Sights, sounds, smells, and other forms of sensory input may cause a heightened experience for HSPs. A sound that is barely perceptible to most people may be very noticeable, and possibly even painful, to an HSP. There's more to being a highly sensitive person than just being sensitive to stimuli.
Events such as stress, trauma, bereavement, and major life changes can cause you to feel more sensitive. Anxiety disorders also often lead to increased emotional sensitivity.
Highly sensitive people may be more affected by certain situations such as tension, violence, and conflict, which may lead them to avoid things that make them feel uncomfortable. You might be highly touched by beauty or emotionality. Highly sensitive people tend to feel deeply moved by the beauty they see around them.
If someone's levels are high, overwhelm will occur much more quickly. If someone is unable to self-regulate or decrease the overwhelm, then a meltdown can occur.
The relationship between highly sensitive people and anger is a much-misunderstood topic. Due to traits of their personality, heightened empathy or childhood conditioning, many highly sensitive people have repressed anger, and do not know how to deal with their emotions healthily.
Extreme sensitivity to criticism
People with avoidant personality disorder are very sensitive to anything critical, disapproving, or mocking because they constantly think about being criticized or rejected by others. They are vigilant for any sign of a negative response to them.
Being highly sensitive is an invaluable trait that comes with many advantages. HSPs are known to be highly observant, intuitive, thoughtful, compassionate, empathetic, conscientious, loyal, and creative. In fact, managers consistently rate people with higher sensitivity as their top contributors.
Highly sensitive people tend to be conscientious and empathetic and may notice subtle changes in their interactions and environment. Some benefits include: Social skills: HSPs tend to notice things others do not. Picking up on body language and other subtle cues may help them develop strong social skills.
HSPs often struggle with overthinking, feeling like an imposter, and feeling like they are always doing something wrong.
If you're a highly sensitive person, you have a heightened awareness of the stimuli around you, which can be good or bad. HSPs tend to be bothered by violence and can easily be overwhelmed, which leads them to avoid certain situations. Highly sensitive people can also be very creative and have a deep level of empathy.
Most highly sensitive people display rare strengths in key areas of emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient (EQ) — the ability to recognize and understand emotions in themselves and others. These strengths including self-awareness and social-awareness.
Not only are HSPs extra sensitive to environmental stimulation, they're also sensitive emotionally. According to Dr. Elaine Aaron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person, sensitive people tend to cry more easily than others. “Sensitive people can't help but express what they're feeling,” she told the Huffington Post.
Our brains are wired for bigger emotional responses.
This means we can feel our own emotions more powerfully. Happiness, sadness, frustration, and more come on strong for HSPs — and crying is a natural way to process and release those emotions. (Importantly, these strong emotions are still considered normal.
Someone who knows how to have an authentic connection — they like deep conversations about feelings, emotions, and aspirations. Superficial relationships made up of small talk hold no value to highly sensitive people.
For example, if they are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, you could suggest that they spend a few minutes alone and takes some deep breaths. You might also encourage them to take solo walks during their lunch break, and to listen to soothing music with earphones.
As a psychotherapist, I have found taking things personally to be a common struggle that many experience. And highly sensitive people (HSPs) have an active inner world and a heightened nervous system, which makes them more prone to these experiences than others may be.
Being sensitive is being kind, caring, able to pick up on the feelings of others, and aware of their needs and behaving in a way that helps them feel good. Being sensitive is often a good thing. It helps respond to the environment and people. It helps us being alert of the danger.
For people who are not highly sensitive, HSPs can seem moody, “oversensitive” and “neurotic.” But research has demonstrated that HSPs are only more neurotic (the tendency to be anxious and depressed) than others if they had childhoods punctuated by trauma and adverse events.
HSPs are typically highly intelligent, and seek out opportunities to do deep work. Many HSPs are academics, artists, researchers, scientists and technicians with high level proficiency.
Highly sensitive person research suggests that a brain chemical called dopamine is related to high sensitivity. Some nerve cells have “receptors”, that is, places where dopamine is accepted by the nerve cell. One type of dopamine receptor is called dopamine receptor 2 or DRD2.