Do you feel like you are processing information on a deep level?
Does it take you longer than the people around you to let go of experiences, conversations or even something trivial like a movie?
Do you feel easily overstimulated by sensory input?
Do you respond with great emotions or empathy to what is happening around you?
Do you feel you need more down-time than your friends?
Do you notice little details in your environment that others do not recognize?
The term "Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)" was introduced by Dr. Elaine Aron in the early 1990s and has been extensively researched since. It describes an innate "Sensory Processing Sensitivity" (SPS). Meanwhile, the term neurosensitivity (= ability to perceive & process environmental stimuli) is more commonly used. This neurosensitivity is neither a disorder nor a diagnosis, but is best defined as a personality trait. It used to be thought to be found in about 20% of the population. Today, we know that it is instead a normally distributed trait, which is thus subject to a continuum and is innate in all of us to some degree - we can range from low, to moderate, to elevated levels of neurosensitivity.
It is represented by four different categories:
D.O.E.S.
1) Depth of processing
2) Overarousability
3) Emotional reactivity and Empathy
4) Sensitivity to subtleties/ sensory stimuli
(read more about D.O.E.S. on E. Aron's website)
If you want to determine if you or your child are highly sensitive, you can take the (self-)tests of E. Aron or of Dr. Michael Pluess .
Even though HSP is neither a disorder nor a diagnosis, it can still greatly determine our daily lives. On the one hand it can allow us to feel deep connection and joy. But on the other hand, if we do not take care of ourselves, we might ...
* end up in continuous overstimulation with its stressful effects for our bodies and minds;
* experience complicated relationships and start to feel drained;
* sometimes even develop symptoms that resemble those of some disorders;
* feel that our sensitivity is influencing the course of an existing condition.
The good news is that we can learn to better understand and integrate our sensitivity to find acceptance and balance.
I am here to assist you on that journey. I am a HSP myself and I am raising (at least) one HSC (Highly Sensitive Child). The support of other HSPs or parents of a HSC is a very important aspect of my practice.
Contact me here
Anahata Psychology Sonja Lynch ©2022. All rights reserved.
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