Anyone else a HSP, have selective hearing, or synesthesia?

[Maou]

This is something I never get the chance to talk about because it's an reality thing. But I am actually a Highly sensative person. I process sensory information a bit acutely, mostly of the visual and auditorial variety that sometimes overwhelms me and I cannot think properly and get tired quickly if its new information/unfamiliar surroundings. It's a very difficult sensation to describe, thats somewhat similar to a stimulus causing pain in your mind's eye, or a sensation similar to a flinch in response to someone throwing something at you when you're not expecting it, but in a constant barrage. This acuteness also sometimes makes me experience synesthesia. Like a sudden noise makes my minds eye explode with color like a firework. Though it only happens when I am relaxed and not expecting it. I tend to get tunnel vision, or just be completely inside my thoughts and completely oblivious to my surroundings.

My brain has adapted to this pretty well, but as a result I have insane selective hearing. Its not that I only hear what I want to hear, but more that my brain filters out anything I am not focusing on just to function normally. It started when I was pretty young as my parents thought I was deaf and got diagnosed with it. I often time am severely unaware of whats going on around me unless I want to. Though I have over time, learned to somewhat control what my brain filters out. Though it is very difficult to force myself to listen for more than one thing at a time. Even when listening to my mp3, the moment I start reading or thinking I no longer hear it.

 

[Deprecator]

Well I don't know about the whole selective hearing thing but many times I feel like a HSP.

1. I've been with people who were fine temperature wise and meanwhile my feet and hands are freezing and my lips are blue.
2. The quieter the better; I avoid bars that are too loud as well as concerts and sporting events, and my least favorite day is when the lawn people come over to do lawn stuff.
3. Anything less than 9-10 hours of sleep and I'm very grouchy.
4. This one time I thought a person was flirting with me but apparently she was just being her normal friendly self -- surely I could have done a better job "shaking it off" when she didn't give me her number.

"I'm very sensitive, some would say that's a plus."

 

[Zhaylin]

Wow. 690 topics which contain HSP. Yours was the newest [MENTION=37565]Exolvuntur[/MENTION]

I just became aware of HSP, as being an actual thing, a few years ago. I check all but a few of the boxes. I HAVE to have my stimulants, scary tv shows/movies/books, I don't startle easily; and at least one other thing I can no longer remember.

Unmedicated, I behave as if I have narcolepsy while also having mini strokes. I start having "adrenaline surges" (located mostly around my mouth, but face in general), then I'll start nodding off- seeing 2 realities in front of me: a dream first and foremost, and then real life as if behind a screen. By that point, my body starts to slump and if someone speaks to me, my words are extremely slurred. I can fight it for a while, but then I HAVE to sleep. I have no control over it- though I can operate on "auto-pilot" for some time with (at times) humorous and (at times) potentially deadly results (writing in my "sleep" and driving in that state).
I would also get "brain zaps" from time to time (as if being struck by lightning but only at my head which caused me to JOLT).

I was certain I had catplexia (sp) and narcolepsy and had a sleep study done. Nothing was found besides (at that time) mild sleep apnea and (misdiagnosed) RLS.
Everyone told me it was just anxiety.
BUT HOW?! Those things happened even when I was enjoying myself and without a care in the world.

I started seeing a Shrink [p-doc] and was put on meds. The extreme side of all of that went away... MUCH to my annoyance lol. That seemed to only reinforce I have anxiety. Some 15+ years later, I'm still seeing the same p-doc and still taking meds. But I grumble, endlessly, over the anxiety label. I'm not one to fret or fuss about things. I just roll with it.
A few years ago, though, I was still annoyed by the label and trouble shooting my problem. I said to myself it's as if it's more of a problem with some sort of sensory overload. I googled it and found HSP *whew*.

