So along with introverts, extroverts, and HSPs, there are also High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive People.
Elaine Aron calls them HSP/HSSs.
High Sensation Seeking means a person seeks out activities or behaviors that allow them to reach a high mental or physical arousal level. This does not have to be a thrill-seeking activity–like base-jumping or sky diving. It can simply be seeking out new experiences, new things to do, and craving excitement, novelty, and change in their lives. (source) It can be exploring a new part of town, visiting an exotic country, learning about taboo or controversial subjects, taking classes about things you know nothing about—taking mental, emotional, intellectual, or physical risks.
What I like about the concept of HSP/HSSs is that the HSP part of the personality will be careful, plan things out, and research…you know how we roll! They lay the groundwork for the sensation-seeking side to do its thing—but in a calculated, safer way than jumping in blindly. The HSP allows the HSS to have their arousal/risk/excitement, but thoughtfully.
But HSP/HSSs balance on quite the tightrope! They may crave stimulation and excitement, but fear/avoid becoming overstimulated. That’s a tough balance.
Another fascinating part of HSP/HSSs is how they desire to work. An HSP might crave a comfortable, familiar routine in their job, whereas a HSS will be bored doing the same thing every day! (source: hsperson.com)
Take the test on Elaine Aron’s website to see if you are a High Sensation Seeker.
Personally, I’m not sure if I’m an HSS. I do love to travel to “exotic” places—when I first arrive in a new (to me) country, I feel like I’m on a high. The possibilities are endless. I can’t wait to explore, learn, and soak everything in—However, I’m worried that since I get easily overwhelmed, my introversion and sensitivity will force me to take it slow. This aspect definitely sounds like HSP/HSSs. But other than travel, I’m not sure the rest of it applies to me. Hmm….
I think I’m an HSP/HSS for sure. I read the test questions, but didn’t take the test since it didn’t tally up my scores. I know I know this lazy generation who doesn’t want to get up and get a piece of paper for a few questions… Yadayada. I do like exciting moments, but not all of the time. I don’t have a constant craving for adrenaline and I won’t do something that could result in a hospital visit. I get bored with routines rather quickly and yearn for ways to spice things up. I even have to take different ways if I must go to the same destination every day. I like to explore what’s around me and go down that unknown road that have driven by multiple times. I get bored when the tv has been on too long and I think that’s my HSP sound coming out. That annoying background humming tv noise that no one else seems to hear but me is so annoying. I appreciate this article.
Hm.. so glad to see my crazy being explained a bit. I had no clue and could never understand why I felt so contradicting. All I had ever understood about my evident HSS/HSP nature was that it was causing me to doubt myself. It took a toll on my ability to think, decide, and trust myself.
What’s also interesting is that my HSS/HSP nature is mirrored in my relationships. I’ve always had a variety of friends, many who would not get along with each other. I had always longed for a reliable “gang” to hang with and yet I always managed, sadly, to defeat that desire.
I wonder how to reconcile the HSS/HSP feelings so that I am more balanced and confident.
.. it’s amusing the a person can be both HSS and HSP. Life sure is interesting and little bit funny right? 🙂
You took the words right out of my mouth. Totally Resonate.
Yes!!! Wow I relate to this so much!! So enlightening….thank you!!
I very much resonate with this as well. Especially the part about ” I’ve always had a variety of friends, many who would not get along with each other.” it’s been that way ever since I was a kid.
Hello! *waves* fellow HSP and HSS person here. Just a quick post to identify myself and tell y’all it is such a relief that I’m not alone in this feeling of constant struggle! I’m so happy to have found a framework to address some of the downsides for me (weight, inflammation, infections, skin picking, burn out, finding something to pay the bills that’s meaningful and stimulating but not too stimulating!) and embrace some of the upsides whereby the world is a wonderful kaleidoscope of joy and purpose. One thing I’ve found that bridges the two is drawing and other art making, as well as having deep conversations about those things. I’m working as a therapist and this has the potential to be satisfying if set up in the right way. If not, it has been too much for the HSP emotionally but not enough of the right kind sensation (ie beauty) for the HSS. Good luck out there guys. You are not alone. You are not sick. You were born this way and are a light in this world xx
WOW, WOW, WOW, did I say WOW-
Thank you Kelly for bringing this trait to light. I thought I was going crazy for a minute (actually the last 18 Months). I knew I was an HSP yet I kept finding that I was rejecting and questioning parts of the traits and even sabotaging desires of life to try to fit into a mold that didn’t feel right.
