Anxiety and the Highly Sensitive Person
The number of people I have encountered who report an increase in their anxiety, in particular, social anxiety since the pandemic is quite large. Social anxiety has often been synonymous with “shyness”. Webster Dictionary defines shyness as a tendency to feel awkward, worried, or tense during social encounters, especially with unfamiliar people.
You may be hearing or reading about people that identify as a “highly sensitive person(HSP).” HSP was termed by psychologist Elaine Aron in the 1990’s. An HSP is someone who is thought to have an increased or deeper central nervous system sensitivity to physical, emotional or social stimuli. Some of the most common indicators that you may be an HSP are: avoiding violent TV shows or movies, being deeply moved by beauty, being overwhelmed by sensory stimuli, feeling a need for downtime and having a complex inner life. Being shy and being an HSP are different. Not all HSP’s are introverts, many are, but not all. If I had to guess, many of you read this and went “Wow, I may have a new acronym.”
Not all people with anxiety are an HSP and not all HSP’s have anxiety BUT you can see how the two could easily go hand in hand. If you struggle with anxiety, think about the thoughts, feelings and behaviors when you are overwhelmed- I would guess some of the indicators above play into that. The most common ones would be being overwhelmed by sensory stimuli and feeling a need for downtime(i.e SELF CARE).
If any of this sounds familiar, I encourage you to research HSP a bit more. Many folks realize that they see these same traits in their young children. Schools are beginning to provide training to staff about different ways to teach kids that are highly sensitive. You will also find many celebrities that now identify as an HSP. There is an increasing amount of literature that does address this topic. Find some reliable sources and have your loved ones read it to better understand how certain things make you feel. This is just another way to advocate for yourself and your needs. Happy reading!
