Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
What is a “Highly Sensitive Person” (HSP)? Highly Sensitive Person is a term used to describe 15-20% of the population who are born with a unique sensory processing trait that allows them to notice more subtleties in their environment, resulting in both deeper processing (thinking & feeling) and a tendency toward becoming overwhelmed by stimuli more quickly. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of high sensitivity you can start here: The Highly Sensitive Person: A Form of Neurodivergence.
Being Highly Sensitive in a Non-Sensitive World
As a Highly Sensitive Person, I understand what it’s like to live in a world where sensitivity is misunderstood and undervalued; it created a lot of shame in me for a long time. But now many of my favorite things about myself I attribute directly to my sensitivity, and part of my job as a therapist who specializes in working with Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) is helping others unlearn all the negative messages they’ve received about themselves and what it means to be sensitive. Almost everyone I work with sees their sensitivity as a weakness or a liability; something they have to “overcome,” or hide, in order to be “normal.”
RSS Feed