Now I see that as a HSP/HSS I get to enjoy all the parts of me. Yes, Its a balancing act to be able to protect and enjoy the HSP parts and still get to be that crazy business women that loves to travel, meet new people and explore growth off the charts. I always catch myself saying “Places to go, Things to do, People to meet”.
My question is; “Are there other people out there that also are experiencing the same challenges of balancing the two, that need help?” People that are trying to achieve personal and business success yet get overwhelmed and stuck.
Omg Johnnie, this is soooo me!! I have a lot of good ideas and I now they would work out soo well. But my Hsp part stops me from that because I have the fear to get hurted or rejected along my way and this would kill me inside. Well – I am thinking always about the end of the story and that holds me and stuck me. Did you find ways to balance you?
Already there are 4 people here.. that claim HSP/HSS (self included). Seems not so rare after all.
I think we find what we seek. When one is Googling HSP/HSS guess who shows up 😉
I am 100% HSP/HSS. The positives of both desiring exhilaration yet having highly attuned awareness is very beautiful with the proper level of arousal. Though I must say – day-to-day management of the traits are very tricky. I am very curious what percentage of the population is also in this situation. It would be so beautiful to have a community of HSP/HSS’s – how fun! I can quite confidently say that through my life – I’ve only maybe known one other HSP/HSS, but would love to meet more.
I am one and would love to connect.
Hi,
I’m a HSP/HSS too! 😀
I just about scored off the scale for HSS (17)!
Totally agree with your comments & am sooooo glad to see I’m not alone!
I definitely feel like one of a kind.
Serina 😀 xx
I finally decided to research today the qualities in myself I recently identified that I feel are totally unique (not all positively unique, either) to myself and that I find hard to find in others. I can’t express how wonderful your blog has been and to see all of my quirks and issues within myself and my relationships with others laid out. I’ve partially learned to cope with my qualities (lucky for me, being a HSP also means I was aware enough to finally figure out some methods to dealing with the madness) and now to realize that all the parts of HSP that didn’t seem to quite match me is the HSS in me showing past the HSP…I constantly say “balance, balance” to myself and I think I finally understand why I have a daily, actively hard time finding ways to balance, and to balance in ways I have never known anyone else needing to balance in. Thank you so much. I feel like I’ve finally found an island at sea.
Thank you Emma! I’m so happy this helped you. 🙂
Thank you so much for this. For the past 2 years I have begun to realize that there are traits I posses that are not like anyone in my family or friends. I have lost great relationships with people I love due to falling out, from us not seeing eye to eye (either I feel too strongly about something, it pushes them away or their lack of interest in my interests pushes me away). I never understood why everyone around me has told me my whole life that I’m overly sensitive and weird for over reacting and letting things get under my skin so easily (and stay feeling hurt for days) I have done the same as Emma who has also commented here, telling myself I just need to find a balance, but finding this easier said than done to get my brain to work in such a way. My boyfriend and I get along great but there are moment where I react to such (seemingly) small things (good or bad) in such a big way, it seems like I never realize what I have said/done in the heat of the moment I find myself immediately apologizing for over reacting, while he is confused, wanting to comfort me because I’m in such distress and trying to defend himself at the same time. I am not an introvert or an extrovert. I enjoy social situations and feed off of attention, but at the same time enjoy being alone to recharge. What I’m trying to say is, until reading this (and doing deeper research on the subject like a HSP would!) today I thought I was crazy.
