Highly Sensitive People: The Superpower Trait
Written by Amy Rollo, M.A., LSSP, LPA, LPC-S
Owner, Heights Family Counseling
I was recently interviewed for an article on Highly Sensitive People (HSP) . The amount of feedback was surprising at first. Many people reached out to tell me their experiences with HSP, either with themselves or their family. I then realized with about 20 percent of the population being a HSP, there is no wonder the impact the article had on others.
My own journey to learning about HSP was trying to understand my son. I spent my early career in the field of psychology, diagnostics, and school psychology. I understood pathology and diagnostics, but wasn’t as well versed in personality traits. I knew my son had features that made him unique from his peers, but he didn’t really fit a diagnosis. I considered autism, but quickly saw he was the most social child I had met and didn’t really meet most symptoms, AD/HD, but realized he didn’t really have difficulties with attention, and even sensory processing disorder, but that didn’t seem to fit either. I was lost until I discovered Dr. Elaine Aron. After reading her work on Highly Sensitive People, I got suspicious and began to ask my husband a bunch of questions about his childhood- side note, definitely do not marry a counselor! He confirmed that he was just like our son as a young child. This knowledge quickly transformed how I parent, and I started noticing many of my child clients fit the same profile- hello 20 percent of us do! Read below to discover more about HSP and learn their “superpowers.”
Highly Sensitive People outwardly express emotions. This might mean absorbing the emotions of others and feeling intense empathy. When plans change, HSP feel disappointed and show often outwardly show their emotions. While watching an emotional movie, a HSP might feel the emotions deeply and have difficulty containing those emotions, or want to avoid movies that are thrillers or overly sad.
Highly sensitive people are often introverts. They care deeply for others, so you will observe that they are social, but for most, they require extra time to recharge away from others. In fact, many Highly Sensitive People sleep more than average because that is part of their downtime to recharge.
Highly Sensitive People notice everything. Many Highly Sensitive People process their environment differently. They are extra sensitive to sensory input, such as sounds, lights, textures, smells, etc. They might be the first one to notice a strange smell when they walk into a room. They also notice when something is moved in a room. They literally always are taking in their environment. This is a highly adaptable trait because they can also sense danger and/or a consequence of an action before anyone else.
Highly sensitive people love to have a routine and have their expectations known. Some people love last minute vacations and surprises; highly sensitive people thrive when they can make plans.
Highly Sensitive People prefer to do one thing at a time and do not enjoy multi-tasking. They are very good at completing tasks, but get overwhelmed when asked to do too many things at once.
The good news is that despite HSP often being labeled early on as “problem child” or misdiagnosed, the majority grow up to be creative and well-adjusted adults according to Dr. Elaine Aron.
If you think your child is a HSP, child counseling can help gain further understanding. Contact us today to learn more.