Creating The Webbd Wheel: High Sensitivity Rose Red is a highly sensitive character. I deliberately and specifically use the term coined and defined by Elaine Aron, PhD., to describe a person who is neurodivergent and has heightened sensitivity to physical, emotional, and social stimuli. Such people may have deeper or more expanded central nervous systems.
Thanks for this post, Jennifer Rose. It's encouraging to me to read what you've written as I struggle with my own challenges of sensitivity and not fitting in and my chronic issues with health. I've been skeptical about highly sensitive people before, even though I score pretty high on the tests for this. I've read Elon Aronson's book, but still felt skeptical--however, reading what you say has made me reconsider this again and also the further research you linked to. Is it just a lot of trauma or is it genetic or what?--or perhaps a powerful gift I haven't figured out how to grow into very deeply? I'm fearful of not being normal and also fiercely protective of my core oddities. It's taking me decades to sort some of this out . . . and overcome my inner protectiveness.
Well, its a puzzle, to go down that road of causality and defining and fitting well into the world, but wonderful to read your perceptive writing and I also wish you much healing reconnections with your family--what a great gift unfolding out of seeds of challenge. Transformation, the hardest work any of us can do--
I love your writing and am certain your book is well-crafted and extraordinary enough to be published by some publisher who can get it into more people's hands, with its amazing characters and powerful storytelling--so alive and so true to the depth of this human being in the world. I've learned a lot from reading your work and your posts, thank you.
Thank you for this comment, MM! Every time you "like" one of my posts I check in to see if you've written anything yet so I can get to know you better!
I know exactly what you mean about the difficulty of trying to fit in. I never did achieve it. The good news is, at this point in my life it doesn't seem that important. I think "fitting in" may be nothing but a cultural myth in any case. We're all unique in some ways and like everyone else in others. I think feeling like a stranger in a strange land and an outsider in my family was at least partially in my head and no where else.
When I came across Dr. Aron's work, it was a revelation and a relief. It explained so much. She helped me realize and appreciate all the traits that go with my high sensitivity. I worked intensively with her books for about a year, doing all the exercises and writing (of course) about it, mostly in journal or personal writing. Reframing my childhood and early adulthood was challenging, but a lot of healing took place when I did it.
I did suffer a lot of trauma; does high sensitivity mean our trauma is more traumatic? I don't know. I'm not sure it's an important question to answer. Trauma is trauma, and whatever ours is, I'm not sure it's useful to compare it to someone else's experience. I understand now I will never experience the world in the way the majority of people do. I can think of it as a strength or a weakness. It certainly gives a depth and passion to my life and my writing, in both painful and joyful ways. I choose to think of my sensitivity as a gift, but it's undoubtedly a gift some don't appreciate!
If you're interested in exploring healing from trauma, please check out Peter Walker's books and website. That was some of the most important work I ever did in healing my still-bleeding wounds.
What is normal? Does anyone know? Can anyone define it for anyone else? Does it matter? I only know how to be normal for me. I can only be myself; everyone else is taken.
My current family situation is extraordinarily rich with unexpected feelings and insights. It's exhausting. My feelings are in turmoil. And yet I have an intuition important things are happening for everyone in the system. I've worked hospice before, and I learned then end-of-life situations, though very difficult, are also magical. Transformative, as you say. Miraculous. I'm trying to set my abhorrence of travel; my fears about overwhelm, overstimulation, failing to meet my needs for rest and solitude; and toxic old family dynamics aside. We are in new territory now. Perpetuating destructive dynamics require memory, as Mom's dementia changes everything. What's real in my memory is erased from hers. I realize I could let go of a lot. She has.
Thank you for your kind comments about my writing. I'm aware what I do will not appeal or even be understandable to many people, but I never wanted to be popular. What I wanted is to find my people, people like you, who live and feel deeply and aren't put off by the complexity and sensuality of what I do. People who are willing to explore, talk together, reach out to one another in this chaotic, colorful, at times terrible muddle we call life.
I hope you will write something soon. I will read it! Thank you for reaching out your hand and clasping mine. No one has really done that yet, and I'm deeply moved and filled with gratitude for you. Amazing, to find your comment after a hard day of writing and publishing and hours of group texting around finding a truck and helping Mom get physically transitioned in a couple of weeks. You lit a candle for me in a dark time.
Good luck in your journey into better health and a clearer future. Love yourself.
Wow, thank you, Jennifer Rose, for your wonderful response, I feel the same about what you write, and your willingness to explore and venture into difficult places is so encouraging to my heart.
I've been trying to get it together to start writing in Substack, I'm working and taking classes in various healing modalities, it's keeping me preoccupied lately, but perhaps more, I struggle with reluctance to be out front and exposed, or at least a strong conflicted relationship with that--however, I do have a Wordpress blog: The Oracle of Error: https://theoracleoferror.com if you want to take a look. I'm thinking I could post writing to both, maybe but I haven't done much writing at all lately, my health has been challenging, too (immune system stuff, multiple chemical sensitivities, fatigue, and brain fog, the usual manifestations of intolerance to dimensions of a toxic environment and culture.
I'll check out Peter Walker's work, too. I've been working with somatic practices to help reintegrate energy stuck in bodily and emotional freeze patterns, especially working with the breath and Somatics (like Thomas Hanna, Peter Levine, etc.). I'd read Elaine Aron's work a long time ago, so just looking again in the context of what I've been learning, I realize there's a lot in her work to pay attention to. Thanks for bringing her work back to my attention.
