22 Signs That You’re A Highly Sensitive Person
For most of my life I considered myself a fairly thick-skinned, typical guy. Sensitive male role models were hard to find growing up in the seventies in a middle-class Boston suburb. Back then “sensitivity” was not a trait encouraged in men. So I followed in the footsteps of the male role models I had; mostly stoic, emotionally unavailable, intellectually focused men.
That worked for a while. But at some point during the past 18 or so years that I have been actively and sometimes intensively engaged in personal growth, I have discovered that behind the walls and under the layers of distance and detachment lives a highly sensitive person.
This awakening sensitivity has, at times, felt more like a burden than a blessing. But ultimately, and only quite recently, I have come to accept my sensitivity as a gift and a powerful ally on my journey of personal evolution.
When I began this journey, the term Highly Sensitive Person was not widely known (if at all). But as more has been written about Highly Sensitive People and the concept has gained wider (though certainly not universal) acceptance I have come to recognize and accept myself as a Highly Sensitive Person.
It is estimated that 20% of the human population would test positive for what Carl Jung called Innate Sensitiveness. This innate sensitivity has been well researched and the term Highly Sensitive Person was coined in 1996 by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. and explored in her book, The Highly Sensitive Person: How To Thrive When The World Overwhelms You
Wikipedia has this definition of Highly Sensitive Person:
A highly sensitive person (HSP) is a person having the innate trait of high sensitivity (or innate sensitiveness as Carl Gustav Jung originally coined it). According to Elaine N. Aron and colleagues as well as other researchers, highly sensitive people, which would represent about a fifth of the population, process sensory data much more deeply and thoroughly due to a biological difference in their nervous systems. This is a specific trait with key consequences that in the past has often been confused with innate shyness, inhibitedness, innate fearfulness, introversion, and so on. The existence of the trait of innate sensitivity was demonstrated using a test that was shown to have both internal and external validity.
While the idea of highly sensitive people is still shrugged off by the mainstream press and health-care community, I have no doubt that, just as people have different levels of visual acuity, hearing, intelligence and physical grace, there are also varying levels of what I call vibrational sensitivity.
No matter what any scientist tells you, there is no diagnostic device presently available that is as sensitive as the human body. When properly tuned, our physical bodies have the ability to perceive and respond to our environment with an accuracy that far exceeds the capacity of our present technology. And some of us have bodies that are naturally tuned to be more sensitive to our vibrational environment.
So, for better or worse, that puts highly sensitive people in the unenviable position of being the canaries in the coalmine. Our sensitivity to the aural, environmental, and vibrational pollution that is prevalent in our world means that we often display physical, emotional and vibrational symptoms long before others less sensitive than us.
That’s the bad news.
But fear not, there is good news! If you are a highly sensitive person, your sensitivity indicates that your body is more highly tuned than most people’s. And, with a bit of effort, training and regular practice, you can learn to leverage your sensitivity to create success and take your life to the next level. I have! More on that later.
For now, let’s look at some of the “symptoms” of highly sensitive people because, if you’re like I was, you might not even know that you’re highly sensitive. And when you don’t know that you’re highly sensitive it can be very difficult and uncomfortable to live in this world filled with less sensitive people who don’t understand why you have to cover your ears when an ambulance goes by, or leave a restaurant that smells like bleach, or sit under a full-spectrum light during the winter.
So if you have ever wondered if you are highly sensitive, here is a list of signs that could indicate that you are a Highly Sensitive Person. (I’ve added some personal notes to a few of the items on the list).
1. Can you hear things others cannot, especially high-pitched sounds?
Do you hear sirens long before anyone else? Does the high-pitched hum of a partially dimmed light fixture get under your skin when no one else seems to notice? Does the whirring fan in your computer distract you? Is it difficult for you to sleep in the same room as a refrigerator? Do you need to cover your ears when a loud siren passes by? Do you use earplugs at concerts or on planes?
2. Do you notice smells that others miss?
I have a weird olfactory sense: When it comes to nice, natural smells such as roses and lilacs, I have to put my nose right into the flower in order to smell it. But when it comes to not-so-nice smells I am highly attuned. I can smell cigarette smoke from 50-feet away when I’m outside and the wind is blowing in the opposite direction. When I walk into a restaurant that has just cleaned up with chlorine bleach, I often have to turn around a leave because the smell is overpowering. And don’t get me started on some of the unnatural perfumes that have nearly made me… well I think you get the idea!
