A highly sensitive person complains that they suffer from it, often without being aware of it. What exactly is high sensitivity? How can you deal with high sensitivity and how do you learn to use high sensitivity as a strength?
What is HSP, a highly sensitive person?
Being a HSP or high sensitive person is more sensitive than other people to stimuli such as sounds, movements, touch and light. Thanks to their sensitivity, HSPs also pick up on more abstract things, such as the atmosphere in the room they enter or the mood of the people they talk to. This excess of stimuli is sometimes overwhelming.
As a result, HSP is often experienced as a burden. By recognizing your high sensitivity and by learning to deal with your complaints, you can also see HSP as a talent.
Cause HSP
While many are unaware of it, high sensitivity is common. As many as 10 to 20% of people are said to be highly sensitive.
According to Elaine Aron, the first to scientifically describe hypersensitivity, high sensitivity is said to be linked to a sensitive nervous system. Furthermore, hypersensitivity would in most cases be congenital.
High sensitivity: symptoms
Every high sensitive person experiences their high sensitivity in their own way. Sensory or emotional overstimulation is always the root cause, but the symptoms are various.
You often notice overstimulation in your mood or you get signals from your body: you just feel irritable or suffer from an increased heart rate, dizziness, breathlessness, inner unrest, fatigue, difficulty thinking, listening or reading. But more serious complaints can also be linked to HSP such as panic attacks, social anxiety, stress, performance anxiety, depression and burnout.
Social situations are often a challenge for highly sensitive people. Dealing with external stimuli and experiencing other people’s moods and emotions can confuse you. You need more peace and clarity and you feel different from others. You especially long for real, sincere contacts. False communication confuses you and makes you doubt yourself. You prefer to avoid social situations, groups or emotional people. Everyday situations, such as the supermarket or the bus, can also be stressful.
Do you want to know if you are highly sensitive? Take the HSP test!
Take the high-sensitivity test below and see if the statements apply to you.
I am aware of subtle signals in my environment
The mood of others affects me
I am quite sensitive to pain
On busy days, I feel the need to withdraw and be on my own
I am very sensitive to caffeine
I find bright light, sounds, strong smells or rough tissue unpleasant
My world of experience is rich and complex
I feel uncomfortable with loud music or noise
Art and music can affect me enormously
I am a conscientious person
get frightened quickly
I feel rushed when I have to do many tasks in a short time
knows well how to change an uninviting room so that people feel comfortable in it
get annoyed when people ask me different things at the same time
always try to avoid making mistakes or forgetting things
I never watch violence on television
It feels uncomfortable when there is a lot going on around me
Very hungry affects my mood and concentration
Changes in my life make me restless
I pay attention to the fine sides of taste, sound and smell
I try to avoid overwhelming situations as much as possible
I don’t perform as well when I am being scrutinized or when I have to compete with someone
Parents and teachers found me to be sensitive and at times shy
In a large group I often feel insecure and uncomfortable. I like 1 on 1 contact
Do at least 15 of these statements sound familiar to you? Then there is a good chance that you are highly sensitive.
An HSP therapist can give you more clarity about this. In the meantime, you can already get started with these HSP tips!
Highly sensitive child
Highly sensitive children (also called new age children) often face different problems than adults with HSP because of their sensitivity.
After all, they are less aware than highly sensitive adults of their problem and of ways in which they can deal with it. Therefore, a weekday school day can be particularly overwhelming for a highly sensitive child. Highly sensitive children may feel a lot, but that doesn’t mean they know what’s best for themselves or others. Over-stimulation in an HSP child can manifest itself in fear, sleeping problems, anger, tantrums and shyness or anti-social behavior. Childhood depression or ADHD can also be associated with HSP.
HSP in adults sometimes leads to a perfectionist predisposition, to which highly sensitive children are also susceptible. That is precisely why a hypersensitive child can experience performance anxiety. A therapist can provide support for performance anxiety, or contact a child therapist for HSP.
HSP test children
Do you want to know if your child is highly sensitive? View the statements below:
My child experiences things in a very intense way
performs best when there are no strangers around
is difficult to deal with big surprises and has a need for predictability
learns more from a kind rebuke than a stern sermon
sometimes seems to be able to read minds
is very caring and sensitive to the suffering of others
uses difficult words
has a keen nose for strange smells
has a nice sense of humor
acts and thinks very intuitively
has trouble falling asleep after a busy day
startles quickly
suffers from itchy clothes
struggles with big changes
does not like wet or sandy clothes
asks a lot of questions
asks profound questions
is a perfectionist
has an eye for the grief of others
prefers quiet games
is very sensitive to pain
does not like noisy places
has an eye for detail
first checks whether something is safe
Do you recognize your child to a large extent in these statements? Then there is a chance that your child is highly sensitive. Check out the tips below for some rules of thumb, or see a therapist for HSP.
How to deal with high sensitivity?
HSP can make many everyday situations and contacts a lot more difficult for a high sensitive person. It is therefore wise to learn to take your sensitivity into account. You can learn this yourself, but there are also various forms of therapy that guide you in dealing with high sensitivity.
High sensitivity treatment
In an HSP treatment, the therapist ensures that your body, your feelings and you come into contact with each other again.
