Nine Advantages of Being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

What is a Highly Sensitive Person?

Our society seems to think that being sensitive is a weakness. And being “highly sensitive”? Well, that’s obviously much worse, right?

A highly sensitive person (HSP, for short) is someone who feels more deeply and experiences life more fully than the average person. There are four main groups of characteristics that are shared by people who are highly sensitive. They are depth of processing, overstimulation, emotional reactivity, and the ability to sense the subtleties that the average person might miss.

Yes, highly sensitive people definitely have some challenges (emotional reactivity and overstimulation are not exactly fun), but they also have some major advantages, which I will be focusing on in this post.

For the record, I am a highly sensitive person, so I may use “I”, “we”, or “us”  in this post, when referring to highly sensitive people. Also, while everybody’s experience of being an HSP is unique, I understand some of the struggles and advantages, firsthand. 

What’s in a Name?

Highly sensitive people have likely been around since the dawning of humankind. See the section “It’s Biological”. 

In the Victorian era, women who were highly sensitive were thought to suffer from “hysteria”. Yikes. You can read more about that, here, if you’re interested.

Highly sensitive people are often labeled as “emo”, “too sensitive”, “drama queens”, “high maintenance”, or other derogatory terms by those who do not share this trait or who are ashamed of their own sensitivity. Hello, projection!

Misunderstood

Unfortunately, highly sensitive people are often mocked, ridiculed, and made to feel ashamed of their sensitivity. You know how in the film Dr. Strange, he lashes out at his paramour by saying, “You just care SO much!!” as if that is the most vile insult that he could possibly throw at her? Yeah, that.

They may be told to deny their feelings, grow a thicker skin, use a stiff upper lip, suck it up, etc.

This feeling of being judged, labelled, and misunderstood can interfere with their lives, impact their self-esteem and self-worth, plus lead to anxiety and depression.

Many highly sensitive people try hard to fit in and find that they just can’t. Feeling isolated, sometimes ostracized, and often bullied because they’re “different” can be devastating to an HSP, mentally, emotionally, and even physically. 

It’s Biological

Did you know that heightened sensitivity is inherited? If you are a highly sensitive person, it’s part of your DNA, just like other traits such as the color of your eyes.

It also means that your nervous system is more sensitive than that of people who don’t share this trait. For better or worse, you’re just wired differently.

About twenty percent of all animals and humans are highly sensitive. Despite the stigmas and misunderstandings (maybe they’re just jealous?!) being highly sensitive is an evolutionary advantage. 

Trauma

Unfortunately, trauma (especially repeated trauma, during childhood) can add to an HSP’s sensitivity, potentially causing them to be hypervigilant. That means always on alert, unable to relax, and even more acutely sensitive to potential dangers.

What it’s Not

High sensitivity is not a disorder, like anxiety, depression, bipolar, or PTSD.

It’s not a chemical imbalance or other medical condition that can be treated with medication or surgery.

It’s not something that you can get rid of, in this lifetime. It can’t be beaten, wished, or prayed out of you. 

It’s not A.D.H.D., though there can be some overlaps.

It is not a form of neurodivergence (change in a person’s cognitive functioning and processing), like autism.

High sensitivity is not the same as being introverted. There are HSP’s who are introverts, extraverts, and ambiverts.

Of course, a person can be highly sensitive, have a mental health disorder, be neurodivergent, and be an introvert.  But, high sensitivity is its own unique trait.

Lastly, while women are generally perceived as being sensitive (and are somewhat more accepted in being so), the trait is thought to be spread evenly among men, women, and people of all gender identities.

Healing & Self-Care

Because they can get easily overstimulated or dysregulated, highly sensitive people tend to need more downtime and self-care than others. Since they have a tendency to be codependent and put others’ needs before their own (many are natural caretakers), this can be tricky.

Many HSP’s would benefit from learning how to focus inwards and become masters of self-care, self-worth, self-esteem, self-love, self-healing, and positive self-talk. That’s the path I’ve been walking for the past twentyish years and I highly recommend it.

Why Am I Sharing About HSP’s?