3. Do you know what other people need before they ask?
This post, Intuition or Observation & Analysis, provides a great example of this.
4. Do you notice the flicker on older computer screens or older fluorescent fixtures?
I’m still amazed at how often I used to sit down at someone else’s computer and wonder how they were able to work on it with the refresh rate set so low. If they were not looking over my shoulder I would usually go in and quickly increase the refresh rate which took away the flicker and provided me with some relief.
5. Do you get “overwhelmed” by joy when you experience great beauty: A beautiful sunset, an incredible musical performance, the smile of your child?
High vibrational sensitivity is not always triggered by “negative” experiences. Positive, beautiful, sublime experiences can also awaken that sensitivity. But again, the difference and occasionally the difficulty for sensitive people is the intensity of the experience. Highly sensitive people can be truly overwhelmed by a beautiful experience, which is fine if you are alone on the beach watching a spectacular sunset, but may not be so great if you happen to look out the window at work just at the peak moment of that beautiful sunset.
6. Do you feel threatened or uneasy in large crowds or big cities?
Sometimes I enjoy going into San Francisco, and other times I just can’t wait to get out. But no matter how I’m feeling while I’m there, I always notice a distinct sense of calmness descending upon me as I leave the City. It’s as if I’m passing through an invisible energy boundary as I cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
7. Do you have “emotional radar” that picks up on what others are feeling?
Do you know what people are feeling before they tell you? Do you ever walk into a room and sense that there has been an argument?
8. Do you pick up physical symptoms from other people?
Have you ever been feeling great and then run into a friend who had a headache and suddenly noticed a headache coming on? I once massaged a friend’s knee after she tweaked it during a yoga class. When I was done, she felt great, but I could hardly walk!
9. Does reading or hearing about bad news have a dramatic impact on your mood?
Once upon a time I was a news and information junkie. Knowing what was happening in the world was important. As my sensitivity awakened, however, I began to recognize that the news is almost exclusively low-vibration information and had a dramatic and usually negative impact on me. A few years ago I did a week long news fast to see if it would make a difference. It did! Soon after that, I stopped watching, listening to or reading the news on a regular basis. And while I still don’t watch or listen to the news, I am now able to read the paper or gather snippets of news from the Internet without noticing a dramatic effect on my mood.
10. If you see a bad car accident does it affect you for the entire day?
Most people have a reaction when seeing an accident but for some highly sensitive people the effect can be dramatic and long lasting.
11. Have you been diagnosed with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and/or do you experience a noticeable drop in your energy and mood during the winter?
12. Have you ever had a transcendent or mystical experience?
Highly sensitive people are naturally more open to experiences of bliss, ecstasy and spiritual awakening.
13. Do you have a strong reaction when you drink caffeine or when you attempt to stop?
Everything we put into our bodies has both a physical and energetic effect. For most people the physical effects of caffeine are not that dramatic. But sensitive people also feel the energetic effects of that caffeine and the combination can be quite powerful.
14. Do you have food sensitivities or allergies?
Most of us are putting stuff into our bodies that was never meant to go there. This is fine for people who are not highly sensitive (not really!) but if you are highly sensitive your body may tell you, in no uncertain terms, what you can and cannot put into it.
15. Do you have allergies or asthma?
As with food allergies, environmental allergies can indicate that you are reacting to allergens on both a physical and energetic level.
16. Are you a “lightweight?”
A friend of mine used to say that I could “get drunk from sniffing the bottlecap!” And she wasn’t that far off. My karate buddies nicknamed me Ed “No Mas” Mills because of my tendency to get a little rambunctious after a couple of beers. If one glass of wine puts you under the table you might be highly sensitive.
17. Are you sensitive to over-the-counter, prescribed or illegal drugs?
Can you take half the recommended dosage of a drug and experience a noticeable effect? Have you had an overwhelming experience when experimenting with other drugs?
18. If you have ever had surgery, did it take longer to recover from the effects of the anesthesia than from the surgery itself?
For many sensitive people anesthesia can have a long-lasting and powerful effect. Anesthesia impacts not only the physical body but also the energy body by putting you into a completely unnatural state. It’s a neither here nor there state that can wreak havoc on a sensitive person’s system.
