Signs you can be a sensitive personality type (HSP) : If you often get the strong urge to retreat and resort to solitude to soothe your senses or your stimulation levels, you could be sensitive. If you always pay attention to the details of everything and quickly notice changes in your environment, the chances are that you are more than just a sleuth. You could find yourself being sensitive down the road. Due to deep mind processing, you might have a rich inner world. When you were a kid, if you had a rich imagination and people were always amused by what you came with, you could be a sensitive person. Several signs indicate that a person might be sensitive or become sensitive. General and surprising signs like being intuitive or prolonged hunger are all backed by research and indeed show the presence or the probable birth of a sensitive attitude.
Although there are many positive aspects of being a sensitive person (such as greater ability to listen and affirm, greater empathy and intuitiveness, better understanding of others’ wants and needs, etc.), in this writing we will focus on aspects of high sensitivity which adversely affect one’s health, happiness and success, and often complicate relationships. Below are 24 signs of a highly sensitive person, with excerpts from my books: “Are You Highly Sensitive? How to Gain Immunity, Peace, and Self-Mastery” and “How to Communicate Effectively with Highly Sensitive People”. These traits are organized into three major categories: Sensitivity About Oneself, Sensitivity About Others, and Sensitivity About One’s Environment.
Changing your behavior can also change how you feel. Try doing something positive that will help you feel better. Practice coping skills such as going for a walk, calling a friend, or participating in a hobby. Doing something enjoyable can get your mind off things. Once you feel better, it may be easier to look at the situation another way. When you’re calm, you may be able to see that your mother didn’t set out to hurt your feelings on purpose or that you aren’t at fault for an issue at work. Taking a break from the problem can give you much-needed perspective.
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) have a brain that is wired differently from the rest of the world. The emotional brain (limbic system) often overrides their logical brain, making them susceptible to be triggered by subtle changes in their life. Extra info on How to Reduce Sensitivity.
Being an HSP can have its own advantages. Turn your sensitivity from a weakness into a weapon to help you deal with problems in your life. Being sensitive to everything means that you are better than other people at finding the positive sides of everything. Usher in a sense of optimism to make situations easier for yourself.
Category One: Sensitivity About Oneself. Compares self with others often (in physical, relational, social, work, financial, or other scenarios), and experiences unhappy feelings from negative social comparison.
Category Two: Sensitivity About Others. Alternatively, often discusses negative emotions with others because there’s a lot of “drama” in one’s life.
Highly sensitive people express a lot of feelings daily. In a world where being sensitive is often considered as a weak or dramatic trait, the knack of openly expressing feelings can often feel like a burden rather than an asset. Extra details on It’s okay to be sensitive.
Although highly sensitive people are not necessarily empaths, HSPs tend to “absorb” other people’s emotions, almost like an empath would. It’s not unusual for an HSP to walk into a room and immediately sense the moods of the people in it. That’s because highly sensitive people are very aware of subtleties – including facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice – that others may miss. Pair this with the sensitive person’s naturally high levels of empathy, and it’s no wonder HSPs feel emotions that are not their own. As a result, highly sensitive people tend to suffer from frequent emotional exhaustion.
