The Highly Sensitive Person Podcast

Recently someone posted this question in the introvert subreddit on reddit: "How to deal with half wanting new friends and half wanting to be a hermit?"   I hear and read questions like this all the time from introverts and introverted HSPs. We cherish being alone, and then sometimes wonder if we can get along without worrying about having relationships. After all, relationships are time consuming, difficult, and can be painful.   But then we often realize that we cannot exist alone. It might seem easier to avoid relationships, but it is bad for our mental and physical health. Humans were built to need and thrive on connection with others.   A Vice.com interview with Amy Banks, PhD, titled, "An Expert Explains Why You Feel So Lonely All the Time" really piqued my interest in this topic. I loved Dr. Banks' scientific explanation of why having quality relationships is so important.   Dr. Banks was an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and is now the Director of Advanced Training at Jean Baker Mi