Highly Sensitive Person revelation
A 3rd [slightly] unhinged, drastically redesigned draft of a magazine-like tanjennts.
CONTENTS
the tanjennt: highly sensitive person revelation + HSS
self-promo: request, last week's paid newsletter
links: to explore, coffee notables
inspiration & updates
I’m not sure how this article got into my queue, but through it and several self-tests, I discovered that I’m a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). I’ve seen HSP mentioned in mental health posts before, but I thought it was more of a personality trait or something developed from trauma (not the case), experience, or related skill-development. To my surprise, some believe it’s genetic (scientific validity is not confirmed, and it is not a diagnosis), and up to 30% of the population are HSPs.
This news is about three days old to me, so bear with me as I exude some enlightened discovery feelings.
Reading through another list, I found items that I had attributed to social/general anxiety or being an introvert, past barista/FOH staff, or child of immigrants. And of course, there’s an overlap of HSP with traits and diagnoses, plus various areas of sensitivity.
Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby?
Do you like deep conversations?
Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time?
Do other people tell you that you are good at understanding what they are feeling or thinking?
Do you tend to reflect on things deeply?
Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows?
Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art?
Do you have a rich and complex inner life?
When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy?
This isn’t a complete list; however, I do hit the high end of the “extremely” scale for all but one of the above.
- The first time I watched The Office, I could barely finish the pilot episode. It was so intensely awkward, and I was getting second-hand embarrassment from watching it.
- I absolutely cannot get past the intro of Law & Order SVU or watch psychological thrillers.
- If I walk into a room where there was an argument, I know instantly just from the energy of it.
- When my friend shared a clip of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra performing in Vegas, my first thoughts were not about the music, they were about the blinding amount of lasers and strobes. I didn’t know that a concert hall could have so many lasers in different colors, rhythms, constantly moving around and into your eyes.
- A long time ago, the first time I wrote about racism and sexism in the coffee industry, it went viral within the industry, and I was wholly unprepared. There was a lot of criticism and disbelief that completely froze me in a four-month rumination cycle, until I could finally write the follow-up.
HSP also explains why I need my surrounding environment to be calm and aesthetic. When I lived on the fifth floor of a 70s multi-unit apartment building (imagine carpeted pillars in the shared hallways), I looked up at a popcorn ceiling, down at a beige carpet, sideways at white plaster walls, and out the window to a gas station. Now I’m in a place bursting with color and plants, art on the walls, and a neighborhood that’s just as colorful.
I’m also a sympathy vomiter and crier and this kind emotional mirroring is exhausting. It’s why I can’t write two emotional article topics in a row. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), in the process of learning more about HSP, I also learned about the High Sensation Seeker (HSS) trait and that the two can co-exist in one person. Someone with HSS looks for new sensations, but in a controlled manner. The below was about a husband and wife who were both journalists.
The HSS husband was able to write his story about the catastrophe without too much distress, and was even glad he’d had this great career opportunity. The HSP/HSS wife could write nothing for days (although what she eventually wrote was deeply meaningful). She was too shocked, almost as if she’d been in the nightclub herself.
And this one made me laugh:
About careers, I have noticed that HSP/HSSs seem to make the ideal interviewers. They are very curious and like meeting new people, at least in this structured environment, and they can use their sensitivity to get into the other person’s mind and ask the right question.
I did not go searching for all of this. However, knowing that I am both HSP and HSS explains a hell of a lot of things: I get antsy if holed up for too long by myself, and I LOVE to travel to new places, but also need a significant amount of days to recover from a trip. This duality kind of feeling is similar to when anxiety and depression are battling each other.
If you read this far, or also had a similar light bulb moment, I’d love to chat with you. This shit has been wild.
Self-promo
❓Request: Know someone/business in Chicago or Las Vegas who could use some brand or dog photography? I'll be in both places in October!
📜 Published: I've been beefing up my SEO on dog photography.
🔏 Last week, paid subscribers received a letter about my time in Virginia.
Jenn Chen
From my camera
My best friend's 15-year-old dog Storm. I hadn't seen her IRL in 10 years!
Down the rabbit hole: My search history this week
- I was looking up mango varieties and found out that in addition to bees, flies and other insects help pollinate mango trees!
- Checked Google for the definition of "zephyr" and learned its origin. Zephyr is named after the Greek god of soft westerly winds. There are many wind gods (and that's the same for other multi-diety religions).
Long reads:
"If you are like most highly sensitive people, you are probably detail-oriented in your personal and professional life. Your conscientiousness and exceptional attention to detail, as my colleagues and I have described, can be valuable in many professional settings. However, a highly valued trait can become a millstone, if it becomes too obsessive."
Mike Masnick
"Here’s something else you might not have considered: innovation requires trust. Not just between individuals, but institutional trust. People need to believe that contracts will be enforced, that property rights will be protected, that the rules won’t change arbitrarily based on the whims of whoever’s in charge."
Zoë Sessums
"When we first arrived, the cafe that used to be here hosted events—bingo, trivia, open mic nights—and people showed up. Once that place closed, it felt like the town needed that gathering place. Now, we’re that place."
Emily Bratt
"I began to suspect that much of digital nomad life was performative. In Bali, I had heard a man brag about his effortless passive income, before witnessing him looking stressed on a video call at 10pm. I watched a life coach who preached positivity on her travel vlog shout at a local waitress because her steak was overdone. And I winced at the number of 25-year-olds calling themselves entrepreneurs (although that might just be the Briton in me recoiling from American confidence)."
💡 Random rec: Bombich Carbon Copy Cloner
Keeping files backed up can be tedious. And if you try to follow the 3-2-1 rule of backup, you soon realize that the costs stack up (these raw photo files are giant!). I have a main external hard drive now that hosts my Lightroom catalog and last year of shoots. It's mirrored to a backup drive. When the main drive is in and I connect the backup, CCC runs the automation I programmed and updates the backup to mirror the main.
Coffee notables:
- Makan Café in Gaza offers a sanctuary for women, "offering privacy, solar-powered fans and routers, and relatively spacious seating."
They say the psychological toll is devastating. “Our social and religious reality makes merely revealing anything about a woman a crime, but during displacement we can only be part of the public in every detail of our lives,” Issa explained.
- Caffeine pouches are the new thing among teens (yes, a pouch). You tuck it between your lip and gums to get a hit of 100-200 mg of caffeine each.
- A thorough coverage of the CQI Q program and SCA's purchase of it. Link is gated but can be bypassed via reader mode.
- Artist Kenny Harris creates still-life oil paintings of the moka pot.
Zoey is 60% American Staffy, 20% APBT, and 20% cocker spaniel, so I find these videos to be hilarious. Her staffy side wins very often and she wears very similar expressions, especially when it's raining outside.
🍩 What I ate/drank/snacked on: this bag of Lay's wasabi octopus chips. It was quite tasty—both flavors were subtle but complementary.