19. Is being in a calm, peaceful environment very important for you?
Does clutter, stress you out? Do harsh, disharmonious colors fluster you? Do you feel at peace in a beautiful garden? Is it important for you to create a “sanctuary” within your home?
20. Do you get claustrophobic when you spend too much time indoors?
For many sensitive people, being inside for too long leads to a feeling of claustrophobia, lethargy and/or irritation.
21. Is it important for you to spend time alone?
Highly sensitive people often feel better when alone. In extreme cases, this need to be alone can be debilitating to the point where being around others is almost impossible.
22. Do you experience dramatic mood swings, sometimes for no apparent reason?
Have you ever been sitting at work, or on the bus, or in a café, feeling pretty good, and suddenly, for no apparent reason, started to feel sad, or angry? Highly sensitive people are more sensitive to both their own emotional content as well as the emotions of those around them. So if this happens to you, you may be connecting with something happening inside of you, but you might also be unintentionally “tuning in” to the emotional content of someone else.
23. Do you know when people are lying to you?
Have you ever just known that someone is telling you a lie, even when you have no “logical” reason to believe that to be so?
There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. These are examples of possible “symptoms” of high sensitivity. If ten or more of these experiences rang true for you, it’s highly likely that you’re a highly sensitive person. But even if you said “Yes” to just a handful of these you could be highly sensitive. In fact, even just one or two of these, if they are very strong for you, could indicate high sensitivity.
Ultimately I believe that being a highly sensitive person is a gift. It certainly has become a gift to me! And, yes, I know, it does not always feel that way. It can feel like a burden and a curse. But when you learn how to put boundaries and systems into place you can begin to access and harness that sensitivity and use it to create the life you desire.
I’ll be writing about some of those systems in the next few weeks. So be sure to come back or, better yet, subscribe to Evolving Times to get notified when there is a new post here.
And you may want to sign up to receive the first free report I’m releasing as a preview for my new program The Energetics of Attraction.
Photo Credits:
Coffee by Refracted Moments
Rose by Randy Son of Robert
Candles by Ldcross
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Dude, sign me up and hand me my t-shirt! I’m an HSP! From the sound and smell sensitivities to the bawling in emotional circumstances (like movies and hallmark commercials), I am this list to a T.
Very interesting post!
Apparently I qualify!
yes, I would much prefer to call it a “Gift”….I know the Intuition has served me very well in life…(but could I please just do away with the mood swings?!)
Great article Ed! I’ve aways thought I had pretty good “emotional radar†that picks up on what others are feeling. Kinda like an energy source that they emit which I am able to receive.
Keep up the great work!
I guess I am a sensitive soul Ed.
Does this make me a better marketer? = )
Adam: Can’t say that I’m surprised!
Karen: I hear you on those mood swings. I’ll be sharing some thoughts on that next week. Be sure to tune in!
Craig: Thanks for checking in. It’s great to have examples, like you, of folks who have learned to use their sensitivity to improve their lives and the lives of others. BTW: I wasn’t falling for your tough guy act!
Shama: It actually can make you a better marketer. That sensitivity can help you tune in to what your market wants.
“22 Signs That You’re A Highly Sensitive Person”
…
…
23. Do you know when people are lying to you?
Have you ever just known that someone is…
why has no-one who claims to be highly sensitive noticed something this obvious?
I’m pretty sure from this post that I’m highly sensitive
Gabriel: A couple of people have noticed and pointed it out via email. My mistake. I added one in after writing the title and forgot to change it. No harm meant.
I haven’t been leaving comments, as my previous few disappeared… but they truly seem to be working now…
Add me to the list! I learned that I was a HSP when I was researching about my Highly Sensitive Children, of which my daughter is particularly.
I love the internet, otherwise I would have continued feeling “different” and defending mine and my HSC’s sensitivities from my husband, who is not highly sensitive. Now your article will do the same for somebody else!
Barb: I’m sorry that your previous comments disappeared. I was having technical problems with the comment form - that I didn’t know about - but they seem to be working now.
It’s difficult explaining this to people who are not highly sensitive. They just don’t get it. Both my wife and daughter are highly sensitive, so we tend to be pretty compatible in that way. I can’t imagine living with someone who is not highly sensitive. Maybe you could write a post about the strategies you have used to make it work.
Edward,
LOL - I just got up my first post in forever last night. You should check it out… it includes an image, which would’ve been great for the edition of the Carnival I hosted.