Reading about it made SO much "click". My parents used to always laugh at how I could fall asleep anywhere and at any time. I'd even fall asleep in the Dentists chair. I slept through school (or tuned it out by writing stories and inventing my own written language). I always avoided large gatherings and loud noises, as best I could. I still DESPISE conflict, chaos and strong emotions (especially negative ones). Clothing drove me absolutely batty and, to this day, I still wear my socks and undies inside/out and cut the tags out of my clothes.
I've always "read" people either one-on-one or as a group/crowd. I anticipate their needs and act accordingly.

What I'm most curious about now is how all of this molds or changes our MBTI etc.
I'm an INFP but I tend to present more as an "S". My N has dropped over the years to only 53-ish%.

Ahh yes. Pain. That was the other item I didn't check. I have a fairly high threshold.

Another topic made me search for a thread here (Gift: What is your special gift in life?).

 

[Saturnal Snowqueen]

Tbh I've never been diagnosed with this, but I did research and it sounds like me. Took one of the tests. "If you answered more than fourteen of the questions as true of yourself, you are probably highly sensitive". I got..24! Being sensitive to noise and temperature, being anxious, the self-consciousnesses, being startled easily, the empathy-it all suits me. But yeah, I might have it, I might not.

 

[Kanra Jest]

Yes. I have synesthesia as well as HSP.

Synesthesia colors. I never notice how much I base and use names, numbers in certain ways based off their colors. To colors I perceive and have always perceived them as. Robobot is blue with a touch of purple, zhaylin is very yellow. Z, S, and C are all yellow and tied together to me. I get them mixed up. Exolvuntur starts green with the E, but is white-ish blueish-purple. My own name Kanra is purple to me. My favorite color.

As with HSP, it's what can make me seem feelery at times because I am extremely sensitive to sensations, emotions(usually angry ones, and in some cases empathy but I've reserved that for very specific circumstances, otherwise it's mostly shut off because it's a lot easier to cope that way), lights, sounds, temperature, heat. Much heat makes me feel sick. I'm easily cold. Most food makes me feel sick. Sun rays hurt my eyes going outside. (I'm probably just a Vampire though like my friends joked, let's be honest!) Prescription drugs effect me more than others too. And I can't drink much alcohol or smoke much. I can't go to concerts or parties or anything too active. Even the store can be a little difficult. Driving is difficult as well. Sensitive to relationships too I feel it more than others if I'm betrayed. It is all because there is too much information all at once which is very hard to process. For this reason I'm not always a good multitasker even. Quite annoying, and the HSP results in depersonalization so everything feels fake to boot. It's really quite wonderful - I wouldn't trade it for anything!

It's nice to see others feel similar too. Not just me.

Interesting, OP, that you have selective hearing. I have selective Empathy. Also adaptation.

But I love ASMR because of the strong sensations that are elicited, or should I say "Tingles", a cringey word for something most delightful indeed. perhaps a little obsessed

 

[RedAmazoneFriendZone]

Tbh I've never been diagnosed with this, but I did research and it sounds like me. Took one of the tests. "If you answered more than fourteen of the questions as true of yourself, you are probably highly sensitive". I got..24! Being sensitive to noise and temperature, being anxious, the self-consciousnesses, being startled easily, the empathy-it all suits me. But yeah, I might have it, I might not.

The same for me, I took a test and saw a few documentaries.
I was fed up to wear "borderline" on my forehead due to some people around me who couldn't understand my search
for truths, my intellectual passions, and were just into judgement. Not everyone is able to feel compassion after all, most people have no choice (they are crawling in the mud of their ego).

Now I do accept my strenghts and "black spots" and refuse any kind of negative judgement (which is different from constructive comments).
I do need to sleep at least 9 hours (winter time)

I never went into depression (I have an ISFJ friend who is HSP, he reached that point),
I have had anorexia long long time ago because.....(after a few analyses) no feeling was allowed to come out in my family (toxic surrounding in more than one way).


Due to how I had been leading my own boat I think myself more like an alchemist than an HSP. Now I am in a position where I can help other HSP (and others).
It is also more positive for my ego to accept, calling it this way, as it changes the symbolism into my own life.
I won't stop repeating it : Sensitivity (not victimisation, which is indeed a burden) is a WONDERFUL GIFT to celebrate (alone or with the right people).

