5 Signs You Might Be A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)
Emotions are part of being human. Everyone experiences different emotions each and every day.
You never really noticed how emotional you were until your friends and family started pointing it out to you. When you go to movies together, you’re always the first or only one to cry in your group.
It doesn’t get any easy when someone points it out to you. And let’s not even talk about when you’re receiving any type of criticism or feedback.
The truth of the matter is that some people are just a little more sensitive compared to others.
Here are five signs you might be a highly sensitive person (HSP).
You’re More Emotional Than Others
One of the most common signs of being a highly sensitive person is being more emotional than others. This means that you can experience happiness on a deeper level, but you’re also able to experience sadness on a deeper level as well. It’s not that you’re too or overly sensitive, you just have a stronger response to emotions than others.
You’re Extremely Empathetic
Not all empaths are highly sensitive people, but most highly sensitive people are empathetic. A lot of highly sensitive people are so in tune with their own emotions as well as the emotions of the people around them that they’re actually able to feel and experience the emotions of others. This can be both a blessing and a curse. For one, you’re able to try to help others by knowing how they’re feeling. On the downside, experiencing different emotions all the time can be very exhausting.
You Crave Alone Time
If you’re a highly sensitive person, there’s a good chance that you crave your alone time more than your friends and family. This isn’t necessarily because you want to be alone, but more so because you need to rest and recharge before you can be social again. A highly sensitive person’s nervous system can become overstimulated while trying to process everything happening around you in social settings. Some alone time allows the nervous system to calm down and return to a state of normalcy before shutting down.
Avoid Certain Places
While your friends and family may enjoy going to loud concerts, parties with bright and flashing lights, or walking around busy and chaotic streets during the weekend, you prefer activities that involve a little more peace and quiet. As a highly sensitive person, sounds, textures, and sights can become irritating and even stressful. The brain of a highly sensitive person is more active in the areas of visual processing, so these loud and hectic environments can cause these scenarios to be extremely triggering for them.
You’ve Been Called “Shy” or “Quiet”
Highly sensitive people are often labeled as “quiet” or “shy”. You may never be the first person to answer a question or chime into a conversation, but it’s unlikely that shyness is the culprit. Highly sensitive people are often overwhelmed or trying to process all of the different emotions and senses around them, which can lead to withdrawing from social situations without even realizing it.
Next Steps
As with all things in life, being a highly sensitive person comes with its perks as well as its challenges. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a highly sensitive person. That being said if you feel that you or a loved one is showing signs or traits of being a highly sensitive person and it’s having a negative impact on their daily life and routine, seeking additional help is always recommended.
A licensed and trained mental health professional will be able to help you determine if you’re really a highly sensitive person as well as give you coping mechanisms to implement in your day-to-day moving forward. Reach out to us today to set up a consultation for anxiety or highly-sensitive person therapy.
About the Author
Taylor Garff, M.Coun, LCPC, CMHC, LPC, is a licensed therapist with over 10 years of experience helping adults manage anxiety, overwhelm, and identity challenges. He is certified in HeartMath, Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), and breathwork facilitation. Taylor is the founder of Inner Heart Therapy, where he provides online therapy across multiple states.
