What Does it Mean to be a Highly Sensitive Person?
According to Elaine Aron, PhD., who has researched this subject extensively, High Sensitivity is inborn, due to an intricately sensitive central nervous system. This isn’t something that is chosen; it’s how HSPs are wired.
You are a Rarity
Only 20% of people are Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs).
Without any methods of coping, this sensitivity may feel like a curse that has singled you out, leaving you feeling agonizingly misunderstood. With a little awareness and some coping tools, you can turn your sensitivity into a gift that will serve you well throughout your life.
Too often you may have been made wrong for being “too sensitive” and shamed into withdrawing or berating ourselves in ways that hamper your creativity, joy or your very existence at times. You’ve often been made to feel like you are neurotic, crazy, flaky, or just a little too weird.
Most people who aren’t HSPs will probably never understand, but don’t let that stop you from learning to balance and even use your sensitivity in positive ways. Once you embrace the very things that make you different, you can begin to open and blossom into the wholeness of who you are.
Not all HSPs are the Same
This is a common misconception. Although the majority may be emotionally sensitive, that description doesn’t fit everyone. We aren’t all wired the same.
Some HSPs will be more affected by their environment, their senses or their own thoughts and emotions rather than those of other people.
The one thing HSPs all have in common is that they react more deeply and intensely than 80% of people on the planet.
Understanding what impacts you, can help you learn some coping skills that are geared to what you need.
If you haven’t yet taken our HSP and Energy Sensitivity Quiz – Please Click here
The HSP and Energy Sensitivity Quiz was developed by our team of Energy Experts and Social Scientists to allow you to assess your overall sensitivity and to understand more about your own particular style of HSP sensitivity. The subcategories of HSP sensitivity address the fact that high sensitivity can show up in with different manifestations and effects.
We’ve broken it up into categories because high sensitivity can show up in different ways and be handled differently in your system. For example, although it is true that the majority of HSPs are “introverted,” with an estimated 70% being reported in studies, the remaining third of HSPs are extroverts. These HSPs may experience similar situations in a very different way.
Within the HSP group are empaths – Empaths make up approximately 5% of the overall population in other words only one-quarter of HSPs are empaths. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but that is misleading. All Empaths are HSPs, but not all HSPs are Empaths. Click to read more about Empaths
Challenging Situations for HSP’s – and Suggestions for How to handle them
Malls and crowded stores – One thing most HSPs have in common is that stores and malls are packed with high levels of several types of energy, leaving the HSP feeling zapped. Crowded shopping areas have high levels of
Electromagnetic Energy (fluorescent lights, electronics);
Other people’s emotions;
Noise smells, and sometimes even touch.
This is one of the areas the BioElectric Shield can help, it deflects much of the Electromagnetic and emotional energy, greatly reducing your sense of overwhelm and chaos.
Parties – Many HSPs have found that when going to a party it’s helpful to find one or two people they can talk to and have quiet conversations with rather than trying to “work the room”.
Another coping technique is to stay more towards to outside of the room rather than the middle of the crowd. Going outside for a break from time to time can also help. If there’s no way to go out, then go in – bathrooms are great retreats. Allow yourself some downtime afterward. It’s important for you to find a quiet retreat to calm your nerves and refresh your energy. It’s often wise to schedule things so that you aren’t going to events back-to-back but have some time in between to recharge.
Other Skills or “Super Powers” You May Have as an HSP
- Built-in lie detector – You may easily know when others are lying or being dishonest in some way.
- Awareness – You notice things that others don’t and are often aware of fine nuances.
- Seeing both sides of every argument – This can actually be both a good/bad thing. You are able to be less judgmental because you can see from the other person’s point of view. On the flip side, it’s more difficult to figure out which side of an argument you fall on.
Some Skills often Associated with HSPs can Help you Professionally and Personally
Empathic Leaders – You may make a great leader. Empaths are often less attached to their own achievements and able to see what is good for the group as a whole.
Healers, Teachers, Change Agents – Because of your sensitivities and idealism, you may be working as a healer, counselor, therapist, teacher, volunteer or in some way working to make positive changes in the world.
Creative, Artistic, Problem-Solver – HSPs are often extremely expressive musically, artistically, or verbally. It’s sometimes as if you simply download the inspiration out of nowhere. This also makes you a great problem-solver, seeing solutions that others overlook.
Strong Sixth Sense – You may have a strong sense of intuition. You may be able to sense places where bad things have occurred. This sense may also easily alert you to danger and help keep you safe. After being in a place like this, it’s often helpful to do some clearing to release the energies that you picked up on Click to read more about Intuitive Sensitivity
Emotional Availability – You are able to discuss emotional issues without much difficulty. This is another place where your gifts can cause problems. If you are involved with or in a relationship with someone who is much more closed emotionally, you may feel shut out. Your desire to connect deeply may feel invasive or too much for them.
