• About Dr. Elaine Aron
  • Resources
    • For HSPs
    • For Parents of HSCs
    • International Websites
    • HSP-Knowledgeable Therapists, Coaches and Medical Professionals
      • Seeking an HSP-knowledgeable Therapist?
      • For HSP-Knowledgeable Professionals
    • Coaches and Other Professionals
      • Certified Coaches
      • Medical Professionals
      • How to Be Listed as an HSP-Knowledgeable Professional
    • Just for Highly Sensitive Therapists (and Coaches)
  • For Interviews, Speakers
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • How to Reach Us
  • The Foundation

The Highly Sensitive Person

  • Home
  • Books
    • The Highly Sensitive Person
    • The Highly Sensitive Parent
    • The Highly Sensitive Person’s Workbook
    • The Highly Sensitive Person in Love
    • The Highly Sensitive Child
    • Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person
    • The Undervalued Self
  • Self-Tests
    • Are You Highly Sensitive?
    • Is Your Child Highly Sensitive?
    • High Sensation Seeking Test
  • Comfort Zone
    • Blog
    • Email Newsletters 2004-2014
  • HSP Events
  • Store
    • Bookstore
    • Audio
    • DVDs
    • Therapist List Test Materials
    • Shipping Info
  • If You Need Help
    • Therapists
    • Coaches
    • Medical Professionals
    • How to be listed as an HSP-knowledgeable professional
  • Research
    • Measurement Scales for Researchers
    • Summaries of Research – Easy Reads
    • Sensory Processing Sensitivity: The State of the Model (in Powerpoint format)
    • Research Articles by Elaine and Her Collaborators
    • Articles by Others That Are Especially Relevant
    • Researcher Contact
  • Videos & Podcasts

Back to School: HSPs and their Education

August 28, 2008 By Elaine 1 Comment

Originally published in Comfort Zone Newsletter: August 2008.

This is for both HSPs and the parents of HSCs, whether those parents are sensitive themselves or not. So this time I will refer to HSPs in third rather than first person plural–they, not we. Most of these points I have made before in other places, but it does not hurt to review them here:

HSPs in the classroom tend to be:

Conscientious
Alert and observant
Quick to grasp what instructors want
Creative
Curious
Self-motivating
Reflective
Bothered more by timed tests
Uncomfortable performing unless well prepared and praised
Aware of deadlines and the need to plan ahead
Hurt by harsh criticism
Helped most by hearing what they did well
Not in need of punishment
Easily shamed

Suggestions:

Try to choose teachers and educational settings that will be best suited for someone with the above qualities! If an instructor has been especially helpful, ask this person for recommendations of others who are similar. Do not hesitate to let someone put in a good word for you (or your child) with the next teacher.

When starting school, HSPs will inevitably be highly stimulated by the transition and will need more down time to reflect and recover. Taking that time can be difficult, since social ties are often being made or renewed at the start of the school year. So rather than retiring to a quiet room, HSPs will need to go out and meet new people more than they usually would, in order not to feel left out later. HSPs need to accept that both social and academic goals are equally important for their long-run success. They must balance these two worlds, and at this time in their lives, they will not do either one perfectly. Exercise, keeping their living space tidy, or keeping up with family and old friends may have to take even a lower priority.

At the start of the school year there will be emotional ups and downs. Many things will not go well, or as well as was hoped. HSPs should expect this, so that they are not thrown off by a seeming failure or a period of anxiety, depression, or harmful self-criticism. Instead they need to stay grounded in the reality of the situation: this is a difficult time of transition. They have to get enough sleep, eat right, get out into nature now and then, and spend time with supportive people. If possible, they should be well rested and in a good mood when meeting new people, or wait until another opportunity comes along.

HSPs thrive when they are learning. The more education, the more they can contribute to the world. Of course they can study on their own, but higher degrees given by actual institutions can earn them the respect they need to be influential and to have their good ideas heard. So it is essential for them to become at ease in educational settings. This is the start of the academic year, and “well begun is half done.” So do start well, but in keeping with your child’s greater sensitivity.

Filed Under: Old Comfort Zone Articles

Comments

  1. Robert Stamey says

    January 21, 2021 at 12:58 pm

    Hello Mrs. Aron,
    I’m writing to you to thank you for your understanding of highly sensitive people. I’m a highly sensitive person myself and I have learned so many things about HSP’s reading your books. I’ve thought seriously about going back to college so that I can help others who are highly sensitive. I earned a B Div. and a Th. M. I’m an ordained minister also. I believe a degree in Psychology would help me in the ministry immensely. What is your input on the matter? Again, thank you my friend!

    Reply

Share Your Comments & Feedback: Cancel reply

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. All comments are moderated before posting, so please be patient.

The purpose of these comments is to share your experiences and support each other as HSPs. Elaine is busy these days with her research and writing, and usually doesn’t have time to reply, but she invites and appreciates all of your thoughts, feedback, support, and conversation.

If you disagree, please be respectful. Avoid harsh language or negative assumptions about motivations or character. Focus on facts, ideas and - most of all - compassion.

If you have other correspondence, please use the links under the "How to Reach Us" tab.

 

Some HTML tags allowed: <strong>, <em>, <del>, etc.

Recent Posts

  • Research from 2022 on High Sensitivity
  • Research: High Sensitivity Wrongly Identified with Narcissism, Plus Studies on Parenting Applied to Managing and Caregiving
  • More HSP Research
  • More Research, from 2018 and 2019

Posts by Category

Announcing our newest book
The Highly Sensitive Parent

HSP Parent

New 25th Anniversary Edition
The Highly Sensitive Person

HSP 25th Anniversary Edition

Announcing the release of our documentary Sensitive Lovers: A Deeper Look into their Relationships

In this documentary, Art Aron (well-known love researcher) and Elaine Aron provide the science and advice behind the film Sensitive and in Love. Learn more about Sensitive Lovers here.

Sensitive and In Love

A feature film, focuses on what perhaps matters most: how high sensitivity affects your relationships with loved ones. Learn more and purchase the Sensitive and In Love here.

Sensitive: The Untold Story

Rent or purchase Sensitive: The Untold Story here.

Search

Subscribe

Sign up for The Comfort Zone
for updates and announcements about events, book releases, blog posts and other news of interest to the HSP community. We will not share your information with anyone else.

CLICK HERE to join our mailing list.

About this Blog

The quarterly Comfort Zone ended in 2014, partly to give Elaine more time to write, but also because a blog seemed more up-to-date and flexible, allowing her to write new posts based on the interests of readers. If you've signed up for her list, you will be notified when she has posted anything new. Comments: While she will not answer every comment, she will read them all and, again, may be inspired by some comments to write another blog post. You will also receive emails of any important announcement rather than these showing up only in the quarterly issue. Old Comfort Zones: The many emailed Comfort Zones are still very timely. To make full use of the extensive Comfort Zone archives, the Comfort Zone section has a Google search that will find old Comfort Zone issues as well as topics in the blog posts.

The Original Book

The Highly Sensitive Person book cover

A general introduction and covers every aspect of an HSP's life. Worldwide bestseller. Translated into 32 languages. With an Author's Note summarizing the latest research.

More Books by Elaine Aron...

Connect with Us

For questions, problems, or feedback, go here and choose the email address that fits your needs.

Copyright © 2023 Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. — All rights reserved.