Dr. Blume's Article of the Month

UNDERSTANDING THE HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSON

by Dr. Ginger Blume

While growing up, did people oftentimes refer to you as “too sensitive?” As an adult, do you oftentimes experience a heightened sensitivity to strong noises, lights, certain foods, groups of people, other people's emotions, etc.? Do you have frequent experiences of depression and/or panic? If so, you may be what Dr. Elaine Aron calls a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Her research is documented in her book, The Highly Sensitive Person. This article will describe the HSP and perhaps, provide you with a new understanding of how some people experience their world as physically and emotionally, overly stimulating and painful.

A syndrome is composed of a number of symptoms that commonly manifest together in a group. However, each of the symptoms by themselves is not indicative of a syndrome. The unique combination of symptoms is the key factor. Lets look at some possible indicators of a person who may experience ultra sensitivity. Such an individual would probably relate to most, but not necessarily all, of these symptoms:

The ultra-sensitive individual picks up on most of the subtleties in their environment, no matter what they are. When the stimuli begin to feel too much, a state of feeling overwhelmed can occur, causing the individual to go into automatic "survival" mode. Survival oftentimes involves the primitive fight and flight response. Hence, to cope with the situation, it is not uncommon for the HSP to retreat to be alone in a quiet and/or darkened room. This is a place where they can regroup and calm down their over-activated nervous system.

Ultra-Sensitive People simply experience things more intensely and are more aware of the subtleties in the environment than non-USPs. Some people are Ultra-Sensitive in only a few arenas of their lives, like flying in an airplane, being in a noisy mall, or being in a small, cramped space. These types of sensitivities are commonly referred to as phobias. Other HSPs are ultra-sensitive in most or all areas of their lives. The causes for this appear to be multi-determined, including such things as genetic predisposition, developmental growth, and life experiences.

Growing up as a Highly Sensitive Child is not easy. Such children are criticized and shamed for the way they cringe in certain situations. Kids and adults may have called them too sensitive, emotional, thin-skinned, a complainer, never satisfied, etc. The classic story, The Princess and the Pea is a perfect description of the HSP (most often related to women). For a highly sensitive male child, they would have been taunted as a "crybaby," “acting just like a girl,” etc. These shame-laden labels can contribute to emotionally tarnishing one's self-esteem.

In reality, the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) plays an important function in the world. The HSP has a heightened sensitivity to the environment and may use this awareness to spearhead social movements to protect the earth. HSPs are highly intuitive and oftentimes know what other people are feeling. Their ability to be empathic is exceptional. Unless they learn to shut out this awareness at times, however, they can feel as if they have no body boundary between themselves and others. Also, given an over sensitivity to stimuli such as light, noise, and temperature, the HSP may feel a massive input of stimuli in crowded places such as a shopping mall resulting in anxiety and a desire to retreat. Non-HSPs may only be mildly distracted in a similar situation. Once overwhelmed, the HSPs survival response (fight or flight) is triggered and can result in a panic/anxiety attack. Unfortunately, in an attempt to quell these feelings, some HSPs turn to drugs/alcohol/food/etc to gate the resulting feelings out of awareness.

Why are some people ultra-sensitive? There is no single answer, only speculation. Some people come into the world with a neurological system that is pre-wired as highly sensitive. Others are traumatized early in development and become hypersensitive as a result of abuse. Also, others may have these sensitivities due to a physical abnormality (i.e. mitral valve prolapse) or resulting from various chemical and food allergies. In whatever area(s) of your life you are ultra sensitive, you are vulnerable to feeling overwhelmed unless you learn to put a dimmer switch on your central nervous system and sensory awareness. This can be done through imagery work while in a very relaxed state.