In the late fifties and into the sixties, CBS television network ran a show called “To Tell the Truth.” The show consisted of three contestants. The moderator would read a history of one of the contestants, someone who had an unusual occupation or did something notable. The other two contestants were impostors. The panelists would each be given a certain amount of time to question the contestants. The impostors could tell the truth or lie. The non-impostor had to tell the truth. Then, the panelists would vote on who was the real or actual person described at the beginning of the contest.
As HSPs, we would have great difficulty sitting in the impostor’s chair. We are driven toward the truth. I’m not saying we are perfect. Far from it. But we, galvanized by our internal compass, are compelled toward telling the truth. Even if it causes us trouble.
In my late teens and early twenties, I began seeing a psychologist. Long before Dr. Elaine Aron enlightened the world of the highly sensitive person’s disparate personality and physiology, I had trouble understanding why I was so different. I sought help in the form of psychotherapy. Louise, my wonderful therapist, started me on my journey to discovering and accepting myself for who I am. In one session I recall telling her about choosing a greeting card to send to someone for an occasion. I described how it took an extraordinarily long time to choose just the right card. And how important finding just the right message was to me. She smiled knowingly and said, “I’m sure you did. It’s who you are.”
At that time, I didn’t understand how she knew that to be who I was. But now I do. Sensitives’ internal depth of processing, conscientiousness, and empathy necessitate us to tell the truth. In every word, action, and contemplation. And when I say truth – I mean truth.
Truth has a far deeper meaning than simply not lying. Truth digs into the heart of the matter. Truth presents itself in the smallest of details, in the motivations, fears and desires, vulnerabilities and impulses, in the lining surrounding an opinion. Truth must be allowed to ooze from the pores of conjecture. To gently float to the top and show itself in unfiltered exposure. Unmasked and pure.
And it must stand on its own regardless of what it is supposed by the masses to be. This is where HSP truth is essential. We, through our gifts, can more easily get at the truth than our more non-sensitive counterparts. Not to say that we are the only ones who can reveal truth. But we are better positioned to pull truth from our senses because of our own perceptivity. Our own accessibility to truth’s rawness.
Every HSP has a duty to make finding truth their mantra. One of the callings we all share is to bring that truth to light. To uncover fallacies that we all struggle with and use our gifts to bring real truth to the world around us.
To tell the truth is not just an old television show, it is the responsibility of us all. May truth be the mantle that carries you forward.
Copyright, 2021, Monica Nelson — All Rights Reserved
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