I have so many posts unfinished… I’ll put this idea on my list of “eventually”. Unless you do it first, as I know you’d do it so much better.
Very informative.
Which is why I always say “I know what I know”. I can rarely convince others WHY I’m uncomfortable with someone (who later turns out to be bad news) I just know that I am.
Although as far as knowing things, I thought it was just that I am very attentive to details and it just ‘comes to me’ when the pieces don’t fit precisely… the tiniest detail that’s out of place and I start to go through the entire stack of pieces to figure out the truth.
Barb: I’ve got a post coming next week that will look at some tools I use, but it won’t specifically address being in relationship with someone who is not an HSP.
Just Me: I think Highly Sensitive People ARE very attentive to details. But it’s our sensitivity that allows us to pick up on details that other people miss.
Thanks for the info. finally nice to know I’m not so weird after all. I totally drive my husband crazy. I’m always aware of smells, feel like crap when I wake up from surgery, and have paper towel ready for the next lady to use in the restroom. (I love their reaction). If you all get moody during winter, try living in Florida year round. It’s the worst for HSP. The sun is so intense, great for a spring break, but hurts my skin. Also the humid air is suffocating. I hate being indoors, but living here I have to stay inside. I’ve learned the Florida “seasons” being a HSP, but none-the-less I can’t get into it. Been here 25 years, moving is not an option, it’s a prison! I work in Emergency medicine so have those ghosts to haunt me, yet am thankful for a good job. Hey, I love to work as I work so I can play… in the snow, or rock climbing, or hiking. OK, enough. Thanks again for giving me a definition of why I’m different and no matter how hard I’ve tried blooming where I’ve been planted, I haven’t sprouted so well.
[…] a doubts about are you a sensitive person or not, check out this great article by Edward Mills - 22 Signs That You’re A Highly Sensitive Person. Edward write: It is estimated that 20% of the human population would test positive for what Carl […]
It is similar to the sensitive teeth :), they react to all external irritants…
“For many sensitive people, being inside for too long leads to a feeling of claustrophobia, lethargy and/or irritation.”
This point miss one another my opinion about sensitivity. I think I am this kind of person, but I can live weeks at home…
Great job on this article Edward. I see I am in fine company as a HSP.
~Beverly
This is so true. Thanks for the post.
I realized that I pretend that I’m not sensitive even I am because I don’t like myself called a sensitive person. However, I am a sensitive person after reading the post and I don’t need to pretend and can start enjoying being sensitive now!
Thanks!
[…] This is the second article in a series on Highly Sensitive people. If you have ever wondered what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person or if you qualify, read this article: 22 Signs That You Are A Highly Sensitive Person. […]
Hi Edward,
i don’t think I am sensitive enough on others feeling and reading the situation. But on the other side, I normally takes too many things personally and think about it for a long time. Does that mean I am a sensitive person or not?
It’s more like I’m sensitive when someone entering my own space, but I’m not too sensitive when I’m getting into other people’s space.
Any concept that can explain my behavior clearer? Is it more of selfishness?
Thanks,
Robert
[…] If you identified yourself as a Highly Sensitive Person after reading 22 Signs That You’re A Highly Sensitive Person, you’ll particularly resonate with Jill’s description of how it felt when she was […]
[…] depending on how sensitive you are, having someone “in†your personal energy space can feel just as intense as having someone […]
[…] depending on how sensitive you are, having someone “in†your personal energy space can feel just as intense as having someone […]
Very informative article, thank you.
Is there a way to stop being a HSP? I don’t want it.
I am glad that some people can find the positive in it and wish I could as well. I have a good life but I feel as if my emotional nerve endings are on the outside of my body and there is no protection.
I would welcome any comments.
This is unbelievable. I, myself would consider all but one of these to apply to my personality.
Personally I consider it a problem. Is there any way I can become less sensitive so I can be comfortable going through the normal confrontations of daily life? To be able to accept failure better?
Thanks for writing this article. You’re the first male I’ve come across that’s HSP. I just discovered I’m HSP a few days ago.
Yes, this all applies except I hear low freaquency noises. Do any of you seem to absorb negative energy from places where it has dwelled like pieces of property, historical sites, forclosed houses and the like? I am working with an energy healer to try and understand all this. I am a former “bubba from Mn and all this is over whelming but cool stuff. Thanks in advance for comments.