I know now for sure I am a HSS HSP. Without a doubt. I’m so relieved to be reading this article and other articles inspired by Elaine, they are helping me by explaining what I can do to help myself as well as others around me trying to understand my ways!
You have no idea how much this has helped, so thank you.
Hi Kendra, I’m so happy this site has helped you! Thanks for your nice comments.
I scored a 26/27 on the HSP and a 19/20 on the HSS test so I am strongly both. I have really enjoyed reading all of your comments as well as what Dr. Elaine Aaron says about it here: http://www.hsperson.com/pages/4Nov13.htm. I laughed when I read that someone described it as having one foot on the gas and one foot on the break because I have used those exact words in talking about myself on several occasions. Anyway, since there is not much written on us ‘rare’ types, I really wish that there was a forum where we could go and talk about common experiences, challenges with love and work, and what not. I will keep looking around to see if there is one, and keep you all posted if I see anything.
I’m looking at the Reddit forums about high sensitivity and though there’s not a particular forum specifically dedicated to our type, it’s helpful to have any kind of support.
Here it is! https://www.reddit.com/r/hsp
However, this isn’t specifically for high sensation seekers, though…
Oh crikey. I have before described myself as a walking contradiction on many levels, this sure explains a few things. Always wanting to fit more fun, great things into life then being frustrated because exhaustion kicks in and shuts me down.
I’d love to learn more. Can anyone recommend reading or websites or anything 🙂 🙂
Interesting. I wonder if I am. When I went through my divorce I carefully planned a week alone on the Oregon Coast. It took forever to plan. I wanted it perfect. Well of course it was not. And many things went wrong which is normal.
But I didn’t realize how incredibly lonely I was after a couple days. Here I was on the ocean for a week and doing something I wanted to do my whole life (mostly exploring Tidal pools and beach combing) and I was ready to book a flight home after a few days. In planning it I honestly thought I would not want to leave.
I did the same thing the following year, staying further up the Coast. Same experience.
I decided I do better doing short trips. Which of course severely limits options. But I’ve been driving less than 4 hours to a place, not flying, and staying in smaller condos instead of big houses, which gives me a more comfy feeling.
Even in my marriage I took forever planning our trips. And even if I was with someone I just wanted to go home after 3 days.
Hi Elizabeth. Thank you for sharing! The Oregon Coast sounds lovely right now. 🙂
Your comment is interesting–so if you are with someone OR alone, you only like shorter trips? Why do you think that is?
Ok, so I’m another HSP/HSS 🙂 I’m glad I met all of you and would definitely talk about this issue on forum. I will come here again, to check, if there is one; if only I have time, I would (and who knows, maybe I will) create forum myself. You’re all so inspiring!
Well, I’m very curious about many things – how many people really are like this and how that’s relate to introversion and extraversion, or perhaps cyclothymic temperament. Are there any cyclothymics…? Maybe some folks with ADHD…? I’m asking, cause I’ve read something about this links to temperamental traits of high sensation seeking mixed with high harm avoidant. I would definitely see some articles dedicated to approach/avoidant psychological conflict and all other stuff that I’ve found about this traits combination (but besides these info I coudn’t find anything more).
Personally, I feel HSS/HSP as demanding and in conflict with each other. It is very hard to be understood by other people, who rarely find my ‘ambiguity’ attractive, it rather irritates them. It’s irritating to me also and so frustrating. I’m not “average” in my desires and ambitions, and people think I’m crazy risk taker, yet I became to soon overwhelmed by noises, emotions, even by my breath! So I discourage “real” risk takers. I sometimes think that even “normal” people have more novelty experiences that me, heighly sensitive person.
Oh, well, so it is me.
ps. sorry for eventual mistakes, English is not my native language.
I am definitely both. Before reading Elaines books I always was precise on my movements or like getting my car side ways/drifting but did cautiously until I felt I could do it harder and faster. I feel like anything is possible as long as I am safe and paying attention to all the subtleties. I wish everyone could see my thoughts to an extent. I have so many great ideas. Also Nothing is never new enough. Thanks to my creator that gave Elaine the ability to unlock this trait or as I like to say gift now. I now feel like I have purpose now but just wish I could help the world faster.
