Being a highly sensitive person (HSP) can make you feel separate or different. However, being highly sensitive is not a disorder, it’s a personality trait. This isn’t something to treat or change; it’s something to better understand and thrive with. Being an HSP is exactly what it sounds like: being ultra-sensitive to sensory input, people, and the environment, but there’s more to know.
What Is a Highly Sensitive Person?
While high sensitivity is considered a personality trait, it is not classified as what the American Psychological Association (APA) identifies as one of the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.1 Out of the five traits, high sensitivity may be most closely associated with conscientiousness, which describes careful or detail-oriented people. In order to be this meticulous, it is necessary to be highly sensitive.
High sensitivity is also linked to introversion. Introversion isn’t explicitly named as one of the Big Five; however, it falls on the far end of the spectrum for extraversion. Extroverts feel energized by social interaction, while introverts recharge by spending time alone. It’s important to note that people can be both extroverted and introverted, and possibly more so at different times in their life.
Is High Sensitivity the Same as Introversion?
Introversion is common amongst HSP, though not all HSP consider themselves introverts. In fact, up to 30% of HSP may be extroverts.2 High sensitivity is actually a separate personality trait entirely. Many HSP find that they need time to recover from experiences that are activating to their high sensitivity, but they may not need to be alone to recharge in general.
What Does It Feel Like to Be an HSP?
Each HSP has different experiences depending on their particular situation and stage of life. When you are young and unaware of your high sensitivity, you may feel extremely overwhelmed. You may experience overwhelm with sensory input (like sights and sounds) and your emotions, as well as the emotions of others.
Western's cultures do not fundamentally value sensitivity like some other cultures, so HSPs can feel as though there is something wrong with them, if they are oversensitive or weak. This can bring additional stress around being an HSP on top of to overwhelm that is already present. If kids grow up in an environment where sensitivity is valued, they can have a positive experience of being an HSP.
HSPs have many unique experiences. For example, strong intuition is common amongst HSPs. In other words, HSPs can often sense things that are happening around them that are not being named. Additionally, many HSPs experience exhaustion. This is due to the fact that highly sensitive brains process stimuli more deeply.
Final Thoughts on Being an HSP
If you’re not sure how to best utilize your potential as an HSP, you’re not alone. Talking to a therapist or reaching out to a trusted friend or family member can make a big difference in how you feel about yourself, life and thrive with your delicate but wonderful trait.
This project is something intimate and emotional for me. As a deep full HSP person, I know the struggles we go through until we discover "Who we really are". Certainly sure, many people experience the same circumstances when they have issues finding their true identity, communicating what they feel or how they feel.
This project is just a flag, the tip of the iceberg, a signal buoy for all of you that feel too much, that are call "too sensitive", that get overwhelmed with their reality. You are not broken, you will never be, you are just tuned in a different frequency.
That's A WONDERFUL GIFT FOR YOU and THE WORLD whenever you feel ready to share it with everyone around you. Be, Feel, Explore, Share.
I hope you like it, but even more important, I truly desire it helps you in your own journey.