 

[Kanra Jest]

I present to you~

The Synesthesiac MBTI

ENTP
INTP
ENTJ
INTJ
ENFP
INFP
ENFJ
INFJ
ESTP
ISTP
ESTJ
ISTJ
ESFP
ISFP
ESFJ
ISFJ

The Synesthesiac Enneagram

1w2
1w9
2w1
2w3
3w2
3w4
4w3
4w5
5w4
5w6
6w5
6w7
7w6
7w8
8w7
8w9
9w1
9w8

Something fun to do

9 = white btw, but if I did actual white obviously it'd be blank, also I switched to gold in ennea because yellow in mbti is hard to see

 

[Zhaylin]

Wow [MENTION=25563]Kanra13[/MENTION] !
Life must be so much more interesting or beautiful (kind of like seeing color in the novel "the Giver").

 

[Kanra Jest]

Wow @<a href="https://www.typologycentral.com/forums/members/25563.html" target="_blank">Kanra13</a> !
Life must be so much more interesting or beautiful (kind of like seeing color in the novel "the Giver").

Oh woah, that novel. I remember this one! I read it a long time ago in school if I recall correctly! I get the reference

I wouldn't say it's quite THAT amazing but it's fun. Except when you get mixed up because of the colors blurring words and letters, numbers, together in some instances and finding out they aren't related because most the world doesn't see that relation that you see. And you have to adjust a lot to how this world is. Also I'm kinda OCD about the colors, numbers, words, being different colors it kinda throws me off when others draw random different colors it can confuse me.

Her colors are different, but anyway I like how she explains how it works

 

[Zhaylin]

Thanks for sharing the video
That fascinates me how people even THINK differently. My eldest daughter, thinks in pictures. I think in spoken words (my own voice usually).

I didn't discover that book until my own kids had to read it in school lol. Turns out, there were 2 more after it (or some such). I keep wanting to find them.

 

[Kanra Jest]

Thanks for sharing the video
That fascinates me how people even THINK differently. My eldest daughter, thinks in pictures. I think in spoken words (my own voice usually).

I didn't discover that book until my own kids had to read it in school lol. Turns out, there were 2 more after it (or some such). I keep wanting to find them.

Ikr? It fascinates me too! A lot! People's minds are so fascinating, even my own!~ I am a visual thinker myself! But also hands on sometimes, or "show me" rather than tell me kind of learner.

2 more? You could probably find them pretty easily though

It energizes me to see someone so interested in the same thing! I feel like most don't care as much about things as I do sometimes, that I need to hold myself back all the time... So it's refreshing

Also, here's the other books!

 

[Chad of the OttomanEmpire]

I have synesthesia...or I used to before I developed a horrible mind-altering illness, and then severe depression. It seems to have receded since then. I don't really "miss" it, but I have to say that it enhanced my life while it was there.

It was the type of synesthesia where words and letters have colors and textures, and music is a colorful painting.

 

[Zhaylin]

THREE more books?! I will have to re-read the first and then the others. Thank you!
I love how our thoughts are so different. It never even occurred to me, until fairly recently, that not everyone thinks in spoken word. Or how, not everyone, gets goosebumps from music
[MENTION=18576]The Tsarevich[/MENTION] I would have been horribly depressed if I had lost such a thing Especially seeing music as a painting. Losing that would have been much too painful.

 

[Mole]

I have something similar. I have OE (Overexcitability), click on Overexcitability - Wikipedia

Only 2% of us have OE. I prefer to call it 'a high response to stimulae, both internal and external'.

My biggest problem is I am too much for people, so to communicate I have to rein myself in. I don't like doing this.

At first I thought there was something wrong with me, so I attended therapy but found I was merely exuberant.

I love loosening the reins and galloping exuberantly, but I find most are working in jobs they don't like, are unhappy in marriage, are in debt, or are anxious or depressed. They are not the slightest bit interested in my exuberance, but they love me to listen to their misery.

