What is an HSP?

An HSP is a ‘highly sensitive person’ - someone who thinks and feels deeply... and much more.

HSP specifically, is a term coined by Dr Elaine Aron a clinical psychologist in the 1990s, to describe a commonality of certain personality types she was finding in therapy. It is important to note that Dr Aron has always maintained that this observation (and resulting research) is about a healthy personality type. It is important to emphasise that HSP is therefore not a ‘diagnosis’ nor a mental health problem, it is rather, a ‘processing style’ – one which comes with both challenges and advantages.

What does this mean?

The HSP tends to have a heightened awareness of, receive and process more, sensory information than most - especially input from their environment (what they see, hear, smell, feel and so on) and also social information such as the emotions, desires and needs of others. The HSP has a natural talent for working with the subtle, the nuanced and the detailed. There is thought to be an evolutionary advantage to this awareness which leads the HSP to adopt a thoughtful and cautious approach to life and social situations (rather than always diving into the centre of the action).

As such, it is considered that the HSP is more aware of both threats and opportunities. Where there are potential threats that others don’t perceive, the HSP is more likely to survive - but with the consequence of living with more fight or flight ‘survival’ responsiveness. On the flip side, where there are opportunities that other’s overlook, the HSP can acquire more available resource gains, chances for meaningful bonding with others and, utilise circumstances in which they can thrive in their considered choices. Here in The IF Crowd, we argue too that the same processing style and ability that leads to anxiety and self-doubt has a flip-side...

The depth and speed of processing can mean such people experience challenges such as overwhelm, higher tendency to anxiety and low mood, self-doubt, sensory overload and so on (not to be confused or conflated with ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder). The flip side of this offers ‘vantage sensitivity’ in the forms of heightened empathy, creativity, intuition, intelligence, memory and, what’s more (from my own research speciality), a higher natural capacity for ‘psi phenomena’ aka psychic capacities. It is perhaps no surprise that HSPs can feel ‘different’ and misunderstood by others, seek deeper meaning in all things and are drawn to caring or creative roles in life. 

We use the term ‘HSP’ now quite widely in psychology as an informal shorthand to refer to such people who think and feel so very deeply - but it goes by many names according to field of research e.g. in cognitive and neuro fields, it is more scientifically termed ‘sensory processing sensitivity’ which focusses on the processing ‘style’. In bio psychological terms it is ‘environmental sensitivity’ where the emphasis is on a person’s reactivity to what is in their environment. As such, an HSP might have physical as well as sensory sensitivities i.e. chemical sensitivity, electrical sensitivity, allergies leading to inflammatory health conditions etc.

It is helpful to know that this HSP processing style and reactivity is considered to be an innate trait found in approx 20% - 30% of the population (equally across male/female genders) and so far, has been identified in over 100 over species too. It’s something we are born with – and not something to be ‘fixed’.

Living as an HSP can be paradoxical

It is found in a minority of us yet this minority make up a majority of people in therapy. Certain dimensions of the trait are thought to be linked to giftedness, exceptional human experiences and more instances of mystical or spiritual states of consciousness too yet the HSP is likely to be stuck in self-doubt and procrastination, doubting their place in a world that focusses on their ‘problems’ and doesn’t recognise their gifts. According to Elaine Aron, the acronym DOES can help us understand our trait: Depth of processing, Overstimulation, Empathy, Sensitive to subtlety. 

Whatever we call it, it is a very real, beautiful and tangible way of being with so much inherent good to cultivate. If you are reading this and feeling a sense of resonance, please adopt this mantra today: Sensitivity is my Strength.

Why not access our free foundation course on precisely this? Sensitivity is my Strength.