Seeing both sides of every argument. This is a double-edged sword – You may call yourself wishy-washy because it’s difficult to pick a side when you see the validity of both perspectives. Don’t beat yourself up for this, often simply understanding it helps you find coping techniques to hone in on your own conclusions or choices.
Emotional Strengths and Challenges May Often be a Double-edged Sword
Understanding Suffering – You may struggle to understand the causes of suffering in the world. This definitely can have a detrimental effect on you if you take in the suffering as if it was your own. The upside is that since you find suffering and injustice to be untenable, you may work to find ways to help.
Idealism – You may be an idealist, dreaming of ways to make the world a better place. This goes right along with struggling to understand the causes of suffering.
Self-Defense – You may have difficulty justifying defending yourself even if attacked, finding it almost impossible to cause harm to another even if they mean you harm.
Click to read Stand Your Ground, Stay in Your Center
News and Scary Movies – Watching the news or a scary movie can be extremely difficult because you feel what it’s like to be that victimized person, often internalizing it deeply. If you have a background of being abused, this tends to trigger strongly your own issues and leave you dealing with your own stuff And theirs as well.
Emotional Mood Swings – You may become sad, depressed, emotional, angry, even joyful when around someone who is experiencing those emotions. That’s one of the reasons crowds can be so devastatingly exhausting, you don’t even have to be in close proximity to be affected.
Difficulty knowing your own mind – You may have difficulty knowing what thoughts, needs, and opinions are yours when you are exposed to others, especially when they are strongly held.
This is not the same as seeing both sides. Instead, the inability to distinguish your own thoughts and reactions can allow those of others to over-write your own.
It’s Important to Take Care of Yourself
HSPs often are so busy taking care of everyone else, that they neglect their own needs and burn out. One of the most helpful things you can do is to have some alone time so you can recharge and regroup. This time also allows you to remember what your own thoughts and needs are. They count and are important. You may even want to learn some decision-making techniques.
Read: Why Do You Struggle So to Make a Decision, Maybe it’s Them, not You. This may also leave you open to being manipulated or overly impressionable, or simply constantly in a quandary about what do choose or believe.
Many empaths and HSPs find that they are exhausted or even ill after being around groups of people for extended periods. You may even find it difficult to think or feel your own emotions in crowded situations. Find time afterward to regroup, rest, and find your own center again. If you’re in a situation like this for extended periods, find a way to take quiet breaks, preferably in nature if at all possible.
A Personal Note to you from an HSP
I’m AnnaMariah Nau. I am the Operations Manager for BioElectric Shield Company, but even more importantly I’m a Highly Sensitive Person with strong empath scores in almost all the categories listed on the empath portion of the quiz.
I’ve been studying healing, energy work, gemstones, and various modalities since 1988. The BioElectric Shield has been the most helpful tool in all the things I’ve learned over the years. Prior to getting a Shield, I called myself the” poster child for sponge people”. I picked up everybody’s emotional and physical pain and had a hard time knowing what I felt or thought at times. When I found the BioShield, my life changed dramatically. I was able to shift and feel like I’d been given a gift instead of a curse.
I want you to know that I understand your struggle, I’ve been there.
When I found the Shield in 1994 I was in my 40s, it made such a difference for me, that I went to work for the company in order to have the opportunity to help other highly sensitive persons and Empaths in the way I’d been helped. Since that time I’ve talked to many thousands of men and women who have benefited from the Shield’s balance and protection. Regardless of whether you order or not, we are here to offer some tools and support. Read more of my story
Your New Best Friend – Your BioElectric Shield
I hope you will consider getting a BioElectric Shield – the Shield balances and strengthens your energy field, deflects much of the energy coming from other people and technology, and can be an HSPs best friend.
Are you Sensitive to Electromagnetic Radiation? It’s easy to find out.
Click here if you haven’t yet taken either our HSP or EMF Protection Quiz – this will help you determine the Shield level that will be best for you as well as more feedback on your energy sensitivity
Click here for a Free Photo Analysis – we take your level of sensitivity and EMF exposure into account when making recommendations.
Contact us Call us (541) 201-8878 or email
The 5 HSP Subtypes
When you take the HSP Quiz, you will learn your level of sensitivity overall as well as for the following subtypes we have identified. Click to learn more about each subtype:
Being an Emotional Empath is a Rare Gift
Do your emotions feel like a crazy rollercoaster? Are you sometimes concerned that perhaps you’re just a bit crazy because you are so much more sensitive to energy than your friends or co-workers? Do you have unexplained mood swings, strange health issues, feelings of overwhelm, and exhaustion that doesn’t seem to have an explanation?
Tips for the Highly Reactive HSP Person
Top Tips for Permeable or Thin Boundary Types
What this means in your everyday life. First off, let me tell you there’s nothing wrong with you, it’s not a character flaw to have permeable boundaries. You simply don’t have the natural defenses that some people have. You may have been called thin-skinned, or too sensitive.
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