I have officially fallen into the group of people who have forgotten what day of the week it is during their stay-at-home time during Covid-19! I realized it this morning when I was in my navigator in front of our salon.. waiting for my husband and brother to print some papers my brother needed for his job. I was chillin’ with our doggies and enjoying a cup of coffee.. looked down at the screen on my phone and realized that it was Friday! I thought.. Oh my gosh.. How did I manage to forget to write for my blog when I am home right now?!

I can assure you we have been more busy than normal.. finishing up some home renovation projects! On an up note, I got the landscaping in front of our house looking beautimous! It’s raining today.. so in that way it’s a good thing I overlooked what day it was yesterday and worked in the yard while the weather allowed! 

Today, I want to touch on the subject/characteristic of being Highly Sensitive. When I logged into my email to write my blog for today I saw an email from Dr. Elaine Aron, it was a reference to another movie she has launched in order to help people who are in a relationship with someone who is highly sensitive. Yes, I am a highly sensitive girl and I am typing in my email and then cutting and pasting it because I need to make some technology changes in my life and I just haven’t done it yet. I am proud to say that I am determined to make this blogging thing happen no matter what!!! What better topic than what it means to be an HSP?!

Being a Highly Sensitive Person is something my therapist explained to me when I was struggling with Overly Compulsive Personality Disorder.  I will write about OCPD in a different blog post.

I began working with a therapist shortly after having a family session and realizing some of the things I did (that I thought were helping my family) were actually doing the opposite! It is hard for me to pin point some of the details of when, where, how exactly the realization and diagnosis took place. What I do know is I have improved my life greatly by knowing. After all, the first step of change or improvement is knowing or being aware. 

I want to be able to get into the heart of some topics that will help others to understand and even possibly realize more about themselves!!

Some of the signs of a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) are:

1) You feel deeply and tend to be more emotionally reactive.

2) You prefer to exercise alone.

3) It sometimes takes you longer to make decisions.

4) You pay attention to subtlety and small details in general.

5) You are highly conscientious and have extremely good manners.

6) You are prone to having anxiety or depression, especially if you’ve had many bad past experiences.

7) Violent/horror movies are not your choice.

8) You work well on a team. 

Research shows that about 15 to 20% of people are Highly sensitive. I have always known I am a bit different than most people. I am now realizing that it’s okay and actually something to be celebrated. 
Being Highly Sensitive means you have great depth of experience and feeling, strong self-awareness, increased empathy, intuitive nurturing skills. It also will allow you to become a master of self-care, appreciative of small things, find beauty in both sadness and joy and have a knack for forming close relationships.

I am sure I can be a challenging person at times. Just this week I was looking forward to my husband, John and I’s monthly talk therapy session. We talked about our four kids, our home projects, and how we are handling being home during this time. We are actually handling it well, all things considered. This is the most time we’ve ever had home in all the years we’ve been in the workforce. 
I found that challenging part of me come through and found myself upset because I really wanted to touch on some more specifics.. about wanting to improve some areas of communication, quality time, and what could make some things feel better to me.

I just didn’t seem to get the words out. It’s hard for me to express any needs I have because I don’t like to impose on others. I would say I am lucky that my husband gets me. Overall, we are in a good position in our relationship and happy to say we are still moving in the same direction. We’ve been attending talk therapy for over a year now and I would say we are in a stronger position because we’ve made better communicating a priority. Healthy, long- lasting relationships take effort. I would say nineteen years of marriage means we are doing something right.. we both have been determined to have a long-lasting relationship because we wanted to beat the statistics of marrying as teenagers and being teen parents. Fortunately.. we do like each other! ♥️

I am so excited to watch the new movie, Highly Sensitive and In Love that Elaine Aron, PhD is launching! As quirky as it sounds there are innate characteristics of Highly Sensitive individuals and it is helpful to understand yourself when you are a HSP, as well as, others understanding what it means.   
Highly sensitive people are extremely creative. Psychologists have found that the creative personality contains layers of depth, complexity and contradictions. 
As a hairdresser and business owner by trade, I have found that I often attract like-minded people and for that I feel fortunate!! I love celebrating differences too. It can be life changing to understand ourselves! Join me as I share more on the many facets of my life!
Yours in Style, Amber