I started going to counselling around Halloween-time in 2016. I had been feeling particularly overwhelmed for months, and it kept getting worse, so I went. In one of my early sessions, my counselor asked me if I had ever heard of Elaine Aron's work on "the highly sensitive person." She began describing it to me, and encouraged me to take the online self-test. Once I learned about this, I felt immediately more in tune with myself. It was like I finally found the key to a long ago locked box inside me. Knowing that I have this trait, I've been able to be a lot easier on myself and understand my own emotions better. However, I feel not many people know of what a "highly sensitive person" even is.
Highly sensitive people are estimated to make up about 15-20% of the population. It is often wrongfully seen as a "disorder", but it is not a mental illness. HSPs: more aware of subtleties in environments, moods, etc. than others are easily overwhelmed and startled, are often mislabeled as simply "shy," and easily affected by other people's moods and intense stimuli. Of course, not all of have the exact same traits, and these are just a few examples of traits used to diagnose HSPs.
I highly encourage you to take the self test if you feel that you can relate to some of these things. If you do believe you can fall under the category of being an HSP, here are a few things to remember:
1. You are not alone, and you're not weird! As I said before, we make up 15-20% of the population.
2. There are resources out there to help you better understand yourself. Dr. Aron has written multiple books on the subject of high sensitivity. A full list of her books can be found here. Also, seeing a counselor who is knowledgeable about HSPs can be very helpful as well.
3. You don't have to be introverted. Many of us tend to fall more towards introversion, but it is not a requirement. Personally, I am extroverted, and about 30% of HSPs are.
Being able to read my past situations in this new light has been a phenomenal development in bettering my mental health. Knowing that the "way I am" is affected by this lifts some of the weight of me beating myself up over it. I hope that this article can help you too, and direct you to resources to better yourself. Dr. Aron has done so much work on this topic since she started in the early 90s, and I can't wait to see work continue on it.