Signs You May Be a Highly Sensitive Person
Have you been complimented for how considerate, helpful, and kind you are? Or maybe you easily get upset by the noise, chaos, or unexpected turn of events. Do you prefer spending your time in quiet places or enjoy a few hours a day walking or working alone at home? If so, you may be one of the 20 percent of people who have the distinct personality of being highly sensitive.
HSPs (Highly Sensitive Person), according to Elaine Aron, the psychologist who coined the term, are characterised by greater sensitivity, responsiveness, and awareness of social and environmental stimuli. Her studies found that HSPs have a set of genes that leads to having a more highly attuned nervous system. They have a greater tendency to “pause to check” when caught up in different situations that show high levels of awareness and attention to subtle stimuli.
| HERE ARE SOME SIGNS THAT YOU MAY HAVE A HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSONALITY: | ||
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| 1. As a HSP, you have a depth of processing. If you can get inside a sensitive person's head, you will find that they are reflective. They tend to be very creative and intuitive. As excellent observers, they process information more carefully. They make decisions slowly, contemplating everything thoroughly. | ||
| 2. As a HSP, you are sensitive to subtleties. As a quote says, “In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence." Are you someone who notices small details that other people don't? From your friend's glowing face to your colleague's new lipstick shade? If you identify yourself with this trait, a sure thing, you are sensitive to external and internal stimuli. It means that you notice smells, sounds, or tastes that others don’t. | ||
| 3. As a HSP, you are empathetic. One of the core traits of empaths is they understand where people are coming from. Based on Dr. Aron and her team’s experiment participated by 18 married individuals of high (and low) SPS (sensory processing sensitivity), when they scanned the sad and smiling faces of strangers, the high SPS responded more emotionally than the low SPS. What’s more, their brains show a lot more activity when they see photos of their partner’s smile. Dr. Aron asserts that HSPs brain’s areas associated with higher levels of emotional awareness among sensitive people are connected to empathetic connection feelings. | ||
| 4. As a HSP, you easily get overstimulated. Due to their ability to perceive subtle details around them, they are extremely sensitive to their surroundings’ vibes or atmospheres. They get easily overwhelmed by high intensity, complexity, chaos, novelty, and so forth. As a result, they can quickly feel overwhelmed by too much input. While some people view HSP as a gift, it can also be viewed as a curse. Due to their higher sensitivity or responsiveness to environmental and social stimuli, they may suffer from anxiety or depression. Their empathetic nature makes them more likely to set no boundaries because they fear hurting others. HSPs struggle every day with these types of challenges, so it is vital to learn how to support them better. Suppose you are an HSP; set aside time and place for self-care. Picking up people’s emotions is indeed overwhelming, so take some time out. Go for a walk, get lost in a book, or simply log off from social media. Taking all these efforts is so worth it for your mental well-being. Fill your cup so you can give even more love freely to others. |
Are there specific high sensitivity characteristics you share?
Find out if you're an HSP. Get a high sensitivity test here.
Or, if you find your child is, let them take this test.
BOOK RESOURCES
The Highly Sensitive Person : How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You
Resources: | ||
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| https://www.newswise.com/articles/sensitive-emotional-empathetic-it-could-be-in-your-genes | ||
| https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086365/ | ||
| https://hsperson.com/ |