One thing that might interest you as a person who likes to research is the temperament trait of being a highly sensitive person. There is 25 years of scientific research validating that about 25% of all people are born with a brain and central nervous system more finely tuned to the stimuli in our environment. Highly sensitive people are just as likely to be men as women, although our culture is not as supportive of men with sensitive traits.

The four common characteristics are:

Depth of processing — being a deep thinker, looking at all situations from 17 different angles, which can be both a blessing and a struggle. HSPs can struggle with perfectionism because we not only see everything that is ‘right’ but also what is ‘wrong’. We have a vivid inner world and can easily imagine any number of scenarios, which may lead to greater anxiety.

Emotional reactiveness and deep empathy for others and for our world. A strong connection to art, music, nature, beauty. We respond more deeply to both positive and negative emotional triggers. HSPs are often givers, sometimes to the detriment of their own well being.

Sensitivity to subtleties- noticing the fine nuances, recognizing patterns and synchronicities, many HSPs are also highly intuitive.

Propensity to become overstimulated when in a fast-paced, high pressure, crowded, noisy, or otherwise stimulating environment. We need more alone time and more down time to decompress and only be present to our own energy.

I am launching an online course in January called Surviving to Thriving and am looking for 30 beta testers to provide feedforward in this first round, if you are interested you can check it out at www.PerceptiveSouls.com or email me at tuned@perceptivesouls.com