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What Is HSP? 

Many people are wondering about this trait that has steadily been gaining awareness.  With the increase in accessibility to information and research also gaining steam, there are a lot of people wondering what does being Highly Sensitive mean anyway?
"Being an HSP does bring some challenges but it also brings some pretty amazing gifts that some people theorize are important in our evolution story. "
HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) is an innate trait that you are born with.  Some people may mistake being HSP for having a disorder, or being overly sensitive or dramatic.  In North American culture we might even equate sensitivity with weakness or an annoying inconvenience. It isn’t a weakness or a disorder but rather a neurodiverse personality trait. Being an HSP does bring some challenges but it also brings some pretty amazing gifts that some people theorize are important in our evolution story.
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What You Need to Know About HSP 
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Counselling Is Particularly Helpful For HSPs

Counselling tends to be a very helpful tool for HSPs as they can take the time to process thoughts and experiences. It is even thought that HSPs make up a large majority of counselling clients because of this! HSPs also tend to be philosophical and/or spiritual in nature as well as they tend to ponder deep topics and have a rich inner world and imagination. 
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HSPs can be hard on themselves though and often tend towards worry and perfectionism and might have a sense of being different or wrong somehow but haven’t quite put their finger on why they feel differently.  When they discover there are others like them they can finally breathe knowing that being HSP is a natural trait that is seen in humans and animals alike! Coming from a nuclear family of non-HSPs myself, I know I found great relief in knowing why I was different and it shone a light on why I didn’t have the same endurance for things like socialization as they did. 

Some Important Things To Know...

#1 - People with HSP are thought to be the people in history that advised the warrior type mentality. They sometimes would be the spiritual leaders, medicine people, strategists, and researchers of our time. 
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How HSPs Process Information & Stress

There are many benefits and challenges to being an HSP. An HSP processes information more deeply than the average person as there is a lot more information to process so they generally need more time. If they do not get the time to process the information and are pushed into a situation before they are ready, that can be very stressful. It can be so stressful for them in fact that it can start to manifest as physical symptoms.
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Some Common HSP Traits

This list is by no means exhaustive. You might recognize yourself in this list but if you have more to add to the list that you feel is common or meaningful please contact us through our contact form so we can add to this resource. 
  • HSPs can be innovators and problem solvers.  They can often have creative solutions or perspectives to solve problems.

  • Fairness tends to be an important value for HSPs, so they often have thoughts and feelings around equality and justice 

  • They make unique leaders in communities and teams and do so in ways that might not be understood by non-HSPs. 

  • HSPs tend to have deep empathy and understanding for others.
 
  • HSPs process deeply and often need more processing time for all the sensory input coming in. 

  • HSPs make astute observations and have unique perspectives that would be missed by others.  They are often able to reframe observations for others that require an alternate explanation.

  • HSPs can get overwhelmed with too much sensory input or if they are not given enough time or don’t have enough time to process everything on their neurological timeline. 

  • HSP may naturally spend more time on self reflection and personal growth 

  • HSPs tend to be over thinkers and that overthinking can lead to being self conscious & self critical. 

  • HSPs are often sensitive to criticism and work hard or over prepare to avoid criticism from others.

  • HSPs have a tendency to be more safety conscious.  They are usually aware of safety procedures and have good considerations and suggestions for creating safety manuals or procedures.

  • HSPs are inherently deeply philosophical and often have vivid imaginations and rich inner lives.

  • HSPs have a tendency toward burnout.  Their nervous systems can get overtaxed easily without the proper recovery time.

  • HSPs can often experience big feelings that can be harder to contain, sometimes as a result of processing more deeply, which can lead to more exhaustion and overwhelm over seemingly simple tasks.
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  • Meaning and purpose is usually vitally important to an HSP.  HSPs tend to struggle to function more when they do not get the time to integrate meaningful and purposeful actions into their lives. 
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Why Have An HSP as a Healthcare provider?

HSPs tend to do better when they are not pushed into decisions or situations without being able to take the time to weigh out all the options. 

Sometimes non-HSP healthcare providers who don’t know about or understand this trait might mistakenly think that an HSP is leaning toward being paranoid about their condition because they have done too much research or googling of their conditions, however, this is likely just one of the HSP traits popping up! 

Often, but not always, HSPs might like to have time to research the information either before or after their medical appointments so they have had sufficient time to digest and research the information to form an opinion of what might work best for them. An HSP-informed health practitioner might lean into this need to process the information in their own time and as a result gain rapport with their patient. This lends to a much better dynamic not only for the patient but the practitioner alike. I am often impressed with the self awareness that HSP clients come up with but I am not surprised as I identify as an HSP myself. 

Another trait that I see commonly among health professionals who are not informed about HSP brain types is feeling like they are hitting resistance with their HSP patient. Trying to help, they often will push the patient and inadvertently put pressure on the HSP. This often results in the patient discontinuing treatment or it can cause conflict within the therapeutic relationship. It’s ok to hold HSPs patient accountable, if they have requested it, because they know that works for them, but some specific considerations need to be made before this is done. 

Usually, I find when I sense some hesitancy the HSP patient just needs an adjustment to the treatment and they aren’t sure how to go about communicating that or they are afraid of being judged for being “fussy” or “too sensitive”, they come by this honestly as they are often misunderstood. They might also just need some more time, a better explanation, or to be directed to some research so they can start their own research. I find after reinforcing that, they do not have to hide those needs and requests from me and they tend to feel more comfortable asking for help and collaborating with me, which often ends up in what I feel are better treatment outcomes. Sometimes the information that we gather together can create brilliant ideas for a tough situation. Not only do these ideas help me with treating them but it gives me great ideas for working with my entire patient population that I might not have come up with before.
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How to Tackle an Uninformed Healthcare team or team member

If your healthcare practitioner is uninformed, it might take a bit of work to educate them but you may also find that healthcare workers who are not HSP can bring a perspective that is different. Try providing some information and research to the healthcare practitioner that you are working with and let them know it’s important to you. Some practitioners just need to see some of the research and digest the information themselves and they are quite willing to discover new information. 