I identify as an HSP and I believe that my heightened sensitivity comes from a combination of genetics and trauma.

Both of my parents are/were highly sensitive and I was raised with a lot of toxicity. My mom tried to deny her sensitivity and consequently, she seemed to cut off her heart in the process. As you can imagine, that had all kinds of lasting consequences for me. My father embraced his sensitivity, but he also used it as an excuse to be out-of-control, manipulative, and abusive. That also messed with my head.

Unfortunately, neither of my parents handled their heightened sensitivity well. I’m trying to heal around that and change my own patterns, including unhelpful behaviors and beliefs that I picked up from them.

I feel called to educate people about what being a highly sensitive person means, why heightened sensitivity should be respected, and how it can be used in healthy and productive ways.

Are You an HSP?

Let’s take a breather, shall we? Before you dive into the advantages of being a highly sensitive person, you might want to watch this video, to help you determine if you are one. Chances are that you already know, but she has some good points, so I feel that this is worth watching. 

1. Badass Survival Instincts

Heightened sensitivity can help us pick up on subtle signs of danger, before everyone else does. That can help us survive, when others might perish.

It can also help us assist others who are not as acutely sensitive. For example, you might feel an earthquake early on and be the one who warns others around you to seek safety.

Some of our sensitivity is inherited, but it can also be from our environment. If you grew up in an abusive household or otherwise experienced repeated trauma, you might be extra extra sensitive to signs of danger.

Yeah, that can be really hard to deal with. But, if you’ve done healing work around it, you may be more likely to get your butt outta there (and not kid yourself about what’s going on), when stuff starts going down.

Again, those are some badass survival instincts.

Heightened sensitivity makes us more attuned to lovely things like beauty, nature, food, pleasing sounds, physical sensations, etc.

It can help us to have a sense of gratitude and childlike wonder. It can also help us return to those things, when life pulls us in other directions. Because we’re so sensitive to the good things in life, that can make us extra resilient, meaning that we might bounce back more quickly than someone who doesn’t share this trait.

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4. Intelligence

Some of the most gifted and brilliant people on the planet are highly sensitive. So, heightened sensitivity can be an indicator of extraordinary intelligence.

There are people of all kinds who are highly sensitive, not just creatives. Jane Goodall and Albert Einstein are two examples.

5. Depth of Processing

We pick up on subtle cues that others might miss, because of something called “depth of processing”. Depth of processing can make us quicker in coming to conclusions (think Sherlock). But, it can also make it so that we need more time to mull things over and make decisions – especially important ones.

Noticing patterns is also part of depth of processing. Let’s say you’re in charge of a big project at your company. You might notice a pattern that the others are not attuned to – some kind of warning that things are not necessarily how they appear. You speak up about it, your higher-ups heed your warning, and some kind of boundary or safety measure is created. Your picking up on that pattern could have prevented a financial disaster, which would have threatened the survival of said company.

6. Intuition

High sensitivity can also help us make quick decisions, even if we don’t quite understand why, because they seem to go against logic or what appears obvious, on the surface. It could show up as a gut feeling or just a sense of knowing.

For example, I interviewed a potential therapist, recently. At first, I felt really good about her as an option, but then I slept on it and felt that I had to put on the brakes. I did a tarot card reading about it, which indicated that there was a better option. I mean, I get that all-the-time (I think it’s because I’m a perfectionist), so that on its own wouldn’t have been enough. But, I also had a strong feeling that it wasn’t a great match.

It was about a week later that I finally realized why. There were two main reasons. While is very flexible and willing to talk about any subject and meet me where I’m at (wherever that might be), she seems to lack the kind of backbone that I need in a therapist, to help me create the kind of change I am seeking. She’s also Christian and let’s say that I’m sort of witchy. Those two spiritual bents do NOT usually pair well.

While it sucked to walk away from an option that I was initially excited about, I also had to trust my intuition. I mean, I misread or project things, every now and then. Nobody’s perfect. But, it’s often spot on, to be honest, and I’m very grateful for it.

