Oct 15, 2019
TITLE
Is It Social Anxiety, Introversion, Extroversion or The Traits
of Being a Highly Sensitive Person, aka, HSP?
GUEST
Solo Episode
EPISODE OVERVIEW
Many Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) have experienced going into
a social situation and getting overaroused and
overstimulated. When we don’t know about the trait of being
an HSP, we just know it feels terrible, and we tend to avoid these
situations. When we know about the trait of High Sensitivity,
we can see what works for us, and tease out what doesn’t work for
us. We have the capacity to experience much more when we are able
to understand exactly what we need in these situations.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Social Anxiety, introversion and the confusion with
graphics/memes about introversion
- Anxiety, depression, social anxiety are real, and I’m not
indicating that these are not real things that people struggle
with
- I thought I had social anxiety and I thought I was an
introvert
- Much of what is written about introversion (memes and graphics)
also include the traits of being a Highly Sensitive Person
(HSP)
- When we mistakenly think we’re introverts, we may be missing
out on things, that we are able to tolerate and might actually
enjoy
- Once we understand why we struggle, and we learn to interpret
the sensations we’re experiencing, we may realize that it’s not
social anxiety or anxiety
- We feel things strongly, and we want to have meaningful
connections
- We may have experienced overstimulation when we were younger,
but didn’t realize what it was, and we paired it with the social
situation, so we tend to avoid these things because we didn’t
understand
- Misconception about introverts and extroverts with the analogy
of the battery. This may be true to NON-HSPS
- When we read about introversion and it includes the traits of
being an HSP, but it doesn’t say that, we may thing we need to
avoid social situations, but it’s not what we need
- We may go into a social situation and be unable to connect, but
we inaccurately think some is wrong with us, but it may be that we
are trying to connect with someone who has difficulty with deep
connection
- We may tell ourselves that we can’t connect because there’s
something wrong with us, but we may be trying to connect with
others who don’t connect easily
- With introversion, you want to look at the 4 Core
Characteristics that Dr. Elaine Aron provides
- Depth of Processing
- We are deep thinkers and we don’t do well with chit chat or
small talk
- Overarousal and Overstimulation
- We take in so much information that we can get saturated very
quickly
- We notice things in the environment that others don’t
- We may need to be more mindful about how we use our energy when
we go into social situations
- Emotional Responsiveness and Empathy
- We feel things deeply and we’re going to be more emotionally
impacted than non-HSPs
- Sensitive to Subtleties
- We notice non-verbal cues and other things when we
interact
- We can also be sensitive to bright lights, strong smells, loud
noises
- Even a Highly Sensitive Extrovert will most likely prefer a
more quiet environment with a few friends, and then will need time
to regenerate mand recharge
- Highly Sensitive Extroverts need to find their sweet spot of
getting enough stimulation.
- When we withdraw thinking that’s what we need, we may feel
depressed or listless if we’re a HS extrovert
- We can manage in environments that are not HS friendly under
the right circumstances
- It’s also not uncommon that as Highly Sensitive People, we may
resist or not want to travel, but when we do, we find out we can
manage much better than we think we can
- There are so many ways we can work with our traits to manage
overwhelm and overstimulation
- It’s an ongoing process and we need to work on it, but we can
live fuller lives
- When you see graphics about introversion, please check and see
if they’re talking a Highly Sensitive person
- Jaquelyn Strickland talks about introverting and extroverting
as a verb
- These labels can put us in a box and limit us, or can free us
up and give us more freedom about our traits
PODCAST HOST
Patricia Young works with Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) helping
them to understand their HSP traits, and turning their perceived
shortcomings into superpowers. Patricia is passionate about
providing education to help HSPs and non-HSPs understand and truly
appreciate the amazing gifts they have to offer. Patricia works
globally online with HSPs providing coaching. Patricia also
facilitates online groups for HSPs that focus on building community
and developing skills (identifying your superpowers, boundaries,
perfectionism, dealing with conflict, mindfulness, embracing
emotions, creating a lifestyle that supports the HSP, communication
and more).
LINKS
Introversion, Extroversion and the Highly Sensitive Person by
Jaquelyn Strickland
https://hsperson.com/introversion-extroversion-and-the-highly-sensitive-person/
Website--www.unapologeticallysensitive.com
Facebook--
https://www.facebook.com/Unapologetically-Sensitive-2296688923985657/
Facebook group Unapologetically Sensitive-- https://www.facebook.com/groups/2099705880047619/
Instagram-- https://www.instagram.com/unapologeticallysensitive/
Youtube--
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOE6fodj7RBdO3Iw0NrAllg/videos?view_as=subscriber
e-mail-- unapologeticallysensitive@gmail.com
Show hashtag--#unapologeticallysensitive
Music-- Gravel Dance by Andy Robinson www.andyrobinson.com