If you have had to do this a few times and you’ve not gotten the results you have hoped for and would rather not do the emotional labor of educating your health care provider, that is understandable too. 
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Some Important Things To Know...

#2 - As an HSP it is crucial to discover what drains you and what helps fill your energy bucket up! Planning ahead to create a custom HSP friendly lifestyle or activities can help greatly with leaning into the helpful HSP traits and lessening the impact of challenging HSP traits. 
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If You Are An HSP Who Has Experienced Medical Trauma

This can be a particularly tough situation to navigate as finding a practitioner that understands can feel overwhelming and possibly even downright frightening. I wanted to address this as a beacon for those who are struggling with this situation to make it easier to make contact without having to worry about being judged.  I can help you navigate this at your own pace and build a bridge of understanding and trust before we go forward.

Some Important Things To Know...

#3 - Sometimes when an HSP is receiving a treatment or a lifestyle change it can feel really overwhelming. It is OK to ask for the treatment plant to be broken into smaller bite sized pieces, to ask for more info to do personal research, or to even change your mind about what you are willing to do or not do. 
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Some Important Things To Know...

#4 - Your needs matter! As an HSP you may have needs that neurotypical people sometimes can't quite grasp. Regardless of other's reactions your needs as an HSP are important and they matter. Finding HSP friendly friends, healthcare and spaces can be helpful to regulate overwhelm and burn out. 
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HSP Research 

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Fascinating research that is helpful for HSPs to know

Interestingly there has been some fascinating research finding that HSPs process information more deeply than a non-HSP brain type. They are often mistakenly considered shy and introverted. Although there are people that are shy and introverted that are HSP, there are also many people who are extroverted and/or outgoing and are also HSP. There is a type of HSP that is called High Sensation Seeking. These HSPs look for the thrill and excitement but might go about it differently than a neurotypical person. Likely a High Sensation seeking HSP would approach an exciting event with planning ahead to make sure whatever thrill they were seeking was safe and also making sure they carved out the appropriate downtime to get themselves rested and their system regulated before their next adventure. 
"Approximately 15-20% of the population is on the HSP spectrum and researchers have found at least 100 species of animals that also seem to have this brain type."
Approximately 15-20% of the population is on the HSP spectrum and researchers have found at least 100 species of animals that also seem to have this brain type. The researchers perform something called a functional MRI or an FMRI. This means they can watch the brain react in real time to stimuli. What they found when they conducted the FMRI research was that an HSP person’s brain actually processes information more deeply, so they often need more time to process this vast amount of information. Even for an HSP brain that is geared to take on more information, it can be overwhelming both in thinking and feeling but also in experiencing outside stimuli like lights and sounds. 

Dr. Elaine Aron, a clinical research psychologist and a fellow HSP, spearheaded the initial research along with her husband Dr. Arthur Aron.  Dr. Arthur Aron is a research professor of psychology and identifies as a neurotypical person. Dr. Elaine Aron has written many books on the highly sensitive person and goes into detail about how a relationship with a non-HSP has its challenges and benefits. Dr. Aron mentions in one of her videos that she often feels tired when travelling so she rests in the hotel room while her husband maps out the lay of the land. She can then decide how to spend her time wisely in a more stimulating environment while not getting overwhelmed and exhausted from all the new experiences. There are more researchers looking at this work now as it’s gaining understanding and more people who realize they are on the HSP spectrum are starting to want more information.

Some of the research shows that HSPs do better than the average population when their traits are fostered in childhood, however, if they are not fostered due to being misunderstood by the neurotypical population it can be troublesome. For example, if they endure trauma, are pushed into situations they are not comfortable with before they are ready, are not given enough down time to reset, or are minimized regarding their needs, they tend to do worse than the general population. 

Since our North American culture is still discovering how beneficial this trait is, many people don’t understand the importance of the HSP needs and how wonderfully they can flourish if they are given the opportunity. In other countries or cultures, traits such as sensitivity and deep thought are sometimes fostered and therefore the HSP population tends to be more likely to thrive in these places.  

Some Important Things To Know...

#5 - Burnout doesn't equal failure. HSPs tend to be more critical of themselves. Burnout is a sign that you need to back way up get some informed care such as counselling or coaching and figure out what your needs are so that you can start on your journey to healing and fill your tool kit with strategies to avoid burnout in the future.  
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How We Can Help

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How to work with me and why you might want to!

I identify as HSP myself, I practice Mind Body Spirit medicine, and am a trained counsellor as well as a naturopathic doctor. In collaboration, these practicing methods tend to lend well to people who identify as HSP, there are a few reasons for this. I am collaborative and I encourage patients to be informed about their condition. This tends to work well for HSPs because it allows them to research and digest information at their own pace.

The Mind part of Mind Body Spirit Medicine is often received well because counselling goes well with the depth of processing and thought. The Body aspect is helpful to be looked at within a whole picture which can feel more complete and satisfying to look at the “wide angle” view and find how it might all fit together. HSPs tend to lean toward deep creative thought, philosophy and spirituality. This leaves the Spirit part of Mind Body Spirit medicine. Spirituality might look like religion or possibly a deep connection to nature and everything in between. Finally, HSPs tend to think outside of the box and come up with concepts and ideas that are unique. This is all encouraged in Mind Body Spirit medicine. 
If this piques your interest and you want to explore more click here to apply to become a patient. I love working with fellow HSPs and look forward to connecting.