Finally, I have identified who I am!!!! In the past month I just recently discovered that I am HSP. I kept thinking I was an extrovert, but I am HSS to the max. Scored 15, but if the words high or drugs were removed from the test it would have been much more. I am petrified of drugs, fire and child abuse. I have never met anyone like me. I would tell people for years I was a travel addict. I finally opened my own travel agency to support my habit. I am so excited to put a tag on my craziness..
I am a HSP & HSS. There seems to be a conflict between being a HSP and a HSS when it comes to work. I am curious to know if there are other HSP & HSS’s out there that have rewarding, enjoyable and meaningful careers, and what they do. Please let me know.
I think I may be a HSSs form of HSP. At the moment, I am in a teaching job that I just found out that I got fired from for reacting too emotionally when I got too stressed up. Right now, I’m just feeling really crappy, re-thinking my career choices.
I love to talk and interact with people, making people laugh makes me really happy. I love knowing that I have the ability to inspire students. But in a school that thinks about making money, I find it hard to deal with the management a lot.
I am not qualified to be anything else with my Linguistics degree.
I am 24 with a set of parents who are bent on seeing me work before I am “allowed” to do my Masters.
Can anyone advise me on how to cope with all of this?
I’m from Malaysia and honestly, there isn’t a therapist that I can talk to either.
It’s madness…
Hmmm… this explain a lot. I seem to rate at the top of both of these scales. There is hardly a question in these two tests which I can’t confidently answer “yes” I suppose that alone says something. I’m just one of those people who likes to say “yes” whenever possible. I’m constantly setting fear aside in favor of embracing life and opportunity. I’ve often wondered if this was just my personality or a survival strategy. When I’m not saying “yes” to life I am literally saying “no”. I become obsessed with thoughts of suicide and have at times required drastic measures to prevent me from killing myself. Of course, saying “yes” has got me in trouble on occasion as well… but not nearly as much trouble as one might expect for someone with my lust for life. I love experiencing new things but I also like to be as prepared as possible. I’m spend a lot of time mentally preparing, doing research and just observing before jumping into a new experience or situation. While my preparation seems excessive and still never feels like enough, I can only imagine what my experience would be like if I didn’t do it. I’m an extreme person, dissatisfied with mediocrity and complacency, so the balance I have managed to develop I believe is critical to my ability to function in this world. The tightrope analogy really resonates with me. It’s a challenging life so I always want to remain open to suggestion and the possibility that there may be a better way, Unfortunately, most of these suggestions have the unintended consequence of upsetting what has become a very delicate balance and sometimes require years of effort to adapt to my particular personality. My reluctance to change is often seen as stubbornness or arrogance but it comes from experience. This is really hard for most people to understand. They just can’t fathom what it’s like to be me and insist that I’m in denial or not really who I say I am. I admit that I’m a bit of an enigma often presenting contradictory traits simultaneously but I’m pretty convinced that it is real and not just that I’m trying to be difficult.
Acceptance is the key. Persistence is the way.
Hello J, thank you for sharing. It’s clear you are intelligent and a deep thinking person. I hope you will consider–if you don’t already–speaking to a professional about your struggles. It can help to have another view of things, and they may be able to offer you new ways of coping. I am interested in learning more about cognitive behavioral therapy…have you heard of it/tried it?
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for responding. I have spent many years in therapy but stopped once I got sober so that I could devote myself to a spiritual path. Both have their pro’s and con’s and I wouldn’t try to suggest that one is better than the other. What I have found is committing to a single path works better than simply sampling the smorgasbord of support options available… at least once something that works has been found. The therapy I did was a blend of CBT and Gestalt Therapy. I’m also a big fan of Dialectic Behavioural Therapy if you have a chance to check that out.
Hi everyone
I concur with J Evan, there isn’t a single question where I can answer no.
