Signs you can be a sensitive personality type (HSP) : When you are hungry, your blood sugar drops, and you can’t concentrate. Moreover, you might even feel dizzy until you eat something. That is how the body works typically but if you find yourself hungry often, research tells that you might be a sensitive person. HSPs take comfort in their routines, because the familiar is far less stimulating than something brand new. For this reason, change – both positive and negative – can really throw off HSPs. For example, when dating someone new or getting a job promotion, HSPs may feel as equally stressed as they do overjoyed. Generally, HSPs need more time than others to adjust to change.
Although there are many positive aspects of being a sensitive person (such as greater ability to listen and affirm, greater empathy and intuitiveness, better understanding of others’ wants and needs, etc.), in this writing we will focus on aspects of high sensitivity which adversely affect one’s health, happiness and success, and often complicate relationships. Below are 24 signs of a highly sensitive person, with excerpts from my books: “Are You Highly Sensitive? How to Gain Immunity, Peace, and Self-Mastery” and “How to Communicate Effectively with Highly Sensitive People”. These traits are organized into three major categories: Sensitivity About Oneself, Sensitivity About Others, and Sensitivity About One’s Environment.
Identifying your real feelings is an important first step in overcoming emotional sensitivity. Determine whether you are feeling disappointed, sad, angry, or something else. Once you have clearly labeled the emotion, you can begin to uncover the reasons you feel this way and what you can do about it.
Tears well up in our eyes for a variety of reasons: chopping onions, blinking out a speck of dust or because our eyes are too dry. Of course, we aren’t here to discuss those. Crying is a way of communicating to people around that something is wrong. More details on Why do you cry.
As an HSP, it is possible that you are spending precious time and energy on matters that probably don’t need that level of attention. Try to reflect on the situation to figure out if it is a pressing matter or if it is trivial. Because HSPs pick up on subtle changes, they can sometimes read too much into situations.
Category One: Sensitivity About Oneself. Often has difficulty letting go of negative thoughts and emotions. Frequently feels physical symptoms (i.e. stress or headache) when something unpleasant happens during the day.
Category Two: Sensitivity About Others. Has a hard time accepting critical feedback, even when it’s given reasonably and constructively.
Highly sensitive people express a lot of feelings daily. In a world where being sensitive is often considered as a weak or dramatic trait, the knack of openly expressing feelings can often feel like a burden rather than an asset. Extra details about It’s okay to be sensitive.
Everyone hates violence and cruelty, but for highly sensitive people, seeing or hearing about it can be extremely unsettling. You might be an HSP if you can’t watch very scary, gory, or violent movies without getting upset or even feeling physically ill. Similarly, you may not be able to stomach a news story about animal cruelty or similar brutal acts.