Have you ever grown up thinking why am I so different from everyone else? Were you labeled as “shy” or overly sensitive? Were you ever easily overwhelmed and overstimulated? It can often feel alienating to be so much more sensitive to your surroundings. To notice the tiny details and things that others do not see or feel.
If you feel this way, I promise you are not alone. In fact about 15–20% of the population identify as a highly sensitive person. It can be a very misunderstood trait though, especially in American culture where sensitivity is often devalued and treated as abnormal.
You may have felt alone and hard to relate to others. Especially when society praises the loud, extroverted and pragmatic, but that does not mean your overly sensitive nature is weak. Quite the opposite. Do you realize just how much strength it takes to be so open and remain so soft? Especially for someone whose senses are attuned to every subtlety around them.
I want to remind you that if you do identify with these following qualities that it is not a weakness. In fact there are many strengths to being highly sensitive and ways of thriving in a world that can be so overstimulating at times.
The first step is always in identifying this as part of who you are. Knowledge is power and identifying and learning more about yourself can help guide you towards the gifts in your unique qualities.
Below are the ten most common traits of the highly sensitive person and how to thrive in this world as an HSP.
You identify as deeply emotional
You have a beautiful sensitivity about you and because of this you are most likely affected by things more deeply. Your emotions have more depth and things that stir people’s emotions can have a greater impact on you. Because of this you may be more sensitive to criticism. You may also feel emotional pain more deeply for other beings, both human and other sentient beings, even if you do not personally know them.
You see the world through a different kind of lens. Your capacity to see and feel things that others do not always see or feel allows for a greater capacity of empathy, which is one quality the world could always use a little more of.
Deeply intuitive
You have a rich and beautiful inner world. Because you are so attuned to how you feel inside and how your surroundings and people affect you, your intuition is on fire. You can sense more quickly when something doesn’t feel right. You can feel in your gut when a person’s energy isn’t right for you.
You also know when something feels aligned with you, and when something doesn’t. This can be a beautiful gift, but also a source of torture when you repeatedly go against that which does not align with your spirit. So allow your intuition to be your guide. These senses are awakened for a reason, not to live a surface life.
Sensitive to external stimuli
You may be more sensitive to your external environment, such as to light sound, caffeine, medications and so on. You also may find that you startle more easily because you are so hyper aware of your surroundings.
You may be more sensitive to how fabrics feel on your skin, the texture of foods, how bright lights appear or how loud certain sounds are. You may also pick up on certain sounds or smells that others don’t notice as much.
Overwhelmed by crowds
Because of your sensitive nature, you will naturally pick up on the energies of everyone around you. This can help you become somewhat of a chameleon to your environments and adapt well, but it can also be overwhelming at times to constantly be balancing everyone’s energy.
Because you take in so many details of the people around you, crowds can feel especially overwhelming and draining. You may also feel more drained than others after spending time with people in general. You pick up on all the nonverbal cues and body language. You’re probably one of the first ones to notice someone’s haircut or style change. You are also very sensitive to vocal tones and how things are stated, not just the words said.
To not feel so out of place and awkward you are constantly adjusting your own body language, vocal tones, etc to fit in and help make others more comfortable around you. You adapt very well to any environment, but taking in too much stimulation at one time can be very draining to you. Learning to recognize when you need to take back your energy, leave a little early from a party or event, or even to take a step outside to give yourself an energetic break can be rebalancing and replenishing for your soul.
Easily upset by violence in media
Your highly sensitive nature and deep empathy can have you feeling more deeply towards acts of violence that you read about or watch in the media. You may squirm and feel things more viscerally, as if the event is happening to your own body.
It is a very unpleasant experience so if you are more sensitive to violence I highly suggest avoiding the consumption of it as much as possible. If you recognize that your tolerance for this is very low, then avoiding things like the news, violent movies, and even violent lyrics through different music will help protect your energy.
Recognize that this will not make you any less of an empathetic person, you are just affected by these things more deeply than most, so avoiding them will protect your spirit.
Tired and overwhelmed easily
If you are a highly sensitive person you may become tired and overwhelmed more easily. This is because you are taking in so many details at one time that even little things can get overwhelming if added up.
You may find it harder to cope with things coming at you too fast or too many details all at once. You may find you become overstimulated more easily and this can lead to feelings of exhaustion and needing more time for rest and recuperation.
Overthink and worry
Your mind is most likely constantly going 100 mph as you are constantly taking every little detail of your environment in and analyzing it all. You may fall into the trap of overthinking and worrying about things too much in your mind.
Sometimes even simple tasks can be overwhelming if you have too much going on in your mind already. You may also have difficulty with adjusting to change and big transitions like moving, changing jobs/careers, births, deaths, marriage and breakups.
Giving yourself the time and space to adjust more during these life transitions will help your body and mind cope more fluidly.
People pleasing tendencies
If you are a highly sensitive person you may notice that you go to great lengths not to upset others. You recognize that any disruption to your environment, including people around you, can be very disrupting to your nervous system.
You may be easily stressed by conflict so you are quick to resolve or worse avoid it. You will find it healing as a highly sensitive person to learn to stand up for yourself in those areas and set boundaries where you need to. You may also find in the long run that the better you become with your boundary setting the more regulated your nervous system becomes.
Deeply attuned to details
As a highly sensitive individual you notice all the little details that others may miss. You pay attention to every little nuance in your environment, in artistic creations, and even in the emotional reactions of those around you.
Seeing the world with all the little details absorbed in your experience can be a beautiful thing as well as overwhelming at times. Use it as a gift, but create space where you need to if absorbing everything all at once becomes too much.
Thoughtful and compassionate
Due to your highly detailed nature, you are more likely to pick up on and remember the details of other people’s preferences, likes and dislikes. You pay attention to what others may not think of and can offer thoughtful gestures through this information.
How to thrive as an HSP
If you identify with some or most of these characteristics you are likely a highly sensitive person. While there may be challenges navigating in an often overstimulating world, there are many gifts to being highly sensitive too.
So how do you learn to thrive in this world as a highly sensitive person and use your sensitive nature as a gift? The following tips will be your guide:
- Learn more about yourself and what things you may be more sensitive to.
- Engage in a contemplative practice such as meditation, mindfulness, or something else that allows you to check in with your body and what it needs.
- Embrace discomfort in order to learn better how to process these feelings as well as create space for joyful ones too.
- Connect with others, especially other like minded souls which can help you feel understood and validated.
- Draw upon your strengths such as in your imagination, creativity, and the deep connection you feel with nature. These outlets will help ground you as well as build resilience.
Final Thoughts
Being a highly sensitive person is never a sign of weakness and your sensitivities should never be brushed off. Your vivid imagination and ability to see the details in everything is a gift. Your ability to notice and feel the pain of others more easily is a beautiful thing.
Do not shame yourself for feeling different. Recognize you may need more time to recuperate being around crowds or other people. You may also need a softer environment to feel safe. That’s ok. Your unique makeup was beautifully designed just the way it is for a reason. Your distinct essence of who you are is just what this world needs.
So don’t change. Only discover more of who and all that you are. Learn all the intricacies of which makes you, you. Strengthen and use your gifts to elevate this world, and enjoy all the depth in which this world allows you to see and feel through your sensitive nature.
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