Ted Zeff - The Highly Sensitive Persons Companion: Daily Exercises for Calming Your Senses in an Overstimulating World

Habits

Self-Esteem

Morning Routine

Evening Routine

The Five Senses

Stress Relievers

Diet

Exercise

Supplements

Relationships

Spirituality

Work

Soul

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2007 by Ted Zeff

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA

www.newharbinger.com

Cover and text design by Amy Shoup; Acquired by Jess OBrien;

Edited by Carole Honeychurch

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

ePub ISBN:

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print version as:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Zeff, Ted.

The highly sensitive persons companion : daily exercises for calming your senses in an overstimulating world / Ted Zeff.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-1-57224-493-1

ISBN-10: 1-57224-493-3

1. Sensitivity (Personality trait) 2. Self-actualization (Psychology) 3. Stress management. 4. Stress (Psychology) I. Title.

BF698.35.S47Z436

155.232--dc22

2006039644

Introduction

Highly sensitive people make up approximately 20 percent of the population in every country. The HSP (highly sensitive person) is more aware of subtleties in the environment and can therefore be easily overwhelmed by noise, crowds, and time pressure. HSPs tend to be sensitive to pain, the effects of caffeine, and violent images and are also made uncomfortable by bright lights, strong scents, and changes in their lives.

Highly sensitive people have a finely tuned nervous system and need to create a balance in our fast-paced and aggressive society by taking care of themselves. HSPs tend to process sensory stimuli more deeply than most people. It can be both an enjoyable and a challenging trait to have.

In The Highly Sensitive Persons Survival Guide, I introduced hundreds of coping strategies to help HSPs survive in our overstimulating world. This companion book offers weekly exercises for the highly sensitive person to help you create more inner peace in your life. For those who have read The Highly Sensitive Persons Survival Guide, this is a good opportunity to review the coping techniques before you perform each exercise. For those not familiar with the first book, its important to spend time reading each section in this companion book slowly as you thoroughly absorb the new material.

How to Use This Book

In this companion book, I present many inspirational exercises on how to live a harmonious life and thrive. There are fifty-two different areas for you to work onone topic for each week during the year. Its best to complete just one exercise each week so that you will slowly be able to integrate the new technique into your life. However, feel free to spend more than a week on each topic if youd like more time to make these necessary positive changes. Also, dont pressure yourself to complete all of the exercises. After reading the description of an exercise, sit quietly and contemplate whether you feel drawn to participate in the assignment. As an HSP, you are intuitive, and youll know which exercises to partake in. Spend a few minutes thinking of what you want to write down before you begin an exercise. This book is just for you, so try not to judge your answers. Write down the information from your heart, as if you were writing in a diary or a journal. You may want to either type the answers on your computer or write in a notebook if that feels more comfortable.

Sharing some of the helpful hints with a close friend or partner is an excellent method for receiving support in implementing the positive changes you desire. After you complete an exercise, it will be helpful to begin listing the changes that you want to implement on your calendar or make a list of activities to work on during the week. The key to a happy life for the highly sensitive person is planning ahead. Its very important to make the necessary preparations to reduce stimulation in advance, such as taking earplugs or a headset with you when you are going into a noisy environment.

How the Book Is Arranged

The weekly exercises in this book are divided into thirteen different sections. In the first, you will learn how to change habits by investigating your beliefs, discarding false beliefs, and identifying stressors in your life and brainstorming possible solutions. In the next section, you will learn ways to raise your self-esteem by focusing on your positive HSP characteristics, observing how societal pressures influence you, and practicing how to inform others about your trait.