I don't know what to do at this point, I am though attracted to the medieval text called, "The Cloud of Unknowing", by Anonymous.

Who knows?

 

[Tengri]

My step-dad suspects that he may have synesthesia and that he and my youngest brother may also have SPS, though neither has been tested for either. Interestingly, both of them also have red-green colorblindness and amazing photographic memories. My brother's recall is borderline eidetic as he's constantly reminding me of silly things and very random memories from as early as 4 in vivid detail which I only have a vague recollection of, let alone picture-perfect visual memory of. My step-dad's memory is equally strong, but even he admits that my brother's is way beyond his ever was. My step-dad and my step-siblings also have highly sensitive palates and olfaction, my youngest sister the last of all. Just some examples, my step-dad is a supertaster, easily tastes separate spices in cooking, and cooks meticulously like a chemist; my brother finds most dairy and fermented foods overwhelming or revolting; both become easily overstimulated with loud noises; and both have admitted seeing color to sound. My aunts and uncle have openly discussed the possibility of their late father having a spectrum disorder, most likely Asperger's and SPD, and the genetic basis of some of those sensory traits in all of them. My step-grandfather was a talented student in the 30s and showed a savantism for math, chemistry and science and won national honors in university later becoming a mechanical engineer like most Europeans of his background and generation. I'd only known him as a cranky, over-serious old man, with a dry wit, and a penchant for silly humor and writing about history. Much of the details of his unusual abilities and habits only became apparent to me in adulthood, but by then he was already demented and bedridden from constant illness in his 90s. My brother and step-dad's sensory abilities are most likely congenital given the family history. Some of this became especially obvious from my perspective since I have a dull palate and weak sense of smell, have never experienced blended senses, and have poor memory recall overall comparatively. Growing up with my step-dad and later watching my brother grow to teenhood was amusing (because they inherited my step-grandfather's funny bone) and always fascinating. Not all things are equal apparently, even our most immediate sensory perceptions, as some people sense to greater depths.

 

[prplchknz]

maybe, not sure all i know is when i hear loud noises its sort of painful not sure if this is true for everyone but if i'm exhausted i'll cry/melt down if i'm not exhausted i'll want to do that but can stop myself. and going out in public and shopping exhausts me just cuz of all the stimuli

 

[Kanra Jest]

maybe, not sure all i know is when i hear loud noises its sort of painful not sure if this is true for everyone but if i'm exhausted i'll cry/melt down if i'm not exhausted i'll want to do that but can stop myself. and going out in public and shopping exhausts me just cuz of all the stimuli

Loud noises especially sudden ones are painful for me, too. It travels through your body like an electricity current and stings, right? And yep, the excessive stimuli. Shopping is fine, but can't go to huge concerts with all that crazy activity let alone stereotypical parties. I would say that's HSP.

 

[RadicalDoubt]

I have synesthesia (or at least I think I do/many others have said so lol). I'm not a HSP I think, but I do have an undiagnosed sensory disorder of some sort.

The synesthesia is sort of interesting because, despite fitting definition pretty well, I initially denied having it because a) I assumed the way that colors naturally aligned with sounds, concepts, and symbols was just some semi-uncommon human thing and b) I always wished I had synthesia because I thought it would be cool to view the world like that, so the fact that I "fit" definition meant I was obviously faking it or had special snowflake syndrome. As per typical 6 core (TM), it took affirmation from others that I wasn't just being a dumbass.
Anyhow, I find that my synthesia works similarly to unconcious pattern recognition. Words with connected definitions will be in the same range of colors (ie. Sensing, kinesthetic, athletic are all orange/red words to me, physics and materials are both purple/grey ect). Also, when I interact with people, similar personality styles (not necessarily related to mbti or enneagram or anything) I will associate with similar colors if I haven't already attatched their existance. As I've gotten older and become more self aware, I've noticed these impressions more and they've stengthened (at least superfically).
Following @Kanra13 's lead, the synthetic personality for fun (or at leas the best I can do with typology central not working with me, I copied what I could from my blog lol):

