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Are there specific smells and odors that you just cannot stand? And which smells are so wonderful they leave you in a state of bliss? Do you smell things that other people don’t?In this episode, I talk about HSPs’ sensitivity to odors as well as the ones I love and detest.
If you like the podcast, please leave a positive review on iTunes!
Related Blog Posts:
- The superpower of smell
- All the Battles I Fought When I Worked in a Cubicle (includes a part about bad smells in the office)
Podcast music attribution: By the Coast (2004) (Antony Raijekov) / CC BY-NC 2.5
My boyfriend is always confused when I walk up to this or that shrub (in bloom) because I smelled it from some distance, and want to smell it better.
I also have some very negative smell associations. Oh well, usually I don’t encounter them so often. I really like eucalyptus shower stuff, and these butterfly-bushes that grow around here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddleja_davidii
Today I sat on the bus, while listening to this episode, and a woman gets on the bus and sits down infront of me. And she smells so strongly of perfume. And as if that’s not enough, she opens a doggy bag with hot dogs and mashed potatoes with ketchup! Ugh!
But some smells I really like are jasmine flowers, coffee beans and the smell of one of my cats when he’s just woken up. I have four cats, but it’s just one of them that smells nice.
I cannot stand the smell of barn..or the smell of fish!!!!!
I am really sensitive to the smell of people. There are some people that I have trouble being close to because I strongly dislike their smell. Even when dating, the natural smell of a guy can be a turn off. Or, I can really love the smell of him. Usually, his smell seems to match my overall likeability of the person. The love of my life (who I unfortunately lost) had the best smell about him!
I am sensitive to smells, but most profoundly body odors. I cannot continue a close association with someone who doesn’t bathe properly. I am not proud of that, because it has cost the relationship with a number of otherwise quality individuals. I truly love dogs, but hate the smell poop. It is for this reason, I don’t have a dog. When I am picking up behind them, I often gag until my eyes run or I vomit.
Frankly, my heightened sense of smell has cost me quite a bit in the quality of my life, but I am unable to turn off my nose. For the most part, I love perfumes, colognes and distinguish notes in fragrances, foods, flowers and trees. I come alive in the midst of nature and my sense of olfaction helps to taste all the spices in foods and appreciate them fully.
Can’t tolerate the smell of unwashed hair, smell of sebum from the scalp diffusing or on near contact.
Hi thanks for the podcast on ‘Smells’ and each person’s feedback. I related strongly to many of your posts. I cannot abide walking into any place that has had wet carpets and mould and fungus have grown in the under-layer, Cockroaches ! I can smell them if they have been in a cupboard are in my house or if I walk into a restaurant that has a problem. Wet wool also revolting.
I loved the smell of my persian cat after she had cleaned her fur and was dry, I love the smell of cups of fresh brewed tea, fresh roses with dew drops, biblical jasmine in bloom, fresh toasted almonds or hazelnuts, and light lemony scented sprays , Peonies, lemon grass,and cinnamon…
Ewww cockroaches!!!
I love your list of good smells. As I was reading it, I felt like I could smell them….especially jasmine…sooo lovely. 🙂 Thank you for sharing! I want to go buy some flowers, now…
I really dislike the smell of fish and for some reason the smell after it rains — it smells like worms to me! No idea why! However, I love the smell of fresh laundry and fresh flowers. It is no surprise that Spring is my favorite season as that is when everything starts blooming again and smelling heavenly :)!
Also! I forgot to mention, I love smelling my food before I take the first bite. This makes the food taste BETTER to me. Try it out and let me know if you think the same!
I am so thankful for this episode.. I relate so strongly to the cigarette smell and perfumes. I am also very keenly aware of the smells of each of my children.. They are grown now and when they come home I love to give them a hug and just drink in their smell…also when they left home I would save a tshirt of theirs and when I missed them I would take it out and enjoy their smell..it isn’t the smell of any perfume but just their unique smell. Some people in my family think this is weird in the max also my daughter and I both judge baking time by smell and not by setting a timer non hspa friends are puzzled at how we can tell the cake or biscuits are done by smell alone.. Thank you for this podcast and series that helps me realize I’m not freaky weird but part of an amazing group of people.
last summer, i could swear i smelled a faint moldy smell in my house. it drove me nuts, but i didn’t know where it was coming from and my husband didn’t smell it so i tried to ignore it. two days later, mushrooms started growing out of my walls and we were told we had a severe mold problem. had to knock down walls and completely rebuild our shower. i was pregnant at the time, so that could explain the heightened sense of smell. but i do remember sniffing the milk jug as a kid and refusing to drink the milk even before the expiration because it smelled slightly rancid. my siblings drank that milk up with no problems.
