Supernose!

by juniper
(kc mo)

I have lots of checks in many categories, but I laughed out loud at the ones about hyper olfactory functions. I checked all of those. I have always thought of my sense of smell as a gift. It is so much stronger than that of my family and friends that it is striking. I am 40 and I've always had this. Of course I have to smell everything before it passes through my lips and everyone I am ever around. It is a gift to me in that if I go to a restaurant and have a new dish, if I smell it mindfully, I can go home and marvelously replicate it because I can identify separate herbs or seasonings within the dish.

I am universally regarded in my family as an expert to tell if something is bad. I think that this has often literally saved myself and my family from eating something that would have made us ill. Speaking of ill...many smells are so intense that they make me ill. Where I adore essential oils, chemical perfumes are nauseating. I can stand next to a person in an elevator and know what they have eaten for their last meal. This sense of smell has been a blessing to me for interpersonal relationships. If someone doesn't smell right- to me they aren't right. And I fully believe in pheromones having to match for a relationship. One of my boyfriend's armpit smelled so good...I just loved to smell it. I can identify many, many smells that other people can't from the smell of coolant evaporating in my transmission to real vanilla bean or a wine that has been aged in oak. I take great delight in smelling something, closing my eyes and mentally searching the vast list of smells in my brain to identify the match. The funny thing is, the only reason that I am on this page is because I think my daughter has this disorder (not just the nose thing).

A few days ago we were talking about her senses and disorders such as these and I did associate my super powered nose as something that might be related to her difficulties. So I had a good laugh. Maybe I do have this disorder, I don't know. Even though a very strong sense of smell can really be overwhelming (sometimes I get migraines associated with strong smells or literally gag from something unpleasant), I have claimed so much pleasure and happiness from my life through this incredible sense of smell that I had to relay to everyone else who reads this page that sometimes you can just make the best of what you have and love it for what it is. Maybe you could call it a strong dose of radical acceptance coupled with positive thinking. Best of luck to you and yours that are on this path...