We may sense and respond to others’ emotions more easily. It can help us understand and have empathy for them, it can make us lean into people-pleasing (not always a good thing, but sometimes helpful for survival), and it can help us attune to others, which can make relationships deeper and more fulfilling. 

Emotional responsiveness can also help you discern who is trustworthy, or not, because HSP’s tend to have highly attuned B.S. meters. You might sense insincerity, a nefarious agenda, or ill intentions that others would miss. 

On the flip side, you might also be immediately drawn to certain people and forge friendships with them, easily. 

I’m grateful for these abilities, personally. I can smell B.S. a mile away and I’ve developed the fortitude to stand up to people when I feel that they’re trying to take advantage of me or someone else. I can often sense their energy and intentions. I have dodged many bullets, in my time. This warrior-ness usually comes as a surprise, since I tend to look very young and very innocent. I suppose that can be an advantage. 

But, I can also strike up a conversation with anyone, if I vibe with their energy in a positive way or sense that they need a bit of an energetic boost. I love giving compliments to people, when I see something that I truly like about them or their appearance. I like to think that it helps to balance out some of the negativity, competition, and criticism that we face, as humans. 

Abraham Lincoln, Princess Diana, and Martin Luther King Jr. were all known to be highly sensitive people. And it makes sense, given their concern and empathy for others, as well as their advocating to make the world a better place.

8. Organizing Skills

Highly sensitive people tend to feel uncomfortable when there’s a lot of clutter and disorganization going on around them, because they take in more information than the average person. Therefore, it stands to reason that they would find ways to solve that problem, by at least learning how to manage their own stuff. And then there’s the attention to detail and the ability to see patterns, where others might not.

To be clear, this is a theory of mine and I can’t find anything to support it, other than my own experience. I am very good at organizing and it’s partly because of the sense of friction and discomfort that I feel when things are chaotic and cluttered. I actually cannot stop myself from sorting a place, if it’s messy, nor can I rest or relax until it’s taken care of. I don’t know if other HSP’s are like this, but I imagine at least a percentage are and the ability to organize well can definitely be an advantage, as long as it’s not taken to the point of obsession.

9. It’s a Superpower

While most people paint it as being a bad thing (and even something to be ashamed of), heightened sensitivity is a kick butt trait.

You know how Superman has X-ray vision? Well, some of us can “see right through people”, LOL. 

Did you catch the part about how being highly sensitive is an evolutionary advantage? Because of our senstivity, we can tend to pick up on details (and danger) faster than those without this trait. We also tend to react more quickly, in face of dangerous situations. And we may be the kind of people you want around you in an emergency, because we’re more likely to survive and care enough to make sure that you’re safe, too. 

I can’t tell you how many (metaphorical) bullets I’ve dodged in my day, because I could either “smell at rat” or otherwise sense danger early on. 

All of the eight characteristics that I shared, earlier, can add up to high sensitivity being a superpower. 

A Spiritual Perspective on Sensitivity

Christina Lopes is a spiritual teacher and life coach and someone I look to for wisdom and guidance. If you are spiritually inclined, you might appreciate what she has to say about sensitivity, in the video, below.

Additional Resources

There are so many resources available, if you want to dive deeper into what the experts say about being highly sensitive, how to heal around wounds due to being ridiculed or abused because of this trait, and more.

Videos 

Here are three videos that I have found to be particularly helpful. They are:

1. Mayim Bialek’s Breakdown Podcast (in video form) – 10 Ways to Know if You Are a Highly Sensitive Person.

BTW, her video is what prompted me to write this blog post. 

2. Psychotherapist Nikki Eisenhaur’s video on the channel “Emotional Badass” – Why Highly Sensitive People Feel Alienated: Understanding the 80/20 HSP Split

Documentary

If you haven’t seen it, yet, I highly recommend watching the documentary Sensitive. It features HSP expert Elaine Aron and Alanis Morissette and it offers a unique perspective on how being a highly sensitive person has impacted both of their lives. You can watch it for free (with ads) on YouTube or you can rent it from various sources.

If you or someone you know is a higly sensitive person, this video could really help you understand what that means, in greater detail.