Are you a highly sensitive person (HSP)?

Now i dont want to seem negative here but it seems that everyone who has visited this thread now considers themselves to be Hyper sensitive. Is this test meant to bring about these results?
Are members of ATS generically more sensitive than others and, as a group, will always show up a perfect case scenarios on topics such as this?
OR
Are all ATS members just lovely, overly sensitive souls who are the salt of the earth?

We can but hope.....

reply to post by Karlhungis


I'm not sure that we see it as a club, Karl, it's just that (for me anyway) it feels like the most incredible relief that there *might* be a physiological explanation for how we feel....I guess we will all still have our individual sensitivities. To know that we are wired somehow out of the norm, as opposed to just thinking or suspecting it, is important.

reply to post by davedat2


Don't you think that they people who would be drawn to take such a test would inherently be more likely to score higher on it? I would never want to take a "my little pony trivia" test because I know that it absolutely doesn't apply. However, this test seemed worth taking because it seemed to be applicable. I don't think that many people have been surprised by the results.

reply to post by Karlhungis


I was just about to make that very point. And there really are not too many replies yet....so it might be 15 or 20 people out of how many thousands? The study suggests that it might affect 15-20% of the population to one degree or another....that's a lot of sensitives. There should be many hundreds on ATS alone, with differing degrees of sensitivity.

[edit on 3-6-2009 by caitlinfae]

reply to post by caitlinfae


Honestly, if the thread was titled "Are you a self absorbed pompous ass (SAPA)?" Would you have bothered joining in? Would you even bother with a self assessment? Or would you just pass it up because it doesn't apply?

This thread will primarily attract people who will score highly on the test.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Of course it will....that's the whole point. Most of us seem all too painfully aware that we are hyper sensitive. It's not a negative or a positive trait...it just is. Your example of a pompous ass quiz isn't really fair, as it's so negative, and no-one would really respond to a thread like that unless it was a joke. We are instinctively attracted to the issues that affect us most deeply, I think.

[edit on 3-6-2009 by caitlinfae]

reply to post by caitlinfae


Obviously, you don't know a lot of pompous asses. Many would enjoy taking such a quiz. They know that they are pompous and many revel in it. Similar to how sensitive people know that they are sensitive and many wear it like a badge of honor. Not all do of course, but many.

Yes, it was an exaggeration but it isn't really that far from the truth.

I was regarded as 'highly-strung' when I was a child and constantly accused of 'always wanting to go my own sweet way'. Or being 'born awkward'.

I scored 19 on the test - most of my problems stem from a low tolerance to noise and 'tuning in' too easily to other people.

I also need a lot of quiet space to myself.

Oh, and things making me jump. I nearly go through the ceiling and people get very offended if all they've done is speak to me.

I certainly can't function with anyone looking over me and I think part of the problem is I feel their impatience. It's intolerable. My housemate has a habit of 'over-seeing' me and I can almost feel him jumping up and down inside as he watches me. Fortunately, we've got a good enough relationship that I can tell him to bog off. (Yeah - I'm really highly sensitive )

My other mis-fortune is feeling another person's physical pain or illness. My h/m had toothache for over a month sometime around February/March aggravated by the fact that he missed a dental appointment. I used to beg him to get it all fixed.

Before my ex-housemate left I had a lot of strange thoughts and feelings that I now realise were actually his.

That question in the quiz about being aware of how or when to make other people more comfortable touches on something else I read about. Apparently abused children can be a lot more sensitive to the needs of others. They learn to anticipate because if they can give the adult what they need before the shouting and hitting starts they save themselves lot of pain and discomfort.

I'm pretty de-sensitised to violence. If someone wants to threaten me physically I can straighten up, look them in the eye and prepare to defend myself.

What I can't stand is someone shouting at me. And if other people are shouting at each other I have to get away. I always worry about how much it can escalate and there, I think, is a control issue.

Anyway, it's an interesting thought but I do wonder how much sensitivity a person has is related to the circumstances they were brought up in as well as genetics.

I mean you can be a naturally shy, quiet, sensitive person but have all that heightened if you grow up in an unsympathetic or harsh environment.

I took the test and every single box applied to me.
I've always known I was hyper-sensitive. Even as young as seven years old I wondered why I took notice of things that other people didn't. I was always in tune with other people's emotions, and coming from a dysfunctional white trash family, I was always on edge because I could feel the chaos and violence approaching.

I have been suicidal most of my life, and I can't seem to shake off the past, which I cannot change, but seem doomed to relive in my mind over and over.
I hate myself for my own mistakes in life, and no matter how much I want to, I can't forgive myself. Most of the time I feel I deserve to die, but the irony is I haven't done myself in because of the pain I know it would cause to the people (and person) I love.

So I continue to suffer from my sensitivity, but I can't end it because my sensitivity prevents that.

I've even asked my doctor for any medication that could switch off my emotions.
He says there isn't one.

I sometimes wonder if I am dead, and this is hell. I long for death, but it won't come.

Sorry... I'm raving. This thread just popped a big cork out of my bottle.

I scored 14 exactly. LOL!

I would have loved to have had a more comprehensive test like the ones mentioned at the bottom of the test screen.

reply to post by Angus123


Angus, my heart goes out to you. This has opened a lot of things for a lot of us I think, but your situation seems more extreme. Please u2u if you feel you would like to talk off the boards. I'm not a therapist, but sometimes just to talk is enough. It sounds to me like you're endlessly trying to protect yourself from things that no longer exist.

There is a huge positive side to being this sensitive...you maybe just have to find how it works for you. I hope you don't find any of this patronising

Originally posted by Angus123
I have been suicidal most of my life, and I can't seem to shake off the past, which I cannot change, but seem doomed to relive in my mind over and over.

Strangely, before I logged on I was thinking about my childhood and the efforts I made to completely forget it.

When I was about twelve I just shut the door on past memories. They were getting me down too much so I blocked them.

Try and think of yourself as the Captain of your own Ship. You are You, no matter what experiences you have had. They only help to polish the diamond.

You are your own person and this life is just a short amount of time in the context of your entire existence.

The body you inhabit is just a vehicle and your personality is just there to help You experience this life on this planet. Real You may be finding the personality difficult to deal with - Real Me had a hell of a time

But I found an earnestness and good-heartedness as well as a difficult little ditz and I worked with the better traits - You can do that, too.

Try and connect and find a higher purpose. You have a lot going for you already - a conscientiousness and a regard for other people. Not everyone has that much to work with.

I'm never far from wanting to drop off the perch, but since I'm here I've got my nose on the grindstone and, who knows, I might achieve far more than I ever expected to before I came here.

reply to post by Angus123


You are not alone. Being extremely sensitive in such a chaotic world makes us feel alone, but by no means are we.

Tend to think that alot of forum posters are very sensitive to their surroundings. Like now, I am sitting alone, in my computer room, with the only noise being the typing of the keyboard (even that bugs me sometimes!)

Taking on other people's emotions, loud noises, the feeling of being watched/judged when doing a task is very overwhelming.

It makes it hard to feel like you even belong in this over stimulated world.

But you do, we all do. This is where we are now, let's make the best of it. Don't let anyone make you feel bad for needing to take care of yourself when you need to get away from all the stimuli for awhile.

Originally posted by FadeToBlack

Originally posted by TravelerintheDark
I scored 26. The thing is, it would be nice to me if this were recognized and legitimized. I suffered a lot of torment in my life for being the way I was and if it is understood to be "normal", perhaps others won't need to go through the same thing.

But I will say that my experiences gave me a stronger will to understand why people do things they way they do, and why I was the way I was. For that reason, I wouldn't change a thing, personally.

As have I. I suffered torment for being the way I was. I couldn't help it. I scored a 26 as well. I can safely say that everything on that test is a legitimate diagnosis of the inner confides of my personality. I also agree that it should be considered normal as well, as those who stand out in a group will always be prone to scrutiny and degradation.

The saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" rings true in this situation. It really gave me the drive to seek out being fair and balanced, and made me a hell of a lot more mature than everyone my age. I have the experience of hanging out with more mature adults and to be endowed by their wisdom. In school, I would always hang out with the teachers... This experience had made a changing impact on how I perceive the world and make sense of it all.

This was invaluable to me. I grew up quickly. Sometimes I miss my old self, but I'm glad that I went through what I did because of the person it made me. I wouldn't change a thing.

I had similar experiences growing up, and similar reflections today. Especially the missing of my old self. I keep thinking that was the truer me and I have gotten off course.

It's worrying that a few people here have mentioned suicidal feelings, and I'm wondering if they are maybe more common in hyper sensitive people? Just thinking out loud, so don't flame me....

For the record, I've never had a suicidal second in my life, even at my low points....and there have been some mighty ones....so I can't include myself here. I guess I'm really fortunate in that.

Originally posted by Karlhungis
I scored a 23. It seems to be getting worse for me lately.

This is an interesting topic. I can't quite understand why people are viewing this as some sort of "special club" though? This isn't exactly an indigo child thread. This isn't a superpower we are talking about here. The simple fact is that some people are wired differently. God forbid that like minded people actually comment on the same thread.....

That is why I reacted the way I did. I think it is an important thread for those who feel this way, and I wanted to hear more from them. I resent the idea of special, obviously. It's a loaded term. Especially since there are people who seem to think they are special in some way.

reply to post by caitlinfae


I have had 3 attempts myself. Not because I wanted to die, nope I wanted to live! However, being so overwhelmed and in such emotional anguish, saw no way to get rid of the unbearable pain other then to get rid of "me"

Fortunately, I no longer see suicide as an option. I mean, I haved tried REAL hard to leave this physical body. Alas, is not meant to be. Taking the hint now and just keep on keeping on.

After reading a blurb about Dr. Aron's book, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You, I decided to read the book about 10 years ago.

That book explained to me why, from since I was an infant (according to family members) I was "different". That's the word they always used...and even though we shared a lot of love and good times, that word stung, but I knew it was not said out of malice but out of their not being able to understand me. One "funny" family story about me at 6 months of age made others laugh whenever it was told, but I didn't see it that way, more like, "and?..."

Interesting, a similar thing happened to my niece when she was an infant, so I think she was a HSP, knowing other things about her, too.

The book helped me understand the body's chemical nature of HSP.

reply to post by desert


I understand about being different from a very young age. Shortly after being potty trained and able to go to the bathroom by myself I would use that excuse often "to get away"

Especially during family trips (6 total in family) when they all would start bickering and such and I became overwhelmed by it all. Would say I had to go potty. They would get mad saying I "just went" it wasnt till as an adult I realized why I asked to go potty all the time when I didn't have to go. I needed to be away from all that ruckus!

Thanks for the tip on the book! Love reading

I never attempted it, but I sure begged for it to come. I didn't see the point to me. I didn't feel there was a reason to be here. I asked for many things to help me. Especially for what I need. Understanding this sensitivity was one of the things I needed. I was called "weird" by my family. I knew I wasn't weird.. but I couldn't figure out how they couldn't understand me..because I sure tried to understand them. Empathy? To the point of almost becoming them. I can feel and imagine almost anyone's emotions. I can understand the criminal, the murderer, the monk, the partier, the adventurer, the ladies man, the mentally ill, the prostitute. Mostly because I can be flexible, and or I have felt every one of the emotions and motivations attached to various ways of being.