Reading this article brought a lot of relief to me. This HSP fits me to a T. My husband, an extra, extra extrovert refers to me as anti social. Now I realize I'm not anti social, just highly sensitive.

You may have just saved me from spending $$$$$ on a therapist! Thank you.

I feel so normal now! Thank you. I don't feel compelled to fit society's standard of sociability just to be polite (God, how I hate having to be polite!) at the cost of my own comfort. This means I can tell them all to f-off when I need my necessary alone time. Wow, liberating.

Thanks again.

I wonder if the author is truly an extrovert - I've always believed that most HSPs are indeed introverts - introverts can be entertainers and in the public eye and be social when it is required, but then need an unusual amount of alone/down time to recuperate. I question the "30% of HSPs are extraverts" because being an extravert goes against the very nature of being an Highly Sensitive Person - which is what most true introverts are (myself inclueded).

I kinda new MJ was highly sensitive..after i learned about myself a year ago..now I see I am in very good company..i know i have a talent for dance that was never realized but that doen'snt mean i dont enjoy it socially nor stop me from dancing in my own home.. So we should "honor" and use our gifts and not be afraid to show our god given talents to share ourselves to the world

Dr. Biali,

THANK YOU for *being* such a bright light!

Your triumph over clinical depression... your passionate flamenco dancing... your fiery red dresses :-) your fusion of traditional and holistic medicine... all these things are gorgeous, glorious proof that those of us blessed with a highly sensitive nervous system and/or introverted personality can enjoy a juicy and vivid life. Hooray!

Erika Harris, Creator
Joyful Work for Sensitive People
http://www.joyful-work-for-sensitive-people.com/index.html

absolutely, watching all the mj coverage recently it's so clear he was an hsp. the soft-spokenness, thoughtfulness, creativity, ways he could relate to animals and children. and to think that he was immersed from a really young age into environments and people that were largely unsymathetic to (or sometimes totally misunderstanding of) this quality...my heart really goes out to him. being a highly sensitive extrovert is really no easy task, and on the scale he was dealing with...at the same time i also know the high sensitivity is part of his gift, and could be part of what drew so many to him on an emotional level. anyway i'm really thankful for this article, and hope it will bring more awareness and support to people.

I found your article by googling on MJJ and high sensitive. Indeed, it’s so obvious MJJ was extremely high sensitive. As “Anonymous” (july the 12th) indicated, there is so much (beautiful) prove off it on the web. It explains a lot (for instance why the behavior of his father had so much more influence on him than on his brothers, or simply why he’s so different from his siblings). Partly this high sensitivity was a gift that helped him in being such a sweet, caring human being and great, very emotional artist and performer. But it probably also made him vulnerable and seek for shelter in a fantasy, much kinder world. I have about his age. As far as I know, “high sensitivity” wasn’t described in those days. One was rather being seen as too sensitive, too emotional or even sometimes on the edge of neurotic (as being sensitive to noise, light etc.) I hope that parents of high sensitive children now at least are aware off the good sides, but also of the dangers it may include.
I feel a deep pain for MJJ. What he had to go through (the paparazzi-stuff, the allegations, the investigations, the process and the problems with his health, his perfectionism and the obligations he felt towards the world, his fans and his children or just being different,… ) would be hard for everyone but for him especially (being so sensitive and trying from the deepest of his hart to be a good, decent human being), it must have been unbearable.

All you have to do is look at the interviews he gave to know that he was very shy and had a lot of anxiety. Watch this interview which has surfaced recently that he did with Ebony/Jet back in 1987, it's fascinating. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVSYAlljY9s

What a sweet guy he was, also he was very misunderstood and the media took advantage of his naivete I believe.

I sometimes wonder if he was on the spectrum for asperger's seems like he had trouble having relationships with adults.