This great article by HSP expert Elaine Aron explains how to identify HSPs in the workplace. I wish some of my former managers had been this forward-thinking! She recommends using the acronym DOES to sniff out an HSP. [Read more…]
You Might be a Highly Sensitive Person if…
August 30, 2013 by 8 Comments
could someone please kill those lights?
- You can’t sleep because you hear a clock ticking in the other room.
- You can’t sleep because there is a tiny sliver of light coming in from between the curtains.
- You can’t sleep because you can’t stop thinking about something someone said to you that day.
- You can smell something going bad in the refrigerator even if no one else can.
- It takes you a long time to decide on what food to order at a restaurant, and even after ordering, you aren’t sure if that’s what you want.
- You need your environment to be just right before you can get fully engrossed in work.
- You jump when you hear a car horn honk. Or squealing tires. Or when someone talks to you when you are deep in thought.
- You can’t shop when someone is waiting for you.
- You’ve been startled by your own shadow.
- You have a 5 degree temperature window where you are comfortable.
- You never travel without an eyemask and earplugs. In fact, you use earplugs more than anyone else you know.
- You have a lot of pet peeves.
- The idea of going to a crowded club or bar sounds like the worst thing ever.
- You avoid coffee because the caffeine affects you too much.
- The TV is too loud.
- The lights are too bright.
Working at Night = Complete Control
August 16, 2013 by 3 Comments
I’ve always thought of myself as a “night” person. Not because I like to party, but because I like staying up late after everyone else in my house is asleep.
Last night, when I was typing away at 2am, I realized why I’m a night owl.
Because late at night is the only time of the day when everything is completely quiet and peaceful. There is no one else around me. I can completely control my environment-like no TV. I have free reign over my house to really be free.
During the day, my husband knows to leave me alone when I’m working, but there is still a part of me that knows he is around and I can’t totally let myself get into my work. It’s not his fault, it’s me. When he’s asleep in bed, I have no obligations (real or perceived) to hang out with him or anything. (I have a hard time dealing when I know people are waiting for me.)
I suppose early morning would be similar in this regard. I know people who like to wake up at the crack of dawn for similar reasons.
So mystery solved… now I know why I like working so late at night. Because I have the world to myself.
Why People with Anxiety Shouldn’t Join a CSA
August 14, 2013 by 3 Comments
A local farm just added my workplace as a new drop off location for their CSA. I was so excited to be a part of it-to get regular shipments of organic, fresh produce, to try new vegetables, and basically be forced to eat new foods and be healthier. This was just what I needed to turn my life around! The CSA would be the answer to all my problems! I was so ready.