Psychotherapy, coaching or energetic therapy helps you to feel good about yourself again and to gain more self-confidence as a HSP. Through therapy you will be better able to learn to recognize your own signals, to accept your sensitivity and to provide self-care so that you are less over-stimulated. You learn how to deal with your sensitivity, the therapist will learn to ground you, among other things, so that you are less bothered by the mood of others or other stress factors in your environment.
In addition, underlying patterns are explored that are partly the cause or maintainers of your complaints. By learning new patterns you will see a sustainable and positive effect in your life through therapy. Above all, you will learn to develop your unique talents as a highly sensitive person!
In case of overstimulation, relaxation therapy or relaxation exercises can bring you peace and give you techniques to change the stress moments yourself. Assertiveness training can provide the necessary self-care. Body-oriented therapy, breathing therapy or yoga can also be beneficial and teach you to listen to the signals of the body.
With high-sensitivity therapy you can learn how to “de-stimulate” and which adjustments in your lifestyle and thinking can help you to prevent further overstimulation.
High sensitivity tips
The following tips are general rules of thumb that can help you deal with HSP.
Take the time to process stimuli in peace. Short breaks during the day can also help you with this.
Relax with gentle exercise, such as with yoga or through walks. Quiet breathing is virtuous.
Learn where the current stressors lie in your life. And learn to recognize and avoid heavy stimuli. That is not a flight but self-care.
Maintain a stable evening and morning routine.
Allow yourself predictability by planning ahead and thinking about what’s to come in advance.
Express your inner world by, for example, painting, singing or writing.
Talk about it with your environment. If you explain what you experience, your environment can take this into account.
Be assertive: you can always ask, for example, whether it should be a bit quieter or softer.
These tips will put you on the right track. Consult an HSP therapist to determine a balanced lifestyle that is tailored to your living conditions and personal characteristics.
HSP in adults sometimes leads to a perfectionist predisposition, to which highly sensitive children are also susceptible. That is precisely why a hypersensitive child can experience performance anxiety. A therapist can provide support for performance anxiety, or contact a child therapist for HSP.
HSP test children
Do you want to know if your child is highly sensitive? View the statements below:
My child experiences things in a very intense way
performs best when there are no strangers around
is difficult to deal with big surprises and has a need for predictability
learns more from a kind rebuke than a stern sermon
sometimes seems to be able to read minds
is very caring and sensitive to the suffering of others
uses difficult words
has a keen nose for strange smells
has a nice sense of humor
acts and thinks very intuitively
has trouble falling asleep after a busy day
startles quickly
suffers from itchy clothes
struggles with big changes
does not like wet or sandy clothes
asks a lot of questions
asks profound questions
is a perfectionist
has an eye for the grief of others
prefers quiet games
is very sensitive to pain
does not like noisy places
has an eye for detail
first checks whether something is safe
Do you recognize your child to a large extent in these statements? Then there is a chance that your child is highly sensitive. Check out the tips below for some rules of thumb, or see a therapist for HSP.
How to deal with high sensitivity?
HSP can make many everyday situations and contacts a lot more difficult for a highly sensitive person. It is therefore wise to learn to take your sensitivity into account. You can learn this yourself, but there are also various forms of therapy that guide you in dealing with high sensitivity.
High sensitivity treatment
In an HSP treatment, the therapist ensures that your body, your feelings and you come into contact with each other again.
Psychotherapy, coaching or energetic therapy helps you to feel good about yourself again and to gain more self-confidence as a HSP. Through therapy you will be better able to learn to recognize your own signals, to accept your sensitivity and to provide self-care so that you are less over-stimulated. You learn how to deal with your sensitivity, the therapist will learn to ground you, among other things, so that you are less bothered by the mood of others or other stress factors in your environment.
In addition, underlying patterns are explored that are partly the cause or maintainers of your complaints. By learning new patterns you will see a sustainable and positive effect in your life through therapy. Above all, you will learn to develop your unique talents as a high sensitive person!
In case of overstimulation, relaxation therapy or relaxation exercises can bring you peace and give you techniques to change the stress moments yourself. Assertiveness training can provide the necessary self-care. Body-oriented therapy, breathing therapy or yoga can also be beneficial and teach you to listen to the signals of the body.
With high-sensitivity therapy you can learn how to “de-stimulate” and which adjustments in your lifestyle and thinking can help you to prevent further overstimulation.
High sensitivity tips
The following tips are general rules of thumb that can help you deal with HSP.
Take the time to process stimuli in peace. Short breaks during the day can also help you with this.
Relax with gentle exercise, such as with yoga or through walks. Quiet breathing is virtuous.
Learn where the current stressors lie in your life. And learn to recognize and avoid heavy stimuli. That is not a flight but self-care.
Maintain a stable evening and morning routine.
Allow yourself predictability by planning ahead and thinking about what’s to come in advance.
Express your inner world by, for example, painting, singing or writing.
Talk about it with your environment. If you explain what you experience, your environment can take this into account.
Be assertive: you can always ask, for example, whether it should be a bit quieter or softer.
These tips will put you on the right track. Consult an HSP therapist to determine a balanced lifestyle that is tailored to your living conditions and personal characteristics.
