Highly Sensitive Person
Are You Highly Sensitive?
HSP is another neurotype found under the Neurodergent umbrella. Here are some traits of being HSP:
Depth of Processing - You think about everything deeply. Your inner world is always going and is complex. You take in everything from your environment. It's hard to find rest mentally.
Overstimulation - Because you take in so much from your environment and your mind is always going, you become overstimulated easily. This can feel like anxiety, feeling frazzled, being irritable, and needing to shut out extra sensory stimuli.
Empathy / Emotional Sensitivity - You feel your emotions deeply and you pick up on others' emotions. You can sense what others are feeling. It's sometimes hard to separate others' feelings from your own. You care a lot. A lot affects you.
Sensing the Subtle - You notice the details. You notice practically everything around you. Any subtle changes in the environment, even in a shift of emotion / energy, you can pick up on. You brain and body are sensitive to the sensory input around you. Light may feel too bright, sounds too loud, fabrics too rough, etc.
HSP Problems
Easily overwhelmed
Depression
Anxiety
Feel misunderstood
Trouble expressing self
Chronic stress
Social difficulties
Low self-esteem
Trouble with boundaries
HSP Strengths
Strong intuition
See more beauty
Individuality
Emotional awareness
Anticipate others' needs
Connection to nature
Deep thinker
Care for others
Therapy for Highly Sensitive People
HSPs have unique needs, problems, and strengths. Treatment approaches vary greatly, depending on the focus of therapy. For treating some of the most common HSP problems, here is a list of the forms of treatment I rely on most.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills