Do you often feel “too sensitive”, easily overwhelmed, or exhausted?
Do you experience your emotions intensely, highly intuitive, or empathetic?
Do you often pick up subtleties in your environment or need extensive time to decompress?
If you resonate with these statements, you would benefit from learning more about this trait, coined by Elaine Aron, and scientifically referred to as Sensory-Processing Sensitivity (SPS). According to Aron’s research, this innate trait is shared equally amongst all gender identities. It is a variation in which the nervous system processes stimuli and subtleties in the environment that others miss.
In order to identify if you are an HSP, there are characteristics that show up throughout the lifespan, the acronym DOES is used to describe the following criteria:
D: Depth of processing
O: Easily Over-stimulated
E: Emotional responsiveness/empathy
S: Sensitive to Subtle stimuli
It’s important to know, being an HSP is not a disorder, it is a trait. It is normal and HSP’s make up 10-15% of the population. This trait is innate, in fact it has been found in over 100 species by biologists. HSP’s are often misunderstood or mislabeled as being shy or introverted, when in fact up to 30% of HSP’s are extroverts. Due to the sensitivity of stimuli, HSPs often get labeled as experiencing anxiety when in fact they are just experience the overwhelm of overexposure.
As an HSP, I can work with you on this and other life challenges. Give me a call today to see if we are a good fit.