The Highly Sensitive Person and Creativity
by Lisa A. Riley
In my own personal experience, as well as in my practice, I have encountered a connection between highly sensitive people and their own creative impulses. This characteristic does not discriminate between painter, actor, or musician—they all appear to have one thing in common: they experience the world differently than the average individual. Creatives often feel and perceive more intensely, dramatically, and with a wildly vivid color palate to draw from, which can only be described as looking at the world through a much larger lens. Without a substantial filtration system firmly in place to screen out most of the busy noise, these people tend to receive a far greater amount of stimuli directly into their psyches. As a result, they frequently become more attuned to subtle details in their environment, to the people they deal with, and especially to their own internal process.
Creatives might find themselves more easily overwhelmed, and often live chaotic lives, affecting not only personal relationships, but also their own productivity. Over-stimulation can sometimes manifest further into anxiety or depression, bogging down their ability to cope with every day stressors or life’s challenges.
Pearl Buck, an American novelist living in China, and who received a Noble and a Pulitzer, best describes the highly sensitive person by saying, “The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them…a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death.”
According to psychologist Dr. Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You, 20% of the population has this innate quality. I would even take that figure one step further and suggest that a large percentage of highly sensitive people would fall into the category of creative minds.
Although this is something many artists report struggling with, I don’t believe a high sensitivity to the world should necessarily be viewed in a negative light, but rather as a divine gift. For without this quality, their art, script, music or performance might lack a necessary element capable of touching an audience deeply. This might then bring up an important question: Do people create in an attempt to process, and survive, a condition that overwhelms them?
Pearl Buck also mentions, “Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create—so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off…They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.”
Along with the process of creating, there is perhaps the opportunity to exorcise out the thing that has accumulated and taken hold internally. Once externalized, a highly sensitive person can finally make sense of the chaos, opening space toward escaping the overwhelming world they battle every day.
The work I do with clients is primarily focused on mapping out, and gaining, a deeper understanding of how an individual process the world. Together we develop a plan towards building coping mechanisms required to better maintain a healthy equilibrium. The key is to embrace this sensitivity with compassion and free from judgment of any kind. By then reframing it as a gift, rather than as an obstacle, people immediately grant themselves permission to be who they are freely and without encumbrances.
Putting together a “survival list,” so to speak, consisting of ways to channel overwhelming sensitivity can often serve as a means to cope. Serving as something like a first-aid kit for the highly sensitive person, the survival list can consist of your choice of art. That might include long walks, yoga, spending time quietly alone or with a friend, journal writing, or maybe even meditation. When the creative person has something to fall back on, this can empower him/her in better managing high sensitivity as oppose to feeling debilitated by it. Rather, they productively move forward and continue to focus their efforts into achieving the healthiest and most balanced life possible.
Content © 2008/2009 by Lisa A. Riley, The Art of Mind’s Blog. All Rights Reserved.
Helpful links:
highlysensitive.org
hspsurvival.com
hsperson.com
Tags: Creative Personality, highly sensitive person, HSP
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March 11, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Well written, Lisa! This describes me more than even I realized. While I have no traditional artistic abilities (e.g. drawing, music, etc.) my creative prowess comes out in the software I build, the photos I take, and the general way I solve problems. It has been a life long struggle to not get down when I encounter insensitive people. I haven’t yet succeeded on this front but am still trying!
August 25, 2008 at 12:00 am
You’re quite right– there are far more “creative types” among HSPs than among the population, at large. Their outlet for creative expression varies widely, however, and extends much beyond the conventional visual, creative and performing arts. A good HSP friend, for example, is an extremely creative software engineer, another invents uniquely intuitive stock market trading strategies.
April 15, 2009 at 2:29 pm
This topic is quite trendy on the Internet right now. What do you pay attention to while choosing what to write ?
April 15, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Although this topic has been around for a long time, I think it was purely coincidental that I wrote on this topic at the same time it became trendy. I simply write on topics that I feel might be interesting to my viewers. Thanks for stopping by.
June 28, 2009 at 9:54 pm
I once hypothesised that all creative individuals must be possessed of a certain sensitivity or perceptiveness, due to the origins of creativity. That is to say, nothing is completely new, but the creative process is often a synthesis of seemingly unrelated concepts, seeing connections that are not readily apparent and taking inspiration from a variety of sources. It would make sense that more creative individuals would be more perceptive on an intuitive level, as they would have far more ‘building blocks’ with which to play around with ideas.
Imagine, then, the surprise (and gratification!) I felt when upon researching the topic, my viewpoint has been somewhat supported by the scientific community. I believe the link between the kind of sensitivity mentioned, and creativity in general, is inescapable. It all seems to stem from a ‘different way of seeing the world’.
Note that I do not believe one necessarily has to create to be creative, but it is more of a mindset or way of being. I know I have had little expression over the past year or two, and I never realised how much I missed it until recently. Writing seems to be my largest release, but I even dabbled in programming somewhat. My greatest frustration lies in my inability to share with others the radiance of the inner worlds I perceive – perhaps the act of creating is how we fulfill this desire…
June 28, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Yes, one can’t help but speculate, which came first? Creativity or Highly Sensitivity? Is one creative as a result of being highly sensitive? Or is another perspective required. Perhaps when one is highly sensitive and takes in much of the external world, one must process this information or stimuli in one avenue or another. Maybe the form is creativity (in any aspect). Just something else to contemplate.
April 1, 2012 at 9:11 pm
I see my sensitivity and creativeness as one. Without sensitivity I would never accomplishment creative endeavors. My world is consumed with painting find it most enjoyable living in the world of my subject matters. Although social, my problem in conforming to large groups who are not as sensitive as I and do not feel understood or comfortable.
April 2, 2012 at 5:18 am
Linda, thank you for sharing. Sensitivity and creativeness seems to operate as a whole, one fueled by the other. It’s as if sensitivity allows the creative person to see the world through a magnifying glass, noticing the details where others might otherwise overlook. The same goes for experiencing and feeling the world, especially in social situations. I do believe one can master one’s sensitivity to be able to channel it constructively. To filter it in a way not to allow it “all” in, like turning down the volume knob.
October 30, 2012 at 5:39 pm
I am so glad to have found this site.
I am a singer and I write, I am so sensitive to this world at times I just want to —.
I have very few friends because people just don’t understand my reaction to this world plus I am sensitive to smell as well as sound as touch..
Everthing hurts!!!!
When I go outside I can smell the gas and the ciggaret smoke and what ever other poisin that’s in the air that I stop- breathing
I can be 10 feet away from someone smokeing and my throat will close-up.
I want to get off this planet. The only time I am at peace is when I sing. Your blog has given me hope that there are others in this world like me,