by reading all the responses, it's obvious who is highly sensitive, and who aren't. I think those who are highly sensitive understands what's being discussed, and those who aren't poo-poo it.

It's not a diagnosis, but more like what GLC said, a validation for a string of behaviours and "quirks" we've had to live with that are actually shared by others.

One of the things that have frustrated me all my adult life is the fact I know I can do more, yet I'm stuck in a dead end job and not knowing how to get out of it. I know this isn't specifically an HSP problem, but it was interesting to note that a lot of people who are highly sensitive end up in jobs they find unfulfilling and unable to remedy that effectively.

One thing I will say about growing up in a family that never understood me is that my self esteem has never been healthy. Having an overly critical mother and being sensitive to what others say/feel certainly didn't help.

I'm hoping that by better understanding that I'm overly sensitive will hopefully help me in not beating myself up so much over little things.