What Does it Mean to Be a Highly Sensitive Person?

A highly sensitive person (HSP) is someone who is thought to have an increased sensitivity to physical, emotional, and social stimuli.

Experts suggest that this increased responsiveness is due to higher levels of activation in the central nervous system. It is estimated that around 20% of the population are highly sensitive people.

How Do You Know If You Are a HSP?

There aren’t strict diagnostic criteria for being a HSP, but there are some tell-tale signs. If you have been told in the past that you are ‘too sensitive’ or are bothered by things that don’t trouble other people, it’s possible that you could be a HSP.

There are certain characteristics that indicate that you may be a HSP. Here are a few of these characteristics.

• Often feeling overwhelmed by high amounts of sensory stimuli, such as noisy, crowded areas or bright lights
• Needing a lot of downtime, especially after a long day where you’ve been around a lot of people
• Regularly having deep and intense thoughts
• Being deeply moved by artwork, movies, and music

You might find that you avoid certain situations in your life, especially those that involve a lot of socialization or those that might make you feel uncomfortable.

The social battery of a HSP is often small. You might feel extremely drained after just a few hours of being away from home. You might also avoid watching particularly emotional movies or listening to heartfelt songs.

If somebody tells you a sad story or is going through a rough time, you might find this reflects in your own emotions and starts to get you down. Similarly, you hate letting people down and often go out of your way to please others, even if it inconveniences you.

Although being more sensitive to various stimuli can be seen as a negative, there are many advantages to being a HSP, including forming deep bonds with others, heightened empathy, feelings of gratitude and excellent self-awareness.