Welcome new members!

Love2Love wrote:Hi!! 😬 I'm new here. This is my first time introducing myself as HSP anywhere ever in my life! Feels good. It felt sooo good to learn about HSPs ... I felt validated. So thx to our fearless leader for that. I am confused about one thing though: I keep reading about HSP being a bad thing or something  that is challenging to weather. It never crossed my mind that my "abilities" were making my life more difficult... before I even knew of the term "Hyper Sensitive Person" I knew there were things about me that were special and I knew it's best to hide my unique abilities from others if I wanted to be liked, accepted, and to fit in. But - even so, I still never saw my HSPness as something negative. Of course there ARE negative things that are a direct result of my hypersensitivity (my many physical ailments come to mind), for the most part, I view my ability to see every nuance in a scene, for example, as a positive thing. I've always called my abilities my "super powers," since they are so extraordinary. Remember the movie: The Bourne Identity? Well there's this scene where he describes his ability to pick up very specific details from a scene, such as the number of cars in the parking lot and which of them was most likely to have a weapon in it. The first time I saw that scene, I said: "that's me that's me!" Does anyone else think of their HSP attributes as special gifts?? Thanks for letting me hoin
"That's me!!!!" Mmmñ
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Welcome Too funny you referred to yours as "super powers" - I was thinking the other day how I used to be dead set on feeling like I had some sort of mystical connection when I was very little, but never had the words to describe it. I "just knew" something, but kept it all to myself.

Since discovering the HSP label/community, I swing between seeing it as a massive gift, a defect, or just gibberish...depending on the day. It keeps it interesting, at least.

Whatever the reality, it's the only sort of belonging I've felt anywhere so, if nothing else, I am immensely grateful for that.

It doesn't appear that this new members forum is very active but I'll post anyhow. I found the link to this overall forum in one of the HSP emails. I've known about HSP for probably 20 years. It helps to understand who we are but it doesn't make it easy. I'm retired but don't sleep well for various reasons. Mostly my mind is running 100 mph and I don't know how to shut it off very easily. I watched Joel Osteen the other night and his sermon was about keeping your mind positive and pushing out all the negative thoughts that come your way. Easy to say, hard to do but I'm working on it. I'm trying to subscribe to the theory that, what will be will be. Btw, it's 60 degrees outside at sunset but 102 in the jacuzzi.

Don92649 wrote:It doesn't appear that this new members forum is very active but I'll post anyhow. I found the link to this overall forum in one of the HSP emails.  I've known about HSP for probably 20 years. It helps to understand who we are but it doesn't make it easy.  I'm retired but don't sleep well for various reasons. Mostly my mind is running 100 mph and I don't know how to shut it off very easily. I watched Joel Osteen the other night and his sermon was about keeping your mind positive and pushing out all the negative thoughts that come your way. Easy to say, hard to do but I'm working on it.  I'm trying to subscribe to the theory that, what will be will be.  Btw, it's 60 degrees outside at sunset but 102 in the jacuzzi.  

Welcome Don! Yes, this forum is still alive but goes quiet for long stretches of time these days. It's also quite old, lol. I learned of HSP myself back in 2007 and I too am retired. I think much of our membership now is.

I will tell you something different than Joel Osteen. Don't try to control your thoughts and emotions, but instead listen to what they are trying to tell you, why your subconscious layers feels it important to bring them to your attention. As you listen, gain understanding and process, you will also begin to heal. I find for myself it's not fully processed issues that can make my mind race like that late at night. I have been in crisis mode all too often so I have a ton of experience processing and healing.

There are things you can do to help though to get sleep, and also help regain your center. I'm going to list some that I or others here have used successfully. I removed all blue light from my bedroom, including all LED displays. I used a very old red LED alarm clock. For physical stuff, it helps to have a bed and pillow that properly supports you.

Try to get sunlight most days and turn off electronic devices an hour before bedtime. I used that last hour of the night before bed to read a good book, yep, old form, not ebook. It has the benefit of refocusing the mind before bed too on the story you were enjoying rather than the problem that's being processed.

I also shift my focus when my mind is racing to music tunes, reviewing routine things that need to be done the next day, revisiting and reimmersing in happy memories of nature or dreamscapes. That last bit has helped me drift off.

If you find yourself tense, try to do deep breathing exercises and consciously focus on relaxing every single muscle in your body.

All these tricks help for more decent sleep.

Happy exploring. Even after 20 years there is still much to discover. For me too.

Hi and welcome Don.

Mind racing can be harrowing to sleep. Often I find if I have unfinished business it’s worse.

If I’m relaxed and life is going well without worries or concerns I tend to be much better with sleep.