In an interview with individuals who are adept rwith the topic, Huffington Post tries to understand 20% of the human population referred to as Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP). It turns out that it is not really about a person crying and being emotional all the time but rather it is an innate condition that actually helps the person build coping mechanisms in his everyday life.
Consciousness of HSP's has been gathering pace in the United States because of a documentary, premiered earlier this year in San Francisco, called Sensitive the Movie goes into depth about the subject matter. It also features scientist and author of the million-selling book The Highly Sensitive Person Dr. Elaine Aron. The documentary includes a new research that proves how people who score highly on the sensitivity scale have significant differences in their section of the brain that deals with empathy and sensory information.
Kelly O' Laughlin, author of A HighSensitive Person's Life, and a HSP herself, describes the sub-group of people to Huffington Post as being more "observant, conscientious, intuitive, and sensitive to noise, light, and smell". She also clarifies that being "sensitive" is not a negative thing-that it is actually positive to be more "conscientious and observant"-which is in contrary to how people often view HSP's. "It doesn't mean you cry all the time and you can't handle the world," she adds.
Diane Hereld, another HSP in San Diego, California elaborates further how it is to be like her. "...[Having] sensitivity to subtle stimuli and alert response." Other mentioned characteristics of HSP in the interview were: not liking people to watch while you work, being easily overwhelmed, not wanting to have so much to do, and being sensitive to caffeine.
If you are wondering whether you belong to this group and a Highly Sensitive Person, Laughlin says, "You would know if you are." No need to be ashamed of being an HSP, because according to her, people who are more sensitive tend to understand other people around them better and build better coping mechanisms in their personal and work life.