Enneagram:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

ENFJ
INFJ
ESFJ
ISFJ
ENFP
INFP
ESFP
ISFP

ENTJ
INTJ
ESTJ
ISTJ
ENTP
INTP
ESTP
ISTP

 

[Mind Maverick]

This is something I never get the chance to talk about because it's an reality thing. But I am actually a Highly sensative person. I process sensory information a bit acutely, mostly of the visual and auditorial variety that sometimes overwhelms me and I cannot think properly and get tired quickly if its new information/unfamiliar surroundings. It's a very difficult sensation to describe, thats somewhat similar to a stimulus causing pain in your mind's eye, or a sensation similar to a flinch in response to someone throwing something at you when you're not expecting it, but in a constant barrage. This acuteness also sometimes makes me experience synesthesia. Like a sudden noise makes my minds eye explode with color like a firework. Though it only happens when I am relaxed and not expecting it. I tend to get tunnel vision, or just be completely inside my thoughts and completely oblivious to my surroundings.

My brain has adapted to this pretty well, but as a result I have insane selective hearing. Its not that I only hear what I want to hear, but more that my brain filters out anything I am not focusing on just to function normally. It started when I was pretty young as my parents thought I was deaf and got diagnosed with it. I often time am severely unaware of whats going on around me unless I want to. Though I have over time, learned to somewhat control what my brain filters out. Though it is very difficult to force myself to listen for more than one thing at a time. Even when listening to my mp3, the moment I start reading or thinking I no longer hear it.

Even looking right at things and trying to notice details has been hard, thus my art struggles. Art has helped me improve in it, but I'm just spacey as fuck. Absent-minded. That's why I have to repeat tasks over and over and over, because I can't recall whether I did it right due to spacing out while doing it and trying to ensure I havent made mistakes. I double check, triple check myself a lot...or go out of my way to prevent mistakes with more careful methods, things most people dont need to do, but if I dont I will lose track. I have to organize my environment to allow me to function on autopilot: put things back in the same ways every time, because if I have to think/focus on it consciously then I will fuck it up eventually. When working on the cut table at a pizza place I would have to put all the sauces and butters and stuff in a set order every time; something that made logical sense to me. Example: Mild, medium, hot; reg butter, then garlic butter (due to having base butter flavor +1); etc., etc. all in a row. That way there's no thinking and my brain can space out. It pissed me off when someone used something and didnt put it back the same way because it throws me off...so I'd get annoyed and then put it back how I had it. That seems overly anal, but it was what I had to do to prevent them making remakes on orders because of my fuck ups. This was mistaken for incompetence, but I actually have a genius IQ on paper technically. I have to go way out of my way to do things in particular ways just to accommodate myself. I seem hella OCD sometimes in person since things have to be "just this certain way," but I'm not...I'm just coping with whatever sensory problem I have. I forget things when I leave home constantly, I go back like every time to check things (not exaggerating, it got to a point where I started allowing time for this in the mornings); the door, the coffee pot, the stove if I made breakfast. I notice that others notice more sensory details than me: the fact that the rain stopped, etc. I casually look around the room directly at things while failing to notice them: someone else says, "yeah, it's a mess," and I'm just like..."oh...I really didn't even notice. I wasn't even looking at that." I was actually looking directly at it, I just didn't realize it. I notice a 6 year old learns what hydrogen peroxide is, and thinks to smell it...then I realize I just don't even think to do those types of things...to take in more sensory information...sensory details don't ever overwhelm me, it's like some miracle for me to actually see what's in front of my face. I've accidentally walked in front of slow moving cars. I drive from point A to point B in a car, and I space out constantly, or it's some fog or dream in which I didn't intake the things around me very well other than what was vital for safety.

What I lack in this I probably make up for with creativity / imagination.

 

[Coriolis]

I suppose I have a mild form of it. I associate colors with things like days of the week, months, letters of the alphabet, numbers, etc.