It’s explains like about everything, in every way about how my life is leading it’s course. The stuff I did, the decisions I made, ..
I learned about HSP/HSS after I met my girlfriend in the beginning of this year. She’s an absolute HSP and off course I needed to know everything about it. The pieces of the puzzle just fell into place.
I can’t wait and see what happens if I do nothing. I need to do it, period. The question what would have happend , if I … drives me crazy. Just find out and do it.
The constant need to feel overstimulated, expresses itself in many more ways than just being ok with drugs. A few examples..
People say I’m nuts when I quit my ‘well payed’ job – again, just because I want to do something else. Something new and more exciting. They say I’ll have to start all over again and I reply: ‘Is that a bad thing ? Sweet!’.
Listening to music and feel high, but haven’t taken any drugs.
Or one of my most bizar feelings. The opposite of fear of heights.
Standing on the edge of a very tall building with no railing. Staring down.
Imagining how it would feel like jumping without a parachute, bungee rope or whatever. The rush you must feel, knowing nothing can stop you.
Only thing preventing me from trying, is – you guessed right – death. But still there’s a little voice inside of me that says: ‘Well, never say never..’. The thought of that rush is very strong, even if it’s means peeing in my pants when I realize, cr*p did I really do it this time ?
But I know for sure – after that realization -, I would change my mind again and think I might as well enjoy it!
Anyway it’s strange behavior but HSP/HSS clarifies a lot.
And now and then the HSP side pops up, making me question everything about the world and myself. My confidence level drops below zero. But no matter how scared I am of taking my next move, I can’t stop myself from taking it.
Ì guess, embracing it is the only option for me.
And I stopped having the need explaining my behavior to others. If they don’t understand, that’s fine!
Sorry for my poor English btw.
Sven
Hey Quora
Sounds like a daily inner struggle…
My advice, for what it’s worth, give in to your hunger for stimulation and when the fear kicks in just shut off .. don’t feel bad about it. Maybe next you’ll be able to give in a bit longer than the first time .. or not, but never feel bad about it which way it goes.
It’s who you are. Accept it. If people truly love you, they will accept it as well, if not .. cut ties and find people who accept you for who you are. It’s quite simple you know.
Greetings,
Sven
(sorry, reply doesn’t seem to work)
I’ve discovered I’m HSP/HSS yesterday thanks to Elaine’s and this article. I feel so much more confident now. It’s a bit sad that I found this HSP/HSS thing when I’m 39 ))), I hope this knowledge will become more available and mainstream so younger folks know about this earlier…
I agree Andrei–I wish I’d know about it sooner. Better late than never, though! 🙂 Welcome!!
I’m a HSS/HSP and it annoys the fuck out of me. I’m an Army Officer and I’ve served in several conflict zones worldwide. Sadly, my introverted and HSP traits keeps me from applying for the tactical and “tougher” jobs within the Army. Frustrating enough, my HSS screams for being operative and see shit. I’m going nuts if I can’t develope myself out of this soon.
“Stimulation tightrope”…
I am so blown away. I knew I was HSP and didn’t surprise me, but had no idea of the other side of the coin, I read it yesterday in the book of Dr Aaron about the inner fight between the “priestly advisor” and the “king warrior”. I think I am extremely…both. I always felt I had a paradoxical nature. To be honest when I was younger (a child, and then a teenager), the HSS was more evident. When I was 20, I had a nervous breakdown and I developed a health condition and since then it’s been a struggle to keep alive my old HSS self in a body that feels overwhelmed every 5 minutes. I think that the HSP has prevailed now for survival reasons but the HSS is always there making me unhappy of the pace I have to go to keep myself sane. This is making particularly difficult the career side. I am ambitious (in my own way) and a risk taker but my body/emotions can’t keep up with the risks. I strive to find my balance but people just don’t get it and either say I’m too ambitious or too slow. I actively seek change but then I experience it traumatically. How the **** do I fix this? I wish there was a forum or self mangement help available for HSP/HSS. I agree though that if a balance is ever achieved, we people are the happiest in the world, feeling life to a level of pure ecstasy! (not talking about the drug…I honesly don’t have any because I have the constant feeling that my brain is ALREADY on drugs and actual drugs would probably destroy it. People are amazed of the state of consciousness I can navigate without having taken any drugs!). I think occasionally the balance is achieved, the real question is …how do you MANTAIN that balance?
Hi, and thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I don’t have a great answer for you. Have you ever spoken with a therapist? They can offer great insight and sometimes help you realize things that you can’t see yourself. Finding a balance is tricky, and what works for me might not work for someone else.
you sound like it’s me speaking.
I guess both traits were already present when I was a kid but I think HSP was more visible, I was really introverted.
I guess the best thing to do is to accept ourselves and our traits and be who we should be, and love who we are.
I’m an HSP/HSS and I’ve been searching the web for an HSP/HSS forum or a support group or MeetUp, but I don’t find anything. Someone really needs to start a forum like you suggested, MeeeMeee.
This is totally me! I have known for a while that I am an HSS/HSP and it was a real revelation for me; suddenly I understood why I do the things I do, and why I feel the way I do. It is extremely difficult to keep the balance between both aspects of the personality. My HSS side can cause so much anxiety, unhappiness and low mood if I don’t “feed it” with new/exciting things to do. However, my HSP side suffers a lot with the overstimulation. I guess it is just a matter of self-care and working on it to try to manage the traits 🙂
This is sooo me! I am sooo happy I found myself – everyday a bit more. Today I just finish to read Kelly’s book that’s why I found out about this!! Thank you Kelly!! I laught so much in certain parts of your book. i am sure you are pretty sacarstic in real life. I don’t know some of your words reminded me of myself with my boyfriend. 💗
Friends, is there anywhere a group where I can going and share advices and expierences?
I really need to balance the hsp and the hss . I am feeling stuck. Of fear to being rejected and to be hurted and of the need to explore at the same time. That drives me nuts!! Is someone feeling the same way?
Hi ST, thanks so much for the sweet comments!! I am so happy you liked the book! A great community for HSPs is my friend Andy’s “The Haven”. It only opens for new registrations a few times a year but will open in early November: find it here: highlysensitiveperson.net/haven
I also have a post about dealing with criticism that you might find helpful. Thanks again for reading and commenting! 🙂 💗
SAME!!!! To all!!!! I finally found my people. (I’m 29) was watching an ASMR video on YouTube and was curious about the term HSP which led me down a google rabbit hole and to the discovery that I absolutely identify as HSP/HSS and it’s the first I’ve ever identified with any personality type. Mind blown. Hi guyssssss ✌️️✌️️✌️️
Hi!! glad you found this information helpful 🙂
Hi Kelly and everyone;
Do you guys know a place on the internet where HSS/HSPs like us could exchange about their lives, works, relationships and their traits?
I love my traits, and I hate them all at once, because they’re so difficult to manage and share.
Also, has any of you read the book “Thrill!” by Dr. Cooper? I haven’t yet.
I think a new podcast about HSS/HSPs would be a great idea, maybe with an interview? I suggest a title like “can’t stop being bored” for that podcast ^^’
Have a good one everyone!
Olive
Thank you for the kind comment! A great HSP community is The Haven, run by my friend Andy Mort here: http://the-haven.co
It is currently closed, though–it opens for registration a few times a year.
I have not read Thrill yet!
Thank you! Yeah the haven looks pretty closed, I will try to keep an eye on it.
I usually post about it when it’s reopened (or write about it in my newsletter), so you might hear it from me, too!
Rather than living with HSP and HSS at the same time, I seem to exhibit the traits at different times. In the first part of my life, up until around high school I was extremely cautious and sensitive, never did anything outside of the lines, anything that could cause me any sort of harm. But then I started doing more high adrenaline activities and that seemed to kick in my HSS. From then on I haven’t been able to handle routine, anything monotonous, nothing boring. However, whenever I have the option to do something crazy my gut instinct is to go for it, but then there’s that nagging HSP part begging you to sit down and not do it. But I’ve just learned to ignore it and shove it back, wondering if there will be a part in my life where that takes over.
