Several years ago my family organized an all-day outing to celebrate a birthday. By the time 7pm rolled around I was tired, and when we walked into a loud gastropub to eat dinner I was able to keep it together for a minute, maybe two, until I freaked the hell out. Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the loud music filled in all of the empty space I had in my mind, leaving me with very little headspace left for my actual thoughts, and I left abruptly muttering “Sorry, it’s too loud in here, I’m leaving.”
And that, my dear introverts, is what happens when you put this overspent introvert into a situation that isn’t friendly to highly sensitive people.
What is a Highly Sensitive Person?
Highly Sensitive Person is a term coined by Elaine Aron, author of the aptly named book The Highly Sensitive Person, to describe someone who has High Sensitivity. According to Aron, High Sensitivity is biologically based, but unlike, say, blood pressure, which can be measured accurately with a device, there isn’t one quick easy physical test to see if you’re a Highly Sensitive Person. Instead, if someone wants to figure out if they’re an HSP they should consider the four aspects of high sensitivity – Depth of processing, easily Overstimulated, Emotional responsiveness/empathy, and sensitive to Subtle stimuli. Those four aspects create the acronym D.O.E.S.
- Depth of processing – HSPs process everything deeply, which means we observe (gather information) before we act.
- Easily overstimulated – Because we process things deeply, when the environment around us gets to be too much we can easily become overstimulated. As I had experienced in the gastropub.
- Emotional responsiveness – According to Aron “HSPs react more to both positive and negative experiences,” we also have stronger empathy.
- Subtle stimuli – We’re good at noticing the little details. This doesn’t mean that we have better eyesight or hearing, but the way our brains process the stimuli means that we see subtleties more easily.
In other words, if you observe before you act, get easily overwhelmed, can’t watch war documentaries, and quickly notice when someone gets a new hair cut, you may be a Highly Sensitive Person.
I’m working on a quiz for Introvertology so you can find out if you’re an introvert, HSP, or both, but until then you can take a quiz to find out if you’re an HSP (it doesn’t touch on introversion) on Elaine Aron’s site: http://hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/
Are all HSPs introverts?
According to Aron, no. About 20% of the population is an HSP, and about 30% of HSPs are extroverts. So, if you have a lot of friends and enjoy quiet but large parties, you may be an extroverted HSP. If you enjoy meeting one-on-one with friends and acquaintances, can watch the news without feeling horrible, and aren’t overwhelmed by loud and sudden sounds, you may be a non-HSP introvert.
Where to learn more:
Elaine Aron’s book The Highly Sensitive Person (affiliate link)
Her website http://hsperson.com/
Introvert, Dear’s articles: http://introvertdear.com/category/highly-sensitive-people/
If you’d like a coach that specializes in HSP – (I specialize in introversion, both HSPs and non-HSPs), visit www.HighlySensitivePeople.com
A great blog about Highly Sensitive People – http://highlysensitiveperson.net/
