Understanding the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

Do you feel overwhelmed more easily than most? Do you think and feel deeply? Do you notice the subtleties in your environment? Do you need a lot of downtime? You might be Highly Sensitive, or have a high level of Environmental Sensitivity.

Today I am talking about the trait of High Sensitivity and what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person. I share the distinguishing characteristics of HSPs, how their brains work differently, the challenges of High Sensitivity, as well as the benefits and important gifts that come with the trait.

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What is a highly sensitive person?

Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) have very sensitive or finely tuned nervous systems. I like to think of HSPs as finely tuned and sophisticated instruments that have special abilities, and therefore also need special care and treatment.

The scientific name for the trait is Sensory Processing Sensitivity, and HSPs have also been given the nickname “Orchids”, because of their sensitivity to their environments and need for special care.

So we may be high maintenance, but I once heard Alison Armstrong say, that it’s OK to be high maintenance, if we are also high performance. This rings true to me. High sensitivity is also found in the animal kingdom and has been identified in over 100 different species.

It is thought to be a survival strategy, since having individuals who take in more information, are more aware of their environment and reflect deeply is advantageous to a species.

High sensitivity is not the same as introversion - about 70% of HSPs are introverted, and 30% are extroverted. It’s also not the same thing as shyness. A shy person is someone who is nervous, insecure or socially anxious, and while an HSP could also be shy, they are not the same thing and don’t go hand in hand.

The term highly sensitive originated with psychologist Elaine Aron, who wrote the well-known book "The Highly Sensitive Person”.

In her book, Dr. Aron describes the common characteristics of highly sensitive people (HSPs) with the acronym DOES: Depth of Processing, Overstimulation, Empathy & Emotional Responsiveness and Awareness of Subtleties

• D : Depth of Processing - HSPs tend to spend more time in reflection and contemplation, and to take longer with decisions. They can tend towards analysis paralysis and having a hard time quieting the mind, as well as their emotions. They tend to be quite deep people: deep thoughts, deep feelings, and deep intuition. They are impressionable and tend to soak up everything around them.

• O : Overstimulation - Because they are so sensitive to sensory input and they pick up on subtleties, HSPs have a lower threshold at which they become overstimulated due to sensory overload. Anyone can become overwhelmed, but HSPs will do so much sooner than those without the trait. This includes things like other peoples emotions, noise, clutter, and crowds. Chronic overstimulation is stressful for the nervous system and can lead to anxiety, depression, insomnia and many other health issues.

• E : Empathy & Emotional Responsiveness - Not only do HSPs have intense and sometimes turbulent emotions of their own, they also feel other people’s feelings and tend to be highly compassionate. This is a gift, but also can feel like a burden and needs to be carefully managed with loving boundaries.

• S: Awareness of Subtleties - HSPs notice and are affected by subtle stimuli in their environment. Things like noise, quality of light, temperature, facial expressions and emotional energy are all experienced with more intensity. They often experience the full spectrum of life with more intensity: the joys and the sorrows.

  There are measurable differences in the way the HSP brain works, making us more aware, empathetic, emotionally responsive and more sensitive to stress.

  Research has shown that the HSP brain has more activity in the mirror neurons (empathy), the insula (center of awareness) and the amygdala (fight or flight)

The challenges of being an HSP

HSPs do face many challenges in today’s world, such as feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated easily, struggling to set boundaries, being prone to anxiety and depression, as well as many other health conditions.

They really need more self-care than most people, so it’s really important that they learn what helps them to thrive, how to regulate their sensitive nervous systems and manage their energy, how to set boundaries and how to balance their emotions.

HSPs also commonly struggle with low self-esteem, because we live in a world that values the loud, tough and insensitive, and HSPS are often viewed as weak, overly emotional or even pathological.

HSPs often feel different, and they are different (and there’s nothing wrong, this is their value) But they don’t fit the mainstream ideal, and so they often believe there is something wrong with them, and that they don’t belong.

So it’s really important that HSPs spend time around other HSPs to normalize high sensitivity, and remind them that they are not alone nor flawed. Plus sensitive people need kindness and respect, and sometimes it’s easier to get this need met in the company of other HSPs.

The way I see it is that we are living in a sociopathic society, the system that we find ourselves in does not honor or protect life or the earth, and so… it’s no wonder that sensitive, gentle, kind souls feel distressed and out of place.

HSPs do struggle to fit in with the expectations of mainstream society, which has normalized chronic stress, overworking and busyness and high amounts of stimulation.

However, there are also many benefits to High Sensitivity….

The benefits of being an HSP

HSPs have many strengths and valuable gifts that are greatly needed in the world.

They can pick up on subtleties and nuances that others may miss, so… for example, I always notice smells before other people - and if there is smoke or something else that is off or possibly dangerous - I’m like an alert system, noticing it before other people would. I think of it like the canary in the mine.

They have strong empathy and compassion, and are usually highly creative and intuitive people.

HSPs tend to be quite thorough and conscientious, and they tend to have high standards for themselves. They are visionaries who truly want to help others and make a difference in the world. They are often healers, counselors, artists and spiritual leaders.

I think of us as having a special type of intelligence : emotional and energetic intelligence. And these are very valuable abilities.

They actually make excellent leaders because of their compassion and wisdom, though unfortunately they often are overlooked or struggle with disempowerment due to the nature of our current culture.

Highly sensitive people are still often misunderstood and feel misunderstood, but awareness is gradually growing. I think it’s important that we continue to help spread awareness, for HSPS to advocate for our needs and to reclaim our value.

Just like many people are beginning to understand the importance of our vulnerability as humans, it’s important for humanity to understand and honor the part of the population that has this trait, because our gentleness, compassion and kindness that is our strength. And I think the world really needs more of that right now.