I cannot tolerate the smell of car exhaust. I can smell it even when others can’t. I keep my car on recirculate setting so I cannot smell the exhaust of cars in front of me.
I love your podcast! Around the time I discovered the term and information about high sensitivity (a few months ago), I committed to taking more regular downtime, specifically by going to the beach as often as I could, about once a week. The beach is an hour away from where I live, but I take the back roads along the Gulf Coast, and it’s always a wonderful drive. I found your podcast a few weeks ago, and I devour them on my drives! 🙂
I listened to this episode on my drive today, and I laughed SO SO HARD at the mention of keeping perishables and scrap food in the freezer! A few years ago, I was consistently being bothered by the smell of the trash can in the kitchen, and I thought, “Put the trash in the freezer!” (Of course in a bag, in a tiny trash can.) I don’t know anyone else who does this, and any roommate or partner I’ve lived with since has thought I am nuts! As well as refused to do it hahaha I usually cook much more than others, so at least most of the smell is controlled! As with so many topics- and with the trait as a whole- I’m glad I don’t feel alone, even regarding keeping trash in the freezer 🙂
Haha! Thanks for your comment Destiny. I have been keeping perishable trash in the freezer so long that I don’t even think about it any more. I am glad I’m not alone! 🙂
When I read the title of this podcast, I thought of bad smells, like someone’s coffee and cigarette breath over your shoulder at work. My favorite smell: Jasmine from a bush outside our front door in So Cal growing up. You could only smell it at night. So glorious. Bad smell: dishes that were not properly washed when we were kids. My mother did the washing. When the seemingly “clean” plate was put in front of me, I could smell it. I am convinced it was the plate that served the sunny side up eggs the day before. (Insert gag reflex here).
ugh, the smell of old eggs! I can see how that would bother me too.
Jasmine is incredible!!! 🙂
Hi Kelly, I’m new to discovering I’m an HSP so devouring your podcasts and learning so much about myself.
I don’t like the smell of toasting chestnuts, mouse poo/wee (had a nasty little visitor who left me gifts behind the fridge & under a pantry shelf! …. uuugghh, ooohhh, I’m still cringing thinking of the odor), perfume (can be wiped out for 2 days with a migraine from this), driving past a place that brews coffee, cardamom/cumin (won’t cook with these due to my sensitivity), jasmine bushes are too strong, air fresheners (how on earth can anyone spray this toxic rubbish in their bathroom/toilets??!!??), and some hand soaps (my mother has just started using something I find offensive).
My most favorite smell I can think of immediately is fresh mown grass.
Thanks for your podcasts; most certainly helping me.
Sandie
I can’t stand air fresheners and fragrances. They give me headache and nausea. I get rid of perfume samplers from the Sunday ads right away. I used to like Bath and Body Works but now I find it too strong.
I also hate the smell of cigarette smoke. I get really annoyed when people next to me smoke at concerts..
When I moved into the house where I live now I immediately detected a bad smell coming from the kitchen somewhere. No one else seemed to be able to smell it.. but it really bothered me, so I did like you – sniffed around to try and locate it. It turned out to be coming from mold growing inside the washing machine. Fortunately, the landlady cleaned it! Tip: always leave the washing machine open, that way it will not stay damp and become less attractive to mold.
One of my favourite smells is jasmine. My grandparents had a jasmine bush in their garden, and I used to love just going over and smelling it when we visited them.. Ahh. Thanks for reminding me of why I love that smell so much!
I also love the smell of lemons and oranges. And that of pine trees, because it reminds me of home (Norwegian forest).
I try to remember that being an HSP is a gift but sometimes
I just get so sm-angry!!
Currently I can smell the cologne of someone downstairs visiting
my parents. How do you tell someone they need to tone down
the amount of cologne, perfume, scented candles, incense, shampoo,
moisturizer, air fresheners, deoderant or they could potentially be making others feel quite unwell??!! I was also just travelling for only
10 days but the diesel fumes on Roatan were so bad the thought alone makes me so nauseous….I have walked into a Hardware store before and got an immediate searing pain in my temple from the smell of toxic off-gassing plastics…I literally wasn’t even through the door!
I am also wondering if we can train our body to respond more positively. I personally cannot stand Jasmine unless it is very mild but
this seems to be one scent that numerous people have mentioned and it got me thinking about the relationship we have with scents and
how those positive responses are trained into us…Gonna check out the podcasts now:)