Definition of the Trait of High Sensitivity

I want to provide several resources for you that can help you understand the trait of high sensitivity. I’m sharing a video I did explaining the trait, a slideshow of the basics, plus some written explanations as well.

Here’s a 12-minute video of me explaining the trait of high sensitivity

Here’s a basic 5-minute slideshow of the trait

This was a slideshow and Q & A we did in my Sensitive Empowerment Community you may find helpful.

Let’s talk about the trait of high sensitivity and give it an accurate definition that you can even choose to share with others to help explain the trait. When I offered to answer questions that highly sensitive people have about the trait, I realized a lot of people are still unclear and need to understand the basic definition of the trait so we will cover that in today’s blog post. I’ve made it my mission to be sure that accurate information about the trait is available.

The following is an excerpt from my book, The Empowered Highly Sensitive Person.

HSP 101

Highly sensitive beings suffer more but they also love harder, dream wider, and experience deeper horizons and bliss. When you’re sensitive, you’re alive in every sense of the word in this wildly beautiful world. Sensitivity is your strength. Keep soaking in the light, and spreading it to others. — Victoria Erickson

What is a highly sensitive person? Here’s a quick definition for those of you new to learning about the trait.

Back in the 1990s, psychologist Elaine Aron, a pioneer in researching this unique innate trait that at least 20 percent of the population had, named those with this trait the highly sensitive person (HSP), but in the scientific world, it is known as sensory processing sensitivity. It is NOT a disorder. This trait evolved as a survival strategy of the population and offered greater sensitivity and responsiveness to environmental and social stimuli. People with this trait had specially developed abilities that helped them be good at finding food, mates, and a safe place for the tribe to live.

They have researched and found this trait in over a hundred species so far, and it is found equally across genders. 70 percent of highly sensitive people (HSPs) are introverts. Aron presented a good way to summarize the HSP trait with the acronym DOES, which stands for depth of processing, overstimulation, emotionally responsive, and sensitivity to subtle stimuli.  

One of the more difficult aspects of this trait is that we can often feel overwhelmed and overstimulated. I think of it like having a supercomputer brain where we are downloading and processing more information than 80 percent of the population. There are different levels of sensitivity that people experience, so thinking about things in terms of the physical senses might mean that we need to adjust lighting, we may be more impacted by smells, noises, textures, or tastes, and we also tend to be more drained by crowds.

There are certain challenges associated with being a highly sensitive person. For example, we may experience more overstimulation, depletion, and often feel misunderstood and different than others, especially because we are the minority and experience the world in a different way. We also tend to have increased awareness and are more intuitive, more empathetic and feel things more deeply. In chapter eight we go into more detail about these as well as the specific brain differences we have already found in the HSP. Read More

The following are so many important resources for you that I invite you to check out. The first step is learning about your unique HSP brain differences to help you understand why you experience the world in the way you do. We can make real and lifelong changes to reduce overwhelm so you can get your life back!

1. Register for my free Masterclass about Sensitivity and Anxiety. I will share more about how brain training is a natural method that helps HSPs quickly!

2. Listen to the episodes on The HSP podcast

3. Join me and your HSP tribe in our beautiful Sensitive-Empowerment Community!

4. Highly Recommended: Subscribe to my weekly HSP Newsletter for tools, tips, and support and get a free brain calming guide.

Please share this post and these resources with other HSPs and together we will all thrive!

~Julie Bjelland is a psychotherapist, global HSP consultant, and leader in the field of high sensitivity and has helped thousands of highly sensitive people around the world. As an HSP herself, Julie understands what it is like to live with high sensitivity and strong emotions. Julie teaches an online course for HSPs and is the author of several books.  www.juliebjelland.com.