Hello Ladies and Gents,
I have found out that I am a HSP by mistake, as I was googling something about sprituality a few days ago and a HSP article came up in the search results. I took the HSP test and I scored a 17. I just found out a few minutes ago (by reading the HSP/HSS article(s) on hperson.com, then I read this article and then by taking the HSS test) that I am also a hss. I scored another 17 on the HSS test.
This Explaines the reason why I have been so confused about eveything about myself including work and close romantic relationships the 37 years I have been on this planet. When I was in my early 20s,I have been so called “profesionally” diagnosted with depression, and even mild retardation. Things are starting to make sense to me now. This has me thinking about how many other people are out there in the world that do not know, like I did not know?!
oops, the 17 on the HSP test was a typo. I scored a 23.
When I first heard about highly sensitive people and applied it to myself, I had a hard time pin pointing myself. Much of the content asked something along the lines of “Do bright lights, loud sounds, or intense tastes bother you?” and to this, I would find myself saying yes to some things, like a baby crying (probably due to being over empathetic) or a sudden sound, such as a dish breaking. But…I LOVE the rave and party scene!
I love loud, bass heavy music, heavy metal, death metal, dubstep…you name it! If it’s loud and heavy, I love it. In fact, for me, it helps me with stress, as strange as it sounds. It helps me calm down, but also does a good job of waking me up and makes me more energized. Yet, I also enjoy the more chill zen music too!
I also hear how HSPs are sensitive to caffeine. Again, caffeine does somewhat the opposite for me. While it does perk me up, I can drink 5 cups of coffee and not get shaky or wired. It can even help me get to sleep and relax! Sugars and carbohydrates do the damage like many say caffeine does. It can even make me hallucinate and I get very paranoid (near psychotic, not just anxiety).
I LOVE foods with strong tastes, but I hate perfumes. Things that are designed to relax people instead get me wired up, like I would become physically sedated, yet mentally and emotionally riled up and overstimulated, but not being capable of physically showing it until I had a meltdown. Stimulants help me become more physically energized, yet mentally and emotionally calm me down.
I LOVE hot weather too. For vacation I went to one of my favorite places out in the desert, and it was 127 degrees, and I loved every minute of it (I made sure to drink plenty of water and coconut water for electrolytes). However, I cannot stand COLD weather! Anything below 72 is frigid to me.
If I could manually select my sensitivity, that and if it was safe, I would love to do activities like skydiving, roller coasters, hang gliding, bungee jumping and more daring activities…but I can’t. Though I have done it during dreams and deep meditative states, though that has got me some criticism about how I don’t do it in real life…
Hey Quora
Sounds like a daily inner struggle…
My advice, for what it’s worth, give in to your hunger for stimulation and when the fear kicks in just shut off .. don’t feel bad about it. Maybe next you’ll be able to give in a bit longer than the first time .. or not, but never feel bad about it which way it goes.
It’s who you are. Accept it. If people truly love you, they will accept it as well, if not .. cut ties and find people who accept you for who you are. It’s quite simple you know.
Hey Quora
Sounds like a daily inner struggle…
My advice, for what it’s worth, give in to your hunger for stimulation and when the fear kicks in just shut off .. don’t feel bad about it. Maybe next you’ll be able to give in a bit longer than the first time .. or not, but never feel bad about it which way it goes.
It’s who you are. Accept it. If people truly love you, they will accept it as well, if not .. cut ties and find people who accept you for who you are. It’s quite simple you know.
Greetings,
Sven
I’m learning to do this. Being a new mom, I am very unhappy with losing my wild side. I need it or I just feel depressed. It is a stimulation tightrope.
And yes, I have realized how few friends really understand or accept it. If I do anything a bit crazy they often disapprove. I’m tired of not being myself. Peoples perceptions of me are very off I am discovering.
Same same same