The Highly Sensitive Person

The Highly Sensitive Person is a self-assessment guide and how-to-live template for people who feel, relate, process, and notice more deeply than others, and who frequently suffer from overstimulation as a result.

If you just think about it for a second, you probably already have a strong gut feeling on whether you would consider yourself “highly sensitive” or not. That said, our gut can be wrong, so here are the four most common traits that unite most HSPs:

Deep and thorough information-processing Above-average attention to detail Highly empathetic and emotional Easily overstimulated

According to Dr. Aron, high sensitivity is genetic and often goes hand in hand with ADHD and/or introversion. Thankfully, three of the four main “features” of HSPs are mostly positive.

For example, while it might take you more time to process all the information before making an investing decision, chances are you’ll have a more granular picture of the market when you do and can thus better allocate your money. Likewise, noticing subtleties will allow you to stand out at work, for example by pointing out an important metric in project planning that your boss may have missed. Finally, a strong sense of empathy allows us to form lasting connections with others and share meaningful moments.

Some other fringe, possible-but-not-necessary traits of HSPs are:

High dexterity and fine motor skills Improved creativity Early risers Heightened sensitivity to stimulative substances like caffeine, alcohol, and medication

What does your gut say now? Are you an HSP based on these traits?

While the first three traits of HSPs mostly help them succeed at work, connect well with others, and have meaningful life experiences, the fourth, overstimulation, can torpedo their inner balance. When you add up the upsides, it makes sense: If you’re good at noticing subtleties, process these subtleties deeply, and react strongly to other people and your own emotions, you’ll also have a tendency to feel overwhelmed by all of life’s infinite inputs. In today’s world, we are all overwhelmed. Millions of impressions are pushed onto our sensory systems every day. Between social media, work notifications, and ever-present advertisements, many of us feel exhausted at the end of the day. For HSPs, however, overarousal, as Dr. Aron calls it, is especially pronounced. A pungent smell, shining lights, big groups of people, noisy backgrounds, even acute hunger can send HSPs into a classic freeze-fight-flight-response, and none of the outcomes are pretty. They might shut down and zone out, experience a meltdown and start crying and yelling, or literally run away and hide. What can you do to handle overstimulation as an HSP? Manage your stimuli as best as you can. You can’t control your environment, but you can control which environments…