“Point of entry…” she, my Naropa teacher of the long poem, said.
“Overstimulated…” a different she said. This one, my friend at Naropa, then companion, partner…now my wife…the inspiration and force behind this endeavor.
This is how it all began, my first glimmer of insight into the central cause of most of the emotional and social discomfort I had, and continue to have, throughout my life.
Cervical disk disease brought an end to my life as a surgeon. I moved to Colorado with the intent to write a book on brain lateralization, the creative right brain vs. rational left brain conundrum which had long fascinated me. Instead, I discovered poetry.
“What would you do if you were me?” I asked the man who had introduced me to the joy of writing a poem.
“I’d go to Naropa and get an MFA,” he said.
And off I went… to write poems, to get an MFA, and to discover what it means to live “That Sensitive Life,” even though I didn’t call it that yet.
What is “That Sensitive Life” to me and to Cathy?
Point of entry: we are easily and rapidly overstimulated…bottles from the apartment building across the street crashing into the recycling truck, motorcycles accelerating from the stop sign on the corner…all kinds of noise. That and crowds, large and small… family get-togethers, cocktail parties, holiday celebrations, arena events, tourists wandering through the malls. Perfume, other odors… some only annoying… some bring out allergic symptoms. The unctuous waiter who visits the table too often…the list goes on and on.
Why am I so easily overstimulated? I am, by definition, a highly sensitive person. Elaine Aron, a PhD psychologist, coined this term more than 20 years ago, and with her husband has produced a considerable body of respected and peer-reviewed work on hypersensitivity. I suggest you visit her website http://hsperson.com
So is this a disease? Happily, no. Almost half of the population says they are more easily overstimulated than their peers. I do fall into the 15 to 20 percent of us who are very easily overstimulated… highly sensitive individuals. In other words, I have earned my label. Looking back, I see how this has often challenged me, leaving me perplexed and bewildered by my relationships both to the environment and with my fellow man. My lack of insight has almost certainly had other costs as well; costs I could have avoided had I better managed my exposure to stimulation.
Herein is the heart of what “That Sensitive Life” is to me.
As Cathy and I have gained greater knowledge, insight, and skills to manage our lives, we have found greater tranquility, serenity, and comfort. We want to share some of our experiences. We want to share some of the creative work that has brought us joy. We want to dig deeper into what is known about the psychology and neuroscience of hypersensitivity. We hope that those of you who share this highly sensitive trait will enjoy what we have to say. In the best of all possible worlds, those of you who do not bear the burden of hypersensitivity will better understand our concerns and some of the why behind why we behave as we do…. This is the path we have set for ourselves here at That Sensitive Life.
—Sherman Souther
