Do you have a rich, complex inner life? Are you deeply moved by the arts or music? Do you crave time alone?  Do you get annoyed when people try to get you to do too many things at once?

Do you try hard to avoid making mistakes? Do you avoid violent or scary movies? Are you affected by other people's moods? Are you very aware of subtleties in your environment? Are you very sensitive to pain? Are you easily overwhelmed by bright lights, strong smells, or loud noises? Do you have a strong need for time alone every day? Are you shaken up by change? When you were growing up, did your parents and other adults tell you, "Don't be so sensitive"?

If you answer yes to many of these questions, you may be spending a fair amount of time worrying that they're something wrong with you. In a high-speed culture where being an outgoing achiever is highly valued, people who are easily aroused by sensory and emotional stimulation often feel weird or defective. Some of the most interesting and gifted people who come to see me say that they feel this way. "Everybody else was having a good time," they say after a social event or a meeting, sounding puzzled and discouraged. "I was the only one who felt the way I did."

In her book The Highly Sensitive Person (from which the questions in the first paragraph above are drawn) the Jungian-trained psychologist Elaine Aron estimates that 15 to 20 percent of the population falls into this category. Aron, who is based in San Francisco and whose research on heightened sensitivity has also appeared in scholarly publications, offers helpful suggestions on how to stop seeing yourself as strange and use your trait to create a fuller, richer life. Everyone feels and functions best when neither too bored nor too aroused, says Aron. The tricky thing for the highly sensitive person is that she or he is more easily aroused than others and may find it difficult to follow the body's cues. By learning to recognize the gifts that your heightened sensitivity brings and to pinpoint your optimal level of arousal and live within it, you can find more fulfillment in relationships and work -- and contribute your natural wisdom to the world around you.

Therapy can offer an opportunity to move beyond feeling weird and to begin to hone your valuable intuition and insight. But it's important to work with a practitioner who appreciates the challenges and gifts of highly sensitive people, rather than viewing their traits as "problems" and assuming that these are the product of childhood trauma or a dysfunctional family. It's also important to work with a therapist who is aware of and responsive to any tendency you may have to be overwhelmed by the therapy process itself, so that the two of you can work together to create a sacred space for your healing. Aron wisely points out that although highly sensitive people are often drawn to spirituality, they may often grow more by immersing themselves in the world, and therapy can provide invaluable support. Maybe you're ready to begin to value your heightened sensitivity. With a therapist who maintains appropriate boundaries while being sensitive to the part of you that is as tender as a baby, you can learn to balance the demands and richness of your inner life with the challenges and opportunities of living with others.