Highly Sensitives and  Empaths

Are you a deep processor and notice details that other people miss?  Do you experience emotional intensity? Do you have heightened senses of smell, food, sound, texture, light, or other environmental stimuli? Do people naturally gravitate to you because you're a great listener? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions you may be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Highly sensitive people’s brains have an innately creative strategy for processing information which benefits them immensely. We notice more of what's going on in our environment. Because of our ability to notice details our problem-solving skills are heightened.  It’s estimated that HSPs represent 50% of clients in therapy because we love to talk about deep matters of the heart and respond exceptionally well when feeling supported.

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The trait is genetic, meaning you are born with it; it’s not about becoming highly sensitive because of traumatic experiences. Post-traumatic stress can make you sensitive to triggers that are associated with that event but being a highly sensitive person is a different kind of sensitivity.  Empaths are also highly sensitive but not all highly sensitive people are Empaths.  Empathic traits include but are not limited to clairvoyants who “see” things (visions, auras), claircognizants, who just “know” things, clairaudients who “hear” things; and clairsentients who “feel” things. Some people call this their “Spidey sense” because it feels like an energetic superpower that can’t be explained by what you see in the natural world.  It’s more of an intuitive knowing.  There can be an overlap between these traits. Why does this even matter?

There’s a high probability your sensitivities have not been something family and friends have affirmed and appreciated. You may have been ridiculed for being “too emotional” or “too picky”.  When this is the case, you may have hidden or ignored your intuition and gifts. Knowing that there’s nothing wrong with you helps you see it as a superpower instead of something to repress or hide. Your authentic self is your best self. In the right environment, your intuitive abilities will lead you to success.

Many times we have tried to fit in with all the others and changed who we were or sacrificed our needs and desires to make everyone else comfortable with us. We didn’t want to be different or needy so we suppressed our intuition and authentic self. This, combined with all the affirmation we get from meeting people’s needs- makes us start believing that our worth and value come from being a nurturing caretaker. We are naturally skilled at seeing others' needs and understanding how people feel so it feels easy for us to see a solution to their problems. Here’s the challenge I propose to you today.  Instead of creating victims out of others (and yourself) by making people need you- can you start taking care of yourself for once?