"Why am I so sensitive... All. The. Time."
"Why can't I speak up?"
"I can't make decisions under pressure. Why do I always feels so rushed?"
"Why doesn't anyone understand me?"
"Why am I so bothered by bright lights, strong smells, loud noises, uncomfortable clothes?"
"Why do other people's moods affect me so much?"
"Sometimes I feel so frazzled, I just have to be alone."
Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) are born with a trait that makes them keenly aware of all kinds of subtleties occurring within themselves and their environment. It's estimated that 20% of the population is Highly Sensitive and the trait is found in over 100 different species from primates to fruit flies! The HSP trait is found equally in men and women and 70% of HSPs are introverts, while the remaining 30% of HSPs are social extroverts but find that they require more down time to self-reflect and synthesize their experiences. HSPs tend to process the information they receive more deeply - making them more intuitive, aware and conscientious but also more easily overwhelmed and intensely affected by the world.
Being highly sensitive can be an advantage in many situations but it can also negatively impact you if you aren't aware of how the trait manifests in your life. While being a HSP is not a diagnosis, it is a trait that can express itself as anxiety, depression, fear, rumination, low self-esteem, pessimism, social withdrawal and extreme sensitivity to criticism and shame.
Often, HSPs are left with a perception of just feeling "different" from others and may not know that they are Highly Sensitive. Let's look at the key indicators to learn more about the HSP trait.
Highly Sensitive Person Traits and Signs
It's likely that being Highly Sensitive affects all areas of your life. Here are 4 main categories that describe the HSP characteristics. Our work together will help you better understand how the trait uniquely manifests in your life and assess for its strengths and help overcome challenges.
Depth of Processing
HSPs tend to reflect deeply about many, if not all, aspects of life, making you incredibly conscientious and meticulous. HSPs are well known for having deep feelings and empathy for others including animals, social justice issues and concern for the well-being of our planet. You might find yourself pulled by "hunches" or "gut feelings", but may have trouble trusting these cues. This can lead to "analysis paralysis", a fear of making decisions or making the wrong decision as well as negatively impact your self-esteem and comfort in social situations due to overthinking and rehearsing. Our work together will help you build self-confidence and trust.
Emotional Intensity
HSPs tend to feel everything deeply, including the emotional highs and lows. In addition to feeling emotions intensely, you may also be more sensitive to bodily cues such as hunger, thirst, and being tired. If encouraged, understood and fully 'seen' by important figures in your life, you likely felt and embraced being sentimental, compassionate, and full of gratitude. Conversely, you may have been told that you were "too sensitive" as a child and learned to internalize your emotions or label them as "overreactions" and carry shame, guilt, fear and discomfort with this aspect of yourself. Together, we will integrate your experiences and help you connect with your authentic self.
Overarousability
High levels of stimulation lead to high levels of arousal, and HSPs are prone to feeling stressed out, burned out, and past capacity. Without necessary downtime and solitude, you may feel overwhelmed, confused, and flustered and have trouble remembering things. You're likely to struggle with multitasking and grapple with the countless aspects of having too many roles and duties. You might avoid situations where you will be observed or need to perform quickly and judge yourself for not being able to keep up with others or have trouble expressing yourself when under pressure. Together, we will help you learn how to titrate your experience and help you self-regulate and self-soothe.
Sensory Sensitivity
Due to neurological differences, HSPs tend to take in vast swaths of information from their environment at all times. This can lead you to being excellent at reading subtle behavioral and emotional cues in others, being adept at creating a specific type of environment, and able to notice extensive details about a place or person, but also makes you liable to have a lower threshold of how much and how long you can be in certain environments and situations. This can lead to an over-aroused nervous system and many HSPs experience headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, sensitivity to foods, clothing, sounds, smells as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Our work together will help you better understand your nervous system and learn valuable tools to help ground and calm your body and mind.
Therapy For HSPs Can Help
You can experience harmony with all parts of your sensitive, courageous self.
Together we will learn how to harness the strengths of being highly sensitive to help you live a full and gratifying life. Our work together will help you gain self-knowledge about the HSP trait, allow for reframing and healing of past experiences and help you learn how to move forward and best navigate the world around you.
Together, we will work on...
New Perspectives
Let's unpack what it means to be Highly Sensitive! Fundamentally, you have elevated sensory processing activity - so while you feel distress and discomfort more intensely, you can also learn how to tap into deep wells of empathy, joy, and appreciation both in your inner experiences as well as the complex world around you. Knowledge about the trait can be deeply beneficial to understand and heal yourself. Together let's discover the reasons why this trait is so valuable and help uncover its purpose!
Coping Skills
Given that HSPs take a "think first" approach to life, it can really cause friction against the more dominant "act now" perspectives of society. This can leave you feeling left behind, pressured and overpowered. Your HSP tendency to take in more information from your environment may have you easily overstimulated and it is common for HSPs to struggle with overwhelming emotions and physical reactions. Together, we will work to create unique, personalized strategies and coping tools to help you self-regulate and understand and advocate for your needs in ways that allow your assets to shine!
Feeling Well
Let's put it all together! Our work will focus on taking what we've learned about the HSP trait and directly applying to real-world situations. We will discover how the trait shows up in your life as strengths and challenges, learn ways to leverage your gifts and create meaningful strategies to help you respond to adversities. We will work towards putting this knowledge into action so you feel more confident in yourself, have more connected, balanced relationships and feel recognized and respected in your work and personal life!
Supportive, Insightful Therapy for HSPs will Help You...
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Trust yourself and your intuition
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Cultivate resilience so you can embrace life's ups and downs
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Lean into empathy as your superpower
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Reconnect with all parts of yourself - including your vulnerability
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Practice authenticity and improve your ability to attune and respond to your own unique needs
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Reduce the load on your nervous system so you can have better sleep, more energy and increased sense of ease and calm
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Build better boundaries around your time, energy and capacity