[INFJ] any infjs here with hsp(highly sensitive person)?

I've been told I'm probably a HSP, but I haven't bothered to find out more about it. Seems like just another label. I don't want such a label to become a crutch or an excuse or a way to explain myself without actually saying much. I feel conflicted enough about MBTI alone, don't need other letter combinations :D. I am often sensitive to my surroundings, but I see it as a skill I've tried to develop most of my life, and not as a property neurologically determined from birth. And if I've been consciously cultivating it, how is it possible to tell what was the natural tendency?

"I am what I am, and what I am needs no excuses."
 
Fidicen said:
I am often sensitive to my surroundings, but I see it as a skill I've tried to develop most of my life, and not as a property neurologically determined from birth. And if I've been consciously cultivating it, how is it possible to tell what was the natural tendency?
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Brain chemistry and structure will tell you.
 
Deleted member 16771 said:
Brain chemistry and structure will tell you.
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Do I need a brain scan to know who I am?
The question reminds me of this meme:

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Deleted member 16771 said:
Do you seek out stimulating environments? Enjoy dopamine and adrenaline more than acetycholine?

See, I have a hard time believing that you could be an introverted intuitive with a preference for thrillseeking like this.
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I'm not a thrill/adrenaline seeker at all, but I don't mind "safe thrills" like rollercoasters and nightclubs. Stimulating environments feels like stepping into an other world for me, and I really enjoy doing that if/when I'm in the mood for it.

Why wouldn't an introverted intuitive have a preference for thrillseeking?
 
Deleted member 16771 said:
This, basically.
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That's a good explanation; I've been wondering about my own introversion, because it's said that extroverts are energized by being social, introverts by being alone, and I feel that I'm energized by both. But the article explains it better. I'm energized by being social, but after conversations I might feel the presence of that other person for a longer period, as if that person's energy lingered on, and I might think about them for a while afterwards. So if I go out and have conversations with people, I might have difficulty winding down even if it's late. So it's more a case of overstimulation, and consequently I'm quite happy not seeing anyone the next day. There are simply individual differences in how soon one reaches the limit, not that there would be totally different methods of feeling energized. Extroverts often also talk about recharging by being alone.

Besides, I've discovered that people in themselves aren't necessarily exhausting, stupidity is.
 
Infjente said:
:relieved:

I'm highly sensitive to a lot of things, but it doesn't make me a 'highly sensitive person'. I know two INFPs and two ISFJs who are HSP, and you can tell that HSP is always "with them" wherever they are.
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Yeah, I can confirm that. I carry my little HSP with me everywhere. :wink:
 
Deleted member 16771 said:
Would you describe yourself as an ambivert perhaps?

What about socialisation: do you do it for its own sake, or do you need meaningful things to actually be said?
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Socialization where meaningful things aren't being said is my definition of "Hell is other people". :D

Deleted member 16771 said:
How do you feel about rollercoasters and nightclubs? *cough* :wink:
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In general, I love rollercoasters. They have to be smooth ones though, like the Rock 'n Rollercoaster and Space Mountain in Disneyland or the Golliath in Six Flags. Gives you a feeling of flying. But I always tune inwards when I'm on a rollercoaster. Tune inwards, let the images and sensations wash over me. Imagine being on a starship that's in a space battle. Tune out the environment and the people.

Rollercoasters like The Smiler in Alton Towers though? Fuck no. Even looking at it was enough to overload my senses lol.

Same with ' nightclubs'. I like small concert halls. I hate massive "Sensation"/"Thunderdome"/"Mysteryland" gatherings in clubs. Too many bloody people. Too much noise. The music is too loud. There is no escape! It lasts forever.
A band plays for maybe 3 hours. It's small, it's cozy, it's positive, and you can tune inwards and lose yourself in the music.

So I guess it's all a matter of degree?

Yes to this:
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Hell no to this:
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Yes to this:
229950951_08b6048e90_z.jpg

Hell no to this:
The_Smiler_on_opening_day.jpg
 
Deleted member 16771 said:
Would you describe yourself as an ambivert perhaps?

What about socialisation: do you do it for its own sake, or do you need meaningful things to actually be said?
Click to expand...

Not ambivert, but 'either or' (always been more introverted, nowadays I'm like 99/1). I don't have much stamina in social situations where there's nothing meaningful going on/being said, and I rarely (almost never) seek them just for the sake of socializing. I learned to pretend to sleep at a young age to avoid "meaningless" interaction with others. But when "the stars are in line" and I'm present - I'm very much there, getting energized, and I would probably be taken for an extrovert.
 
Lady Jolanda said:
Socialization where meaningful things aren't being said is my definition of "Hell is other people". :D


In general, I love rollercoasters. They have to be smooth ones though, like the Rock 'n Rollercoaster and Space Mountain in Disneyland or the Golliath in Six Flags. Gives you a feeling of flying. But I always tune inwards when I'm on a rollercoaster. Tune inwards, let the images and sensations wash over me. Imagine being on a starship that's in a space battle. Tune out the environment and the people.

Rollercoasters like The Smiler in Alton Towers though? Fuck no. Even looking at it was enough to overload my senses lol.

Same with ' nightclubs'. I like small concert halls. I hate massive "Sensation"/"Thunderdome"/"Mysteryland" gatherings in clubs. Too many bloody people. Too much noise. The music is too loud. There is no escape! It lasts forever.
A band plays for maybe 3 hours. It's small, it's cozy, it's positive, and you can tune inwards and lose yourself in the music.

So I guess it's all a matter of degree?

Yes to this:
maxresdefault.jpg

Hell no to this:
maxresdefault.jpg

Yes to this:
229950951_08b6048e90_z.jpg

Hell no to this:
The_Smiler_on_opening_day.jpg
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Yeah, jeez look at that Smiler... it's the definition of extrovert thrills. I just watched a video of it with everybody screaming and saying 'oh my God!' and 'woohoo!', &c. as the humans do. What a mess. I think they love the chaos and craziness.

I just... don't enjoy it. I don't see what's 'fun' about it. It's been so long since I was on a rollercoaster, but I think my experience practically 100% of the time was just waiting for it to end. Then I'd get off and people would be buzzed and they'd ask ' that was great! did you enjoy it!?', and I'd be like 'yeah'.

I think it needs a 'purpose' for me - like if it was a competitive race, that would be a different story. The risks would be meaningful, and hence actually exciting.

Extrovert: 'do you want to go on this rollercoaster?'
Me: 'what's it about?'
 
For me I think the 'thrills' have to have purpose, meaning or challenge to be 'exciting' or enjoyable. My mind has to be engaged.

I remember doing military field exercises as a youth, and the adrenaline combined with control of commanding an attack going in was great fun. The competition of section shooting matches, &c.

I have to be trying to 'win', and there have to be real stakes. The feeling isn't 'woohoo' pure excitement/thrill, though, it's more like aggression/determination and the satisfaction of that.
 
Deleted member 16771 said:
LMAO

OK, yeah that makes sense.

I was pushing you because I tend to think that being 'highly sensitive' is introversion, almost by definition. By brain chemistry and structure.
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According to Elaine Aron, the researcher who coined the term "highly sensitive person", about 70% of HSP's are introverts and 30% are extraverts.

Of course the neurobiology of the HSP trait is vague at best, so who knows what's really going on at the molecular level.
 
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