My Bumpy Career Path as an HSP

I've had some of the worst jobs for an HSP: camp counselor, human services working with the developmentally disabled, nanny, accounting in a Boston temp firm...

Awful! What made them so challenging were:

- Unpredictability of my day

- Noise

- Confrontation

- People touching me a lot or me having to touch them

- Chaos and confusion

- Lots of interaction with people

- Very little quiet time

- Constant interruptions

- Visual distractions

This is not to suggest these jobs weren't also rewarding. I learned a lot in each experience. I especially value my time working with the developmentally disabled folks. I had never been around people with disabilities before. I learned that while they might need some help managing their lives and making decisions, at the core of it they are just like us, wanting love and acceptance and some happiness in life.

I succeeded at those jobs because I'm smart and willing to tough things out. But I wasn't happy and so I'm certain I was not nearly as successful as I could have been. Well, truth told, camp counselor was not my shining moment. I was under a lot of personal stress at the time and was sometimes left alone with as many as 24 four year old children in a classroom. I used to say that was when my inner drill sergeant would come out. Now I know I was just trying to recover from all the stimulation and while that wasn't a bad thing, shouting at small children who are just doing what they are meant to do is not good.

At some point I figured out that I needed a job with lots of predictability and a calm, peaceful environment with minimal people interaction. I didn't have the language about HSP but I began to figure myself out and value myself enough to not subject myself to daily torture. I'm much nicer to be around and get so much more accomplished now that I'm not a giant ball of stress.

Blessings!

Caprice

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