Groups > The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

Thanks, for the info denmark" That was so helpful. Depression is a connection to HSP.

I have expressed it all the time. For instance" I'm very sensitive to my enviroment, if it is not right or depressing mood, or surrounded by moody or depressed people. It will affect me.

If it isn't pleasent or clean,

i get affected by the surroundings very quickly.

You are so right.

I just wanted to throw in a note here regarding my own depression. Sadly, due to my actions in the service (quite literally things which are honest to goodness classified, no joke), I ended up with a good portion of a bullet fused to my C1 vertebrae. The former bullet portion of my C1 will now occasionally brush up against my nerve bundle sending pain shooting through my body to a degree for which there are no words. Thus, I am a chronic pain patient, which in combination with going from being a vivacious, gregarious (though a tad loquacious as well) person to a person who is more mysonthropic than anything else, it's no surprise to anyone I ended up "depressed."

As my PDoc says, I'm depressed because I'm in pain and can no longer bebop around the way I used to, and who can blame me?

It's certainly not my choice to be this way. Were it not for having one certain doctor (my pain specialist), I would already have taken the drive or flight to Oregon and been done with it all already.

I wonder though, whether my depression would be considered situational or not? It's certainly only through circumstance that I end up depressed, very ruminative about my situation, trying to make the best of things (is there anything an ENFJ does better than see the best of things whether they want to or not?).

I would like to respond to everyone through this post, but know it doesn't work like that. I will apologize to Denmarkguy (BTW, I'm 75% Danish myself through heritage, and grew up eating Kringle, Ebleskever, Fleskesver, "Danish Pancakes" [which are much like crepes, just filled with jelly], et. al. I so strongly identify with my Danish heritage, I've strongly considered a) legally changing my name to have a Danish last name instead of my father's last name b) moving to Denmark and living there--permanently c)perhaps getting dual citizenship. Just suffice it to say I'm a very proud Dane, though we're vastly underrepresented in the US).

Anyway, I hope I can help people understand the ENFJ (all 2% of us, and the amazing stat of 1/2 of 1 percent of men).

And for what it's worth, when dealing in the four basic personality types, only perhaps 25% of the population belong in the NF OR NT group. Intuitives are just not "normal." It's definitely genetic, however much like blue eyes, green eyes, etc.., being THIS intuitive is a recessive gene. The only reason we're around still is NFs can really only sustain a relationship with another NF, and even then they each have to be aware they need to take care of themselves once in awhile. Yes, the world needs us, but we're so helpful, people tend to think we don't need any help on our own, when we certainly do.

Anyway, I'll contribute more--am sorry I haven't commented on more posts and will in the future.

In truth, when I was tested (the right way--answering the questions as I would naturally answer them and not as I have learned to live life [more on this later]--I ended up as an ENFJ though the first time I was tested, I was scored an ENXJ [combination Teacher/Field Marshall]) I was right on the cusp of NT and NF. It's important that people know not just their own temperament, but also their cusp temperament. If out of 40 points, you scored a 38 towards something, then it's okay to ignore the advice given to someone of the opposite type, but if you scored 22 points out of 40, most analysts will just give you your label without realizing how very close you were to scoring something completely different.

It's why, when I test people now, I am certain to tell them to answer the way they would naturally answer, and NOT the way life has taught them to react. A good example would be a question on "impulse shopping" or getting a visceral feeling when buying a big ticket item. Through mistakes in life, I've learned to ignore that desire to purchase something I adore on the outset and to really have it looked into before I spend a bundle. That's not my nature though. It's a learned behavior. So when that question came up the first time, before I was instructed on how to answer to get the truest reading, I answered as I'd learned, not as was my nature. Changing that one question changed me from an ENXJ to an ENFJ with strong ENTJ tendencies.

Please consider this food for thought and only food for thought. I certainly don't intend to criticize or offend anyone, especially not in an HSP group. :-)