Overstimulation. Noise, chaos, bright lights, smells, crowds. These are the highly sensitive person’s kryptonite. There are some places that have overstimulation in spades, and it’s best you avoid them if you don’t want to ruin your day. Here’s my list of the WORST possible places I can imagine as an HSP.
Casinos
HSP triggers:
- Bright/flashing lights
- Neverending noise
- Lots of people
- Sadness
- Cigarette smoke (this is getting rarer and rarer)
A crowded nightclub
Clubs are usually dark, people are crowded shoulder to shoulder, and music is blaring so loud that you can’t speak to anyone. There’s no stillness or calmness-no where to get away from the stimulation. How is this fun?
HSP triggers:
- Flashing lights/Dim lighting
- Extremely loud music
- Lots of people
- No respite
- Public embarrassment (aka dancing)
The world’s largest store, Macy’s Herald Square, New York City
This, the flagship Macy’s, is the very definition of overwhelming. It’s size is 2.2 million square feet (almost 205,000 square meters) and it boasts TEN FLOORS OF SHOPPING. TEN FLOORS. If you like to shop, thinking about this store probably makes your heart beat faster. As an HSP, your heart beats faster for another reason: it’s absolutely terrifying. I’ve tried, on several occasions, to shop there, because the sheer variety of goods is so impressive. There is so much stuff to look through. I just can’t look through it all….even though I really want a new pair of shoes. And it’s so very crowded. After about an hour, and going up and down countless escalators, I can’t handle it any more. I feel panicky, grumpy, and tired. Forget it. I have to leave. My entire mood is changed. Can you feel the anxiety rising just by reading this?? I can. Ugh. Hold on while I grab a book and a cup of tea.
HSP triggers:
- Bright lighting
- Lots of people
- Too many choices
Benihana Restaurant
I went to Benihana recently with a group of my friends because a friend having a birthday chose it.
I would never choose Benihana.
If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a Japanese-style steakhouse. There are many flat, table top grills throughout the huge restaurant. Diners are seated in a circle around the chef. As he cooks everyone’s food, he does tricks and funny antics. This same routine is going on, concurrently, at numerous tables throughout the restaurant.
It’s a giant room packed with people. There’s smoke in the air from the cooking, which made my eyes feel dry. There’s a lot of ambient noise, plus, the chefs hit their metal spatulas on the grill all the time as part of their routine. CLANG CLANG CLANG. It’s so loud that I had to cover my ears. I’m sorry, but I hate Benihana. It’s sensory overload.
HSP triggers:
- Surrounded by people and activity in all directions
- Smoke
- Loud, jarring noises
Prison
Ok, ok, obviously no one wants to go to prison.
But on the show Locked Up Abroad (aka Banged up Abroad outside the US), when they show the narrator’s character in some Turkish/Ecuadorian/Thai prison, I’m thinking something like, “Ugh, I could NOT handle prison because I would not be able to stand having SO MANY PEOPLE around me ALL the time.”
Just watching the mock footage of jail cells packed full of people makes me feel like I can’t breathe. Can you imagine being stuck in a tiny, dirty, hot cell with several other people, all day, every day? It’s like an extra added terribleness for an HSP or introvert who has the misfortune to find themselves in a third-world prison. Don’t sell drugs, kids.
HSP triggers:
- Lots of people
- No respite
- Lack of control
- Too hot/cold
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photo credit: Yosi Taguri via photopin cc
The more intolerant the place the worse it is. Racism, sexism and all forms of religious based discrimination hurt HSPs.
Maria E. Hill recently posted…Tips For The Urban HSP
Great observation! Especially when the discrimination is “subtle” and those who should be addressing it don’t pick up on it to properly address it before it takes its toll. Very glad you are raising awareness on this and I look forward to checking out your posts!
I’d say any large city too. I made the mistake as a HSP moving from forested, quiet safe and calm eugene oregon to philadelphia for three years. I completely numbed out and no longer feel sensitive…or anything! It was an empowering experience but I lost the gifts that being an hsp brought…
You comment makes me think of this blog post I read today about numbing sensitivity: http://www.hsphealth.com/blog/2013/10/numbing-sensitivity. I think I would do better in a calm place than a large city, too.
Amusement parks- I literally went alone to Walt Disney World. Some might laugh at it.. but there is a sense of being alone in a crowd and just observing that sooths HSPs. Why? because .. for instance i enjoy to see the families enjoy themselves.. happy children and happy couples.. laughing and having a good time.. it makes me more happy to see people happy THAN the recreation that is manmade. Maybe because of the fact that we are wired to FEEL it, like own…
Same with TV. I dont really watch TV. I have one but i dont use it. Unless i want to connect a video that i know i like or will enjoy. Otherwise it sits there.
Another place i dread? PACKED BUSES. There is sooooo much going on.. i feel drained after a ride on a packed bus.. i had to do that for two years working in a mayor city. Needless to say.. i felt exhausted all the time. Now i know why.
That is an interesting observation about being alone in a crowd. I think I might feel the same way. I like to observe other people, too. It takes less energy to observe than the actually….”live” the experience myself…although that sounds weird.
ı want to die world is very hard to live in this way.
Cet, please don’t give up-there is so much to live for. It can be difficult to find how you fit in the world when so much hurts you, but it takes time to adjust. Be patient with yourself. Please talk to a friend or family member about your feelings and don’t let yourself feel bad alone-please seek help. Don’t give up!! We need you
Yeah, we totally need HSP’s. I have a new boss who is obviously an HSP and I’m so glad he’s in this role. Maybe you can find someone who is an HSP who has some good skills for maintaining who they are while successfully navigating in the world. You may be able to learn some techniques that can help you cope and you might just be missing one or two learned skills that will make all the difference.
Anne recently posted…Save Money Calling Abroad With VoIP
See, I can understand that comment because it is very tough for us, I’ve been on this earth for 52 yrs. I even died before, was in heaven, and was sent right back down here.
What do you mean-you died?
How about festivals? Large venues with tens of thousands of (drunk) people and music blasting everywhere.
Hello
I just found your site. WONDERFUL!!!! I am so enjoying reading articles and listening to your podcasts. I have known I am a HSP and apparently an HSS too. So that explains a lot.
My comments for this post…….I looked at the Macy’s picture and almost physically backed up from the computer. My mind yelled “NO flipping way” would I go into that frackus. SO FUNNY!
Take care!
Lynn
An MRI machine is not the place to be, let me tell you =_= I’ll never forget the scan I had to get: I had to have my arm punctured by a needle, go into a claustrophobic tube that made extremely loud clicking and whirring noises (like being stuck inside of a giant printer), and lie perfectly still without moving, all while classical music AND club/rave music was being pumped into the room that I was in, and multiple coruscating lights were flashing in front of my face.
To top it off, the place smelled strongly of something too. Idk how I managed to stay sane in there for 30 minutes.
Just that description made me feel terrified. I have heard people say that MRIs are terrible, terrible!
Crowded trains and buses do it to me. I feel like rushing off at the next station. far to much stimulation!
Ikea in Shanghai on a Saturday afternoon…
haha