Much appreciation to you, Jennifer Rose, so good to connect with you! I wish you well in all your family dynamics and healing!
Thanks for this post, Jennifer Rose. It's encouraging to me to read what you've written as I struggle with my own challenges of sensitivity and not fitting in and my chronic issues with health. I've been skeptical about highly sensitive people before, even though I score pretty high on the tests for this. I've read Elon Aronson's book, but still felt skeptical--however, reading what you say has made me reconsider this again and also the further research you linked to. Is it just a lot of trauma or is it genetic or what?--or perhaps a powerful gift I haven't figured out how to grow into very deeply? I'm fearful of not being normal and also fiercely protective of my core oddities. It's taking me decades to sort some of this out . . . and overcome my inner protectiveness.
Well, its a puzzle, to go down that road of causality and defining and fitting well into the world, but wonderful to read your perceptive writing and I also wish you much healing reconnections with your family--what a great gift unfolding out of seeds of challenge. Transformation, the hardest work any of us can do--
I love your writing and am certain your book is well-crafted and extraordinary enough to be published by some publisher who can get it into more people's hands, with its amazing characters and powerful storytelling--so alive and so true to the depth of this human being in the world. I've learned a lot from reading your work and your posts, thank you.
Oops, I totally scrambled the Highly Sensitive Person author's name, who knows what I was thinking of . . . sorry, I meant Elaine Aron.
Thank you for this comment, MM! Every time you "like" one of my posts I check in to see if you've written anything yet so I can get to know you better!
I know exactly what you mean about the difficulty of trying to fit in. I never did achieve it. The good news is, at this point in my life it doesn't seem that important. I think "fitting in" may be nothing but a cultural myth in any case. We're all unique in some ways and like everyone else in others. I think feeling like a stranger in a strange land and an outsider in my family was at least partially in my head and no where else.
When I came across Dr. Aron's work, it was a revelation and a relief. It explained so much. She helped me realize and appreciate all the traits that go with my high sensitivity. I worked intensively with her books for about a year, doing all the exercises and writing (of course) about it, mostly in journal or personal writing. Reframing my childhood and early adulthood was challenging, but a lot of healing took place when I did it.
I did suffer a lot of trauma; does high sensitivity mean our trauma is more traumatic? I don't know. I'm not sure it's an important question to answer. Trauma is trauma, and whatever ours is, I'm not sure it's useful to compare it to someone else's experience. I understand now I will never experience the world in the way the majority of people do. I can think of it as a strength or a weakness. It certainly gives a depth and passion to my life and my writing, in both painful and joyful ways. I choose to think of my sensitivity as a gift, but it's undoubtedly a gift some don't appreciate!
If you're interested in exploring healing from trauma, please check out Peter Walker's books and website. That was some of the most important work I ever did in healing my still-bleeding wounds.
What is normal? Does anyone know? Can anyone define it for anyone else? Does it matter? I only know how to be normal for me. I can only be myself; everyone else is taken.
My current family situation is extraordinarily rich with unexpected feelings and insights. It's exhausting. My feelings are in turmoil. And yet I have an intuition important things are happening for everyone in the system. I've worked hospice before, and I learned then end-of-life situations, though very difficult, are also magical. Transformative, as you say. Miraculous. I'm trying to set my abhorrence of travel; my fears about overwhelm, overstimulation, failing to meet my needs for rest and solitude; and toxic old family dynamics aside. We are in new territory now. Perpetuating destructive dynamics require memory, as Mom's dementia changes everything. What's real in my memory is erased from hers. I realize I could let go of a lot. She has.
Thank you for your kind comments about my writing. I'm aware what I do will not appeal or even be understandable to many people, but I never wanted to be popular. What I wanted is to find my people, people like you, who live and feel deeply and aren't put off by the complexity and sensuality of what I do. People who are willing to explore, talk together, reach out to one another in this chaotic, colorful, at times terrible muddle we call life.
I hope you will write something soon. I will read it! Thank you for reaching out your hand and clasping mine. No one has really done that yet, and I'm deeply moved and filled with gratitude for you. Amazing, to find your comment after a hard day of writing and publishing and hours of group texting around finding a truck and helping Mom get physically transitioned in a couple of weeks. You lit a candle for me in a dark time.
Good luck in your journey into better health and a clearer future. Love yourself.
Wow, thank you, Jennifer Rose, for your wonderful response, I feel the same about what you write, and your willingness to explore and venture into difficult places is so encouraging to my heart.
I've been trying to get it together to start writing in Substack, I'm working and taking classes in various healing modalities, it's keeping me preoccupied lately, but perhaps more, I struggle with reluctance to be out front and exposed, or at least a strong conflicted relationship with that--however, I do have a Wordpress blog: The Oracle of Error: https://theoracleoferror.com if you want to take a look. I'm thinking I could post writing to both, maybe but I haven't done much writing at all lately, my health has been challenging, too (immune system stuff, multiple chemical sensitivities, fatigue, and brain fog, the usual manifestations of intolerance to dimensions of a toxic environment and culture.
I'll check out Peter Walker's work, too. I've been working with somatic practices to help reintegrate energy stuck in bodily and emotional freeze patterns, especially working with the breath and Somatics (like Thomas Hanna, Peter Levine, etc.). I'd read Elaine Aron's work a long time ago, so just looking again in the context of what I've been learning, I realize there's a lot in her work to pay attention to. Thanks for bringing her work back to my attention.
Much appreciation to you, Jennifer Rose, so good to connect with you! I wish you well in all your family dynamics and healing!