Highly Sensitive Person

(If you are unsure, please take the self-test here.)

Research by Elaine Aron shows that 15-20% of the population are “highly sensitive.” Being an HSP means you are born with this innate temperament trait and therefore have a more sensitive nervous system. What we experience as HSPs is often referred to as Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). This is not a disorder or illness, just a way to describe how an HSP often experiences the world in a deeper and sometimes more intense way compared to non HSPs. 

HSPs are often highly sensitive to their environment and pick up on subtle differences around them. They process information around them such as sights, sounds, smells, and other forms of sensory input, including the body language of others, with a strongly perceptive nervous system.

 

Being an HSP has its benefits and its drawbacks. HSPs are can be creative, empathetic, highly intuitive, and feel things intensely (both the good and the not so good). Sensory Processing Sensitivity allows for a deeper connection with one’s experiences and environment. But this deeper connection also means we can easily get overwhelmed by our experiences. Loud noises, bright lights, smells, intense emotions (yours and the emotions of others), and easily hurt feelings can be difficult to deal with. Many HSPs experience feelings of not “fitting in” with the world around them. Some have been told they are “too sensitive” or made to feel weak because they “feel too much.”

 

Being an HSP is normal. SPS is a valuable asset that is crucial to the health of every society and deeply appreciated and admired in many cultures. Unfortunately, we live in a society where SPS is not often valued. This may lead to an HSP pushing themselves to be something they are not and thus paying a high price for it physically, mentally, and emotionally. And because most environments are loud, overly busy, and overstimulating, HSPs often feel overwhelmed and frazzled.

 

I know how it feels to be an HSP in this intense world, experiencing both the beauty and the challenges it can bring. It can be challenging to meet the demands of everyday life when you feel as if you just can’t do things the way others can. You don’t have to be alone in this. I can help support you in your journey.