It’s amazing the havoc that stress and lack of sleep can
wreak on your mind.
I’m what psychologists call a “highly sensitive person.” No, that does not mean
that I’m easily offended. It does
not mean that I fly off the handle at the slightest provocation. It means that
my brain processes information differently – in greater detail. It’s actually a relatively common trait
– occurring in about one in five people – and it appears to be biological.
Sometimes, I love this about myself. But sometimes, it exhausts me. One of the drawbacks to having a brain
that’s more sensitive to incoming information, is that it’s easily
overloaded. I hate crowds. I hate loud noises. I used to be absolutely inconsolable
during the 4th of July fireworks. They still scare me a little, if I’m too close to the
source. Combine the sensitivity
with my natural introversion (the traits are not always concurrent, but in my
case, they are), and if I’m around people for too long, I just want to
scream. It’s not the people – it’s
just my brain.