[…] that as I’ve reconnected with my Personal Energy Systems, I’ve discovered that I am a Highly Sensitive Person. Las Vegas is definitely not an HSP friendly […]
@Russ: Low frequency sensitivity is another sign of HSP. And, yes, absorbing energy from places is definitely a sign! Places store energy. And when you are sensitive, you pick up on that energy, and if you’re not careful you pick that energy up! The good thing is that you also get to pick up on the positive energy that is stored in places. So makes sure you expose yourself to positive places including the oceans, forests and mountains, retreat and meditation centers and any other places you find that fill you with positive energy. I’m glad that you’re working with an energy healer. Nothing wrong with being a former “bubba.” We’ve all been there in one form or another.
[…] to this article, there are 22 signs you are a highly sensitive person. The most interesting part of this […]
I agree it can seem like either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at it and deal with it. On the downside, a few times I have become very sick while traveling, due to restaurant food. Yet, as you noted, being sensitive has become a gift to me and I would not want to change. It is well worth the extra effort it requires. Thanks for the great article.
Mark Nolan
I have learned to look upon the gift of being a HSP as being like a person with one eye in a world full of blind people, or as having a keen grasp of the obvious in an environment where most people are oblivious to the obvious.
Dude, if I am not this, I don’t know what I am. Thanks for the list (will be copied and linked to on my own site)
[…] and I just found some more and better explanations about the questions on HSP (High Sensitive […]
OMG!
Reading this was the biggest ah ha! moment I have ever had. It was like a hand reached inside my head and unlocked a door inside my mind.
Dr.’s have labelled me as everything in the book and I have been given multiple medications to try to “cover up” what takes place inside my mind and my body.
I have always known that there was a deeper meaning to my “ways” and my life. I just have not been able to put my finger on it.
I feel this truth raging through my veins like a fire…did I menttion that I am a 23 out of 23 on the list of symptoms?
Where do I go from here?
Thank you for providing me with this outlet. Maybe now I will be able to do something meaningful with my gift!
I learned about HSP, and decided that I certainly was one, a few years ago. Life circumstances eventually made my hypersensitivity feel like a curse, and I pretty much shut down and became non-functional in most aspects of my life. I ended up getting diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder, though the psychologist said that the diagnosis was relatively mild.
I’ve met other people with Asperger’s since then and I am not like them at all. I am swimming in a churning sea of stimulation and the people with Asperger’s that I’ve met don’t seem to be responding to their environments all that much.
So whatever it might be, Asperger’s or this somewhat ambiguous HSP thing, I just try to let my sensitivities go free when things are good, and try to tone things down when life is going badly. I’ve done some research on high dopamine levels and it pretty much explains everything from a neurochemical standpoint. Lots of dopamine can make you somewhat socially withdrawn. In good situations, it makes everything seem even better. In bad situations, too much dopamine leads to extreme anxiety and OCD symptoms.
So anyone that thinks they’re an HSP and wants to know what the next step might be… I’d recommend researching dopamine. If the sensitivity is too much, you can take St John’s Worth (sublingually, not in pill form) to raise your serotonin levels and feel more evened-out when times are tough.
Thank you for this website and article.
Do HSP folks tend toward less empathy for others? If so, is it because they are so wrapped up in their own experience (which is not always easy in this world) that even though they do indeed “feel” for others, they are at a loss to act upon their feeling, therefore seeming less empathic.
Thanks for your response in advance.
Let’s see: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 16 (although I never tried anyway), 19, 21 - that’s 10.
Yep, I’m a HSP.
I work as a consultant, but prospecting is almost TORTURE for me. Particularly COLD-CALLING. Too many emotions, too much stimilus in too short of a time.
I hope to find some ways to cope with it.
Greetings,
Very well written article about HSP. My name is Ted Zeff and I have written several books about HSPs; “The Highly Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide” (translated into 6 languages) and “The Highly Sensitive Person’s Companion.” I am currently writing a new book entitled “The Highly Sensitive Boy-helping your son grow into a strong, confident, emotionally healthy man.” Elaine Aron will write the introduction to the new book.
I have interviewed 30 HSM (highly sensitive men) for the research for the new book and am still interested in interviewing some more HSM. If you know of anyone interested in being interviewed please email tedzeff@yahoo.com
My web site is hspsurvival.com
Thank you,
Ted Zeff,Ph.D.