Welcome to the HSP Network for New Zealand and Australia! If you’re an HSP in New Zealand or Australia then you’re in the right place. You no longer have to feel alone in the world, as you are now in the company of friends – people who share your trait, common experiences and interests.
If you’re not an HSP, then you most certainly know a few HSPs and this website may help you understand them better.
About The New Zealand-Australian Highly Sensitive Person’s Network The New Zealand-Australian Highly Sensitive Person’s Network is aimed for people in New Zealand and Australia with the trait of high sensitivity as described by Dr Elaine Aron in her book, The Highly Sensitive Person.
It aims to provide information about the trait of high sensitivity as well as provide a means for HSPs to get in touch with other HSPs for support and friendship. It is hoped that as awareness of the trait grows and numbers increase that workshops, local groups and annual gatherings may be organised in the future.
If you would like to be involved, please let us know through our contact form so we may add you to our database.
How It All Started Before I discovered I was an HSP I always knew I was different, but unable to explain why I reluctantly accepted the explanations of well meaning friends, family and teachers that I was shy, a loner and weak.
Like many HSPs when I read Dr Aron’s book I felt as though she had written it solely about me. At last I had something that proved there was nothing wrong with me, that my quiet, introspective nature was perfectly normal and not a ‘social disorder’. In addition I was also very excited to find that my sensitive nature was in fact linked to my other sensitivities such as my sensitivity to bright light and loud noise, my allergies, and even my low effort tolerance.
However the concept was still very abstract, it was something I had read in a book and was yet to be cemented in my life. I thought I was incorporating what I had learnt from the book into my life but I continued to struggle, particularly with fatigue, niggling health issues and emotional instability. I believed that my sensitivity was the key, but I didn’t know what I was doing wrong.
I felt alone, not knowing anyone else who had read her book that I could talk to, so in 2005 I contacted Dr Aron in the hope that she might know of a group in New Zealand I could join. However there wasn’t one, so I volunteered to act as a contact person for this side of the world and started a database of people who made enquiries to her and Jacquelyn Strickland’s (organiser of the USA HSP gatherings) websites. In chatting with the people I made contact with my enthusiasm continued to grow to establish a network of some kind for New Zealand and Australia. I then decided to attend one of the HSP gatherings in the United States to learn more about the trait and to meet other HSPs so in June 2006 I attended the West Coast gathering in Marin County, just outside San Francisco.
I found the gathering to be one of the most uplifting experiences of my life. For the first time no explanations were necessary – I was with people who understood exactly what it was like to be me. Though much of the activities were related to the trait I was pleased to find that the gathering was also very much a social for HSPs with activities that HSPs prefer such as art, music, writing, gentle walks in nature and stimulating conversation. Above all I was thrilled by how validating the experience was in that it proved to me that the trait is real and therefore the feeling of being overwhelmed and resultant physical and emotional effects are just as real. Being highly sensitive truly is real, it is not something that is ‘all in the head’ or imagined. In addition, meeting other HSPs also reassured me of just how normal we are. We are all ordinary people from all walks of life, who simply experience life in a different way to other people.
I learnt a lot from the HSPs at the gathering by seeing how they had changed their lifestyles to suit their trait and realised I was still trying to ‘beat’ my trait, trying to force it to fit in with my busy lifestyle and had simply been pushing myself too hard for too long. I realised I simply had to slow down and when I returned to New Zealand I began making some changes in my life to create a lifestyle more in tune with my trait.
I was inspired to share what I had learnt and to continue building a network on this side of the world and so I set up this website as a first step toward helping other HSPs appreciate their trait and find balance in their lives.
– S. Bothma, Christchurch, New Zealand, July 2006
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”
— George Eliot
DISCLAIMER: The contents on this website do not constitute professional advice and are intended only as general information and as a first point of reference. If you are struggling with any issues relating to high sensitivity and feel in need of help we recommend you seek professional help from a trained counsellor or medical practitioner. The contributors to this site take no legal responsibility for the accuracy of the contents from any outside source included on this site.
|