Are you highly sensitive?

What is heightened sensitivity?

Heightened sensitivity involves:

• A distinctive emotional intensity,
• And heightened sensory perception (hyperaesthesia).

Heightened sensitivity is a characteristic very commonly found in people with High Potential. People with High Intellectual Potential and High Emotional Potential experience everything, constantly, with heightened intensity. This ability allows particularly subtle perception and understanding of the world around them.

Emotional sensitivity

The emotional functioning of highly sensitive people has a distinctive richness and intensity. In gifted people, a sense of justice can lead to a very strong emotional reaction to injustice. Their highly developed empathy makes them sensitive to the suffering of other people or animals. One gifted person describes feeling deeply upset every time they encounter a homeless person. Another cannot watch a film or the news without being overwhelmed by countless emotions, to an unbearable extent. Highly sensitive people often feel like sponges for other people’s emotions. Here are the 20 characteristics of highly sensitive people’s love lives.

I am highly sensitive: am I gifted?

Video in French. The article below is available in English.

Heightened sensitivity is a characteristic often present in people with HIP, HEP or creative intelligence at a very high level. It also occurs in certain mental health conditions, such as depression, an anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. However, it can also be central to psychological functioning without giftedness or a disorder being present.

What are the 10 talents of highly sensitive people?

Video in French. The article below is available in English.

Too often, heightened sensitivity is viewed as a problem or flaw. Yet once it is identified, it is possible to learn to manage overstimulation. Heightened sensitivity can then become a talent, indeed a talent with many facets. Here are the 10 exceptional talents usually associated with heightened sensitivity:

1. A connection with your deeper self,
2. A connection with your environment, other people, animals, nature and art,
3. Powerful intuition,
4. An ability to enjoy being alone without boredom,
5. Natural empathy,
6. Abundant creativity, with a flourishing imagination,
7. Great openness,
8. Lucidity towards yourself and others,
9. The ability to perceive and anticipate mistakes,
10. Nuanced thinking.

Is heightened sensitivity a mental health condition?

Video in French. The article below is available in English.

Heightened sensitivity is not a mental health condition. Most highly sensitive people do not have a disorder.

Heightened sensitivity: innate or acquired?

Video in French. The article below is available in English.

Heightened sensitivity is partly innate: some people are born with a nervous system naturally more reactive to external stimuli. It is also partly acquired: certain life experiences, such as stressful events or trauma, can amplify existing sensitivity.

How can you soothe your heightened sensitivity?

Video in French. The article below is available in English.

Here are different steps to help soothe your heightened sensitivity:

1. Identify your heightened sensitivity through an emotional and personality assessment.
2. Accept it fully and deeply as an important, valuable part of yourself.
3. Practise mindfulness meditation.
4. Identify your limits and communicate them to others. Others must respect your limits.
5. Adapt your environments to suit you: your work environment, friendships, social life and romantic relationships, so that they fit you and you are not too often having to adapt excessively.
6. Read Imi Lo’s book.
7. Favour relationships with people who understand and value your heightened sensitivity.
8. Exercise regularly (sport, walking, dancing…).
9. Use your creativity.
10. If all this is insufficient, consult a therapist who understands heightened sensitivity well.