You absolutely cannot handle violence in movies. (Something lighthearted is more your speed.) Bright lights and loud sounds are a no for you. (An arcade is a nightmare to you.) And you feel as if others’ moods are contagious. (Your grumpy kid puts you on edge.)
Sound like you? You might be a highly sensitive person.
What Is a Highly Sensitive Person?
The term highly sensitive person was coined by psychologist Elaine Aron, PhD, who in 1991, began researching high sensitivity, according to her website.
Having high sensitivity is influenced by one's genetic makeup and “associated with greater sensitivity (or responsivity) to environmental and social stimuli,” according to Dr. Aron’s subsequent research. It’s estimated that 20 percent of the population are highly sensitive people, according to this data.
Other research suggests that closer to 31 percent of the population can be categorized as highly sensitive people.
If you have this trait (sometimes abbreviated as “HSP”), your brain is wired to feel more deeply and become overwhelmed easily in response to your surroundings. In research, high sensitivity is also referred to as “sensory-processing sensitivity.”
“This is not a disorder or a mental health diagnosis. It’s a neurodiverse trait,” says Amy Braun, a Chicago-based licensed clinical professional counselor. The term “neurodiverse” means that someone’s brain processes information in a different way than most others, according to the University of Washington. Braun herself identifies as highly sensitive and she says that the majority of women who she works with are, too.
Indeed, the research mentioned above found that a highly sensitive person’s brain works in unique ways. People who are more highly sensitive (according to a scale developed to measure highly sensitive behavior) have brains that light up more readily in brain regions governing attention, empathy, cognitive processing and those that plan how to act in response to loved ones.
That all leads to a brain that’s more reactive to its surroundings, whether that be lights and sounds in the environment or absorbing the energy and emotions of others.
“A highly sensitive person responds uniquely to emotional stimuli,” says Bianca Acevedo, PhD, a social neuroscientist with the Neuroscience Research Institute at the University of California in Santa Barbara and editor of The Highly Sensitive Brain.
Dr. Acevedo has been part of the research on this; studies from her group show that when people scored higher on the highly sensitive trait scale, brain scans showed they had greater activation of brain regions that govern awareness, empathy, and sensory integration (how we interpret and act upon information we’re getting from our senses).
In addition, the study also found that highly sensitive people who looked at a photo of their partner smiling produced greater activity in the brain areas related to reward. In other words, seeing a loved one’s positive emotions cues up your brain to experience that as a reward in and of itself. This can help you tune into and respond appropriately to someone’s needs, according to Acevedo’s research.
What’s more, a highly sensitive person might avoid negative stimuli (like loud noises, bright lights, or distressing movies) in an effort to protect their energy, as these things can be immediately draining and overwhelming.
“For highly sensitive people to thrive in the world, the conditions of their environment do have to be somewhat different,” says Acevedo. For example, it may help to take breaks after a stressful or taxing work activity, which allows your system to better process what you just learned or did rather than continue to push through from task to task where you can easily feel overstimulated.
How Do You Know If You’re a Highly Sensitive Person?
Though a minority of people are highly sensitive, the number is not trivial.
“Understanding highly sensitive people has implications for how we think about work environments in the future and create policies. If you become overstimulated, should employers make adjustments like they would for others?” Acevedo says.
Right now, on a personal front, there are ways you can structure your schedule or work life in order to help yourself thrive in the world around you (more on that below).
But the first step in thriving as a highly sensitive person is recognizing if you have these characteristics.
Aron’s website has a handy self-test. Some clues that you have this trait?
- You don’t like having a lot going on at once.
- You’re bothered by loud noises.
- You’ve been mistaken as shy as a child.
- You consider yourself conscientious.
- You need time to unwind from stimulation.
How Does Being a Highly Sensitive Person Affect Your Health?
Braun notes that clients come to her feeling stressed, feeling overwhelmed, lacking in life balance, struggling in relationships due to their sensitivity, and finding themselves getting stuck in anxiety loops.
People who are highly sensitive may uniquely struggle with feelings of overwhelm because their brains process things deeper than the other 80 percent of the population, says Braun. “We experience all of our emotions, which is great when those emotions are positive, but we also experience negative emotions more deeply,” Braun explains about herself and other highly sensitive people.
One meta-analysis concluded that sensory processing sensitivity was linked to neuroticism in children and adults, as well as a greater propensity toward experiencing feelings of anxiety, depression, stress, and negative emotions.
There are also, however, advantages to being a highly sensitive person. You may also be able to more easily forge close, personal relationships, which research shows is a boon to health and linked to longevity.
“Highly sensitive people are skilled at connecting, relating to, and empathizing with others. We pay attention to subtle details, and so, we can be in a room and intuitively know if something is off and help someone feel better,” says Braun. That makes highly sensitive folks great friends, partners, and coworkers.
3 Tips for Taking Care of You if You're a Highly Sensitive Person
Yes, if you’re a highly sensitive person, you may get overstimulated and overwhelmed really easily, but understanding that that’s completely normal for you is the first step. “There are adaptations you can make to improve your quality of life as a highly sensitive person,” says Braun. Here are three:
1. Learn to Self-Regulate
What helps calm you down when you feel overwhelmed? Is it mindfulness? Exercise? Employing this strategy when things become too much is important. We can’t avoid everything that is challenging or a lot, but it’s helpful if you can take a pause and opt out of whatever is causing you to feel overwhelmed, says Braun.
Another strategy that you can do anytime, anywhere? Take a quick time out. Acevedo’s research suggests that sitting with your eyes closed for a few minutes and allowing your mind to wander allows your system to process and “hit a small reset button,” she explains.
2. Set Boundaries With Others
Highly sensitive people often struggle with saying no to others, as they’re prone to putting other peoples’ needs first. “They’re so attuned to others’ feelings that it becomes difficult to set boundaries,” says Braun.
Though it may feel selfish to set boundaries, especially with loved ones, it’s anything but. “Healthy boundaries create healthy relationships. If you’re always overwhelmed, you won’t be able to be the friend or partner you want to be,” Braun says.
If you feel as if you’re always catering to everyone else, she recommends prioritizing the really special people in your inner circle. (You know who they are.) Say no to those who are on the periphery so you can say yes — within reason — to your nearest and dearest.
3. Think About How to Make Your Job Work for You
Finding a career that allows you to be around others, is not overstimulating, and allows you to do deep and meaningful work can set a highly sensitive person up for success, says Braun.
Of course, that’s not always possible, but if there’s an opportunity for change, even seeking out work with a flexible schedule ensures you don’t have to be “on” all the time, which can overtax your nervous system, she explains. Look for opportunities for downtime when on the job.
Ultimately, being a highly sensitive person isn’t something you have to hide — at the office or elsewhere. “It’s a superpower,” says Braun. “If we lean into it and structure our lives and relationships in ways that balances out our nervous systems, it can be so helpful in all the different areas of our lives,” she says.
