My feet don't like my shoes. This is not new, though it has been a bit more pronounced since the sprain.

I am HSP - a highly sensitive person. This means that I relate to my world on a very physical, sensate level, and also that I am more easily overstimulated than most. It doesn't mean that I see colors brighter or smell odors stronger, but that I am more sensitive to, or more profoundly affected by these sensations. High sensitivity is an inherited trait present in 15-20% of the human population - and, interestingly, in the same percentage of the animal population.

Here's what it means for me to be HSP:

Like I said, I hate shoes. Socks too. Growing up, I did everything in sandals, even played soccer! (this had a bit to do with chronic ingrown toenails, but I still hate shoes.) I have known people who could not bear to sleep without socks, and I cannot recall the last time I saw my husband's bare feet. But unless I'm cold or going outside, the socks come OFF.

On the other hand, I'm constantly wrapping my clothes tight around me. I can't explain the sensation, except that it is very pleasant to have cool fabric close against my skin, and very irritating to have loose fabric brushing me. I'm a terrible sleeve-twister, and pant legs too.

When I go shopping, I touch everything. Clothes, fabric, jewelry, everything. I remember getting scolded often as a child and told that it wasn't polite to touch things that other people might buy. But the feel of something is a key part of my information-gathering process, almost the way I would imagine a blind person sees with their fingers.

I can't stand to wash dishes unless I wear those yellow rubber gloves. Things in the water brushing against me, or touching "dirty" food, literally makes me shudder.

I am sensitive to some, but not all, loud noises. Loud music, TV, and movies (to a certain point) are perfectly okay with me. My parents were both musicians and I grew up around a lot of loud music, and I tend to find it pleasant - sort of like hearing an old lullaby. But the sound of dishes and glasses clinking when my husband is moving things around in the kitchen makes me want to scream!

Similarly, I am irritated by some smells and thoroughly enjoy others. I cannot stand to have the smell of onions or of a dirty dish sponge on my fingers. But I love strong air fresheners, candles, etc. And I love strong foods - greek olives, onions, strong cheeses, balsamic vinegar.

I am easily overstimulated, almost constantly nervous - something like a prey animal, I imagine. Crowding and lots of "people noises" are hard for me to endure. Even small social events drain the life out of me. There is so much information to be processed and all the while I have to try to look normal and "okay." Afterwards I tend to lock myself away and hardly speak for hours. You can imagine that the month or so before Christmas is absolute hell.

In addition, I'm highly aware of and responsive to the moods and emotions of others, but I believe this to be a factor of many personality traits I have, not just HSP (for example, I am INFJ - one of the Myers-Briggs personality types - and consider myself an intuitive and an empath) as well as perhaps a personality trait in itself.

That's about all the HSP examples I can think of for now. I tend to do better when answering questions than when just spouting off from the top of my head, so if there's anything you're curious about, please ask! I think it's a fascinating topic, and of course quite near to my heart, and something that I think needs to be talked about and brought further into the mainstream. Sorry for the rather convoluted ending to my post - usually I'm a pretty organized writer and thinker - but I'm in a hurry to get back to some things I'm working on, and anyway I've said all I could think of before I started losing my train of thought!