a post on that one of these days, but certain traits on the Big 5 personality spectrum also come with various health risk potentially, but not necessarily.
See also
Read: Reflecting on Orchid children and the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)
Reprint from brainlessblogger.net
Chronically Nikki 