Parenting

4min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

There's not very much research on it but there is some my husband and I did surveys of sensitive and non-sensitive parents. They reported themselves to be a set of questions that we ended up calling creative attuned creative parents they also found parenting compared to other parents more difficult than other parents. And the third issue you brought up is that it did not cause their relationship with their parenting partner to be any worse which I thought was interesting because I think it's the ability to to see the big picture enough to know well right now my partner's being a jerk but that's because we're both so overstimulated and can't figure out how to do that kind of thing. The bottom line

So, what if being highly sensitive was actually a superpower, not something to be fixed?

If you've ever heard the term, “highly sensitive person,” or even been called highly sensitive and maybe even recoiled a bit when that happened, our conversation with today’s guest, Dr. Elaine Aron, just might change your world. An acclaimed researcher, she first identified high sensitivity as a distinct character trait more than 25 years ago, introducing the term “Highly Sensitive Person” to describe someone who is easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input, subtleties in environment and other people’s moods, processes things in different ways and at different speeds, and deeply feels pressure and overstimulation.

Since its publication in 1995, her preeminent book on the subject, The Highly Sensitive Person, has gone on to become an international bestseller translated into 30 languages. She is also the author of The Highly Sensitive Parent, and many others. She has established the Foundation for the Study of Highly Sensitive Persons and published many scientific articles on sensitivity in the leading journals in her field.

Turns out, today’s conversation was also personal, because in many ways, I’ve begun to realize that I actually identify as a highly sensitive person. But, I also discovered so much more about the way I move through the world, how this trait relates to introversion and extroversion - very surprising - and how you can be both highly sensitive, while also being high-sensation, which I’d never heard before. And, we also discover how Elaine’s lens on high sensitivity has evolved in meaningful ways since her groundbreaking early research on the topics.

You can find Elaine at: Website

If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Susan David, PhD about emotional agility.

Check out our offerings & partners: