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10 challenges of HEP
High Emotional Potential can be experienced as a resource, but some people also describe a lasting sense of difference, an intense emotional life, a very active mind or a need for meaning that is difficult to satisfy. Here are the 10 difficulties discussed in my video, in the same order.
Video in French. The article below is available in English.
The video covers the same 10 signs, in the same order as the list below.
10 difficulties that some people with HEP recognise
These experiences are neither inevitable nor specific to HEP: each can have several explanations. What matters is how they combine, how intense they are and how they affect your life.
A starting point for reflection
Here, HEP describes a pattern of emotional and relational functioning. These 10 difficulties are not diagnostic criteria. If several resonate strongly with you, a broader exploration can help you understand what relates to your emotional functioning, your personal history or other possible explanations.
1) Feeling different from others. The experience of feeling different from most other people can create a recurring sense of not belonging, boredom in conversations that feel superficial, and loneliness.
2) kindness. People with HEP are very empathic and often caring and kind—sometimes to the point of neglecting themselves and putting other people’s needs before their own. They may also find it difficult to recognise or point out negative aspects of other people’s behaviour.
3) Being a “chameleon”. People with HEP can adapt to almost any situation. They try to meet others’ expectations—sometimes to the point of adopting a false self. In some situations, they may feel that they are bending over backwards to fit a mould that simply is not theirs.
4) resilience. People with HEP can bounce back even after difficult experiences. They may therefore keep enduring what feels unbearable, again and again. Sometimes they recover so quickly that others do not believe they have suffered at all!
5) A constantly active mind. People with HEP can feel as if their minds are constantly buzzing—as though there were no “off” switch. This mental activity can interfere with sleep, encourage anxious rumination and have other negative effects. Mindfulness meditation and other approaches involving the body and mind can help manage a mind that thinks a great deal.
6) Intuitive thinking. People with HEP understand things intuitively, often almost instantly. This ability can arouse jealousy among colleagues or friends. It can also encourage them to postpone tasks (procrastination), knowing that they can deal with them quickly at the last minute.
7) High sensitivity. People with HEP are often very sensitive, and this hypersensitivity can be difficult to live with. Their keen awareness of their emotions can become painful when those emotions are distressing.
8) Wanting to keep improving. People with HEP seek to keep improving and making progress. They are often driven by a perfectionism that causes distress and makes them vulnerable to burnout.
9) A need for meaning. Many people with HEP constantly seek activities that feel meaningful to them. They ask many existential questions and may be vulnerable to existential depression when they cannot find meaning in their lives.
10) Being targeted by narcissistic manipulators. People with HEP can be appealing targets for narcissistic manipulators because of their high sensitivity and empathy, their strong ability to adapt to others and their resilience.
Do several of these difficulties resonate with you?
HEP screening can be a first step towards clarifying this possibility. Your responses are reviewed personally to consider the overall pattern of your profile and help you choose the most relevant next step.
Explore further
Depending on your question, you can start with screening or choose a more in-depth exploration straight away.
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