If you haven’t heard of the term Highly Sensitive Person(HSP), you aren’t alone. Most people have never heard of this, but the traits and characteristics of someone who is an HSP should be familiar.
When someone is an HSP, they have a unique way of interacting with the world. Their experiences and interactions with people are often completely different than someone who is not an HSP. Being a Highly Sensitive Person is not a mental health disorder like anxiety or depression. But, because of the characteristics and traits they possess, HSPs are more likely to experience anxiety or depression.
You might be drawn to this post because you are wondering if you are an HSP. Let’s dive into what being an HSP is all about.
What Is A Highly Sensitive Person?
HSPs feel everything much more deeply than the average person. Their senses, essentially, are always in overdrive. They can pick up on subtle shifts in a change of energy with their friends and family. Their intuition tells them that something is wrong or off with someone and they are usually right.
HSPs have a tendency to feel overwhelmed when they are overstimulated. For instance, if they are in an environment that has a lot going on in terms of noise, sights, and smells, they are likely to feel overwhelmed. Most people, they can handle a lot going on in an environment. But for HSPs, their senses are so in tune with what is going around them that it can seem too chaotic for them.
Common Traits Of A Highly Sensitive Person
Empathetic
If there is one trait that most HSPs are associated with, it would be this one. Empathy is the ability to truly understand and feel the emotions that someone is going through. They are highly in tune with not only their emotions but the ones of others, as well.
Do you ever cry or get really emotional while watching the news? Or even during a television show or movie? This is definitely a sign of you being an HSP. Your connection with the energy of other people is strong enough that you can pick up on what they are feeling without them verbally expressing it. Which can make you feel crazy, at times, but it is a truly wonderful trait to possess.
Sensory Overload
HSPs are sensitive to emotions as well as their actual senses. If you are an HSP, you might become really irritated with certain sounds. Or maybe you cannot stand certain smells when you are around them. Or you may avoid certain textures because you can’t stand the way they feel. All of these things are normal and most people will experience them. However, as an HSP, you likely become really overwhelmed when you experience a sensation that you can’t stand. Because your senses are in overdrive, you experience them in a much stronger way than the average person.
Feeling Overwhelmed Easily
You might not know how to express it, but everything starts to feel like too much. There’s too much noise. Too much going on around you. Because you take so much in, you might feel extremely anxious when you are overstimulated.
More Traits Of A HSP
How To Handle Being An HSP
First, know that there is nothing wrong with you. You aren’t crazy. Being an HSP, while challenging, is actually a really beautiful way of experiencing life. But dealing with the anxiety and overwhelm is definitely not a walk in the park.
You may want to just keep these sensitivities to yourself for fear of being judged. However, it is something that is normal, there is just not a lot of research about this. You deserve to find help and ways to cope with this. As licensed therapists, we are very familiar with the challenges highly sensitive people face. Reach out to us soon so we can discuss how anxiety therapy can help you.
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