HSP: highly sensitive people
HSP: highly sensitive people
Who are HSP – highly sensitive people? What distinguishes them from others? What can online therapy do?
With the term HSP we refer, in abbreviated form, to the so-called “Highly Sensitive People.’’
These individuals are extremely attentive and susceptible to both external and internal stimuli. They in fact possess a deep perception that can be experienced either as a gift or as a double-edged sword if not properly managed.
The risk for a highly sensitive person is precisely that of “feeling too much,’’ of not being able to protect themselves, overloading with the feelings of others and thus risking to deplete their precious energies.
HSP identikit: highly sensitive people
HSP are people who demonstrate great empathy and sensitivity. Their main characteristic is that of reacting in an exaggerated way to an event or circumstance, perhaps even more intensely than the person actually experiencing it, both positively and negatively (e.g., a bereavement, a promotion, a divorce, etc.). They are people capable of listening and very attentive to both verbal and body language.
Their understanding of others is immediate and they know how to pick up signals, intuiting if there is a problem. They often dislike making choices because they are afraid of making mistakes, and before deciding they carefully analyze the situation, every possible consequence, taking more time than others deem necessary. They do better in individual sports, working on themselves relaxes them more than group competition, in fact they do not like the game to depend on their moves. They pay particular attention to small details, noticing right away small changes, half-said words, a friend’s new nail polish or another friend’s new haircut, and so on.
They have difficulty tolerating their own mistakes and feel uncomfortable and extremely frustrated when making a decision that later turns out to be wrong (always because they experience every emotion in an amplified way—let alone negative ones!). They also work very well in groups (unlike in solitary sports), because they are very attentive to the feelings of others, and will certainly do everything possible to make the team work and to catch any disharmony; however, they do not like having the final say on decisions. In the common imagination they are considered introverted people, whereas on the contrary many like to talk and listen to others and are very caring. They have a low tolerance for criticism, cry often, and are people gifted with great imagination and creativity.
Sometimes they unfortunately manifest states of anxiety and depression, precisely because of their tendency to absorb other people’s emotions, as well as to perceive, feel, decode, and ruminate over their own actions.
What can online therapy do?
Through online therapy it is possible to work on the positive traits typical of HSP in order to strengthen them and not be overwhelmed. They are in fact people who tend to absorb a lot of other people’s negative energies, and also tend to take on emotional problems more than others.
Learning to manage one’s personality makes it possible to reach out to others without being swallowed up by them.
For more information write to Dr. Jessica Zecchini.
Email contact consulenza@jessicazecchini.it, whatsapp contact 370 32 17 351
