What percentage of people are HSPs?

I am a highly sensitive person (HSP), a term coined by the clinical psychologist Elaine Aron in 1991 to describe a personality trait that is present in 15 to 30% of the population, approximately 80 million women and men across the United States.


How common are HSPs?

According to Aron, HSPs make up about 15 to 20 percent of the world's population.

How rare is highly sensitive person?

It is believed that HSPs are not rare, and that about 15-20% of the population are thought to be an HSP. There are also thought to be no significant differences in sex, with equal numbers of males and females being an HSP. Being an HSP is an innate trait, with biologists finding high sensitivity in over 100 species.


How many HSPs are there in the world?

Aron estimates roughly 15–20% of the population is highly sensitive. Researchers often use the term “sensory processing sensitivity” to characterize the experiences of HSPs.

Do highly sensitive people have higher IQ?

The good news is that highly sensitive people aren't more or less emotionally intelligent than others. They just use emotional intelligence differently.


13 Problems Only Highly Sensitive People Will Understand



Are highly sensitive people just autistic?

While there is certainly a major overlap in sensory processing experiences of both autistic and highly sensitive individuals, specifically sensitivity to sensory information, this does not mean they are the same thing.

Which personality type is most likely to be HSP?

Most HSPs are either INFJs or INFPs — the ones that don't tend to be ENFJs or ENFPs. Whether you're one or both, it's important to know what stresses you, what overstimulates you and what makes you feel calm, relaxed and happy.

Are HSPs narcissists?

Repeat after me: Highly Sensitive People are not covert narcissists. HSPs aren't even on the narcissism scale. In fact, they're basically the opposite of narcissists, even if they do show some of the same outward traits.


Are HSPs considered Neurodivergent?

The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is a term coined by Dr Elaine Aron, to describe a neutral trait present in about 20% of the population of humans as well as non-humans. HSPs are also neurodivergent, their brains being wired differently.

What jobs are best now for HSPs?

The 9 Best Careers for a Highly Sensitive Person
  1. Counselor/therapist. ...
  2. College Professor. ...
  3. Artist/Designer. ...
  4. Health Practitioner. ...
  5. Writer/Songwriter/Editor. ...
  6. Librarian/Museum Curator. ...
  7. Freelance anything. ...
  8. Animal trainer/groomer/sitter.


Should HSP live alone?

Alone Time Helps HSPs Process Life

And nearly 30 percent of the population is highly sensitive, so it's not as uncommon as people think. When you're highly in tune with everything (and everyone) around you, it's natural to become overstimulated — and easily overwhelmed.


Are highly sensitive people born or made?

According to Aron, 15 to 20 percent of the population is born with a high level of sensitivity. “When you know that you are highly sensitive, it reframes your life,” says Aron. Knowing that you have this trait will enable you to make better decisions.

What hurts a highly sensitive person?

Highly sensitive people may be more affected by certain situations such as tension, violence, and conflict, which may lead them to avoid things that make them feel uncomfortable. You might be highly touched by beauty or emotionality. Highly sensitive people tend to feel deeply moved by the beauty they see around them.

Are HSP more prone to trauma?

Like any other of your reactions to stimuli, as a highly sensitive person (HSP) your trauma reactions are also more intense than most. As a result, many HSPs have used trauma splitting, or structural dissociation, as a way to cope.


Does HSP get worse with age?

Stress & Sensitivity Can Worsen With Age for HSPs. Here's How to Prevent That. If you are a highly sensitive person (HSP) you might be growing larger stress centers in your brain without even knowing it, and if you don't do anything about it, they will become even bigger.

Why life is so hard for HSP?

They have a hard time with conflict and tend to avoid confrontation. This can be challenging in the workplace or at home. They also feel responsible for others' expectations, which makes it harder to let people down. HSPS can overcome many of these downsides through therapy and learning to be more assertive.

Can HSP be mistaken for autism?

If you're a highly sensitive person (HSP), you may already know that high sensitivity is often compared to autism. This can be surprising—the signs of the two traits are very different. But both have been treated very similarly by the general public.


Is being highly sensitive a superpower?

Most highly sensitive people display rare strengths in key areas of emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient (EQ) — the ability to recognize and understand emotions in themselves and others. These strengths including self-awareness and social-awareness.

Is highly sensitive person a disability?

Although high sensitivity is not defined as a disability, in much of our fast-paced, always-on culture, it can be disabling. If their environment is not adapted to their differently wired brains, highly sensitive people are at risk of developing mental and physical health problems.

Is HSP an empath?

Most HSPs are empaths, and vice-versa, but this is not necessarily the case. Additionally, many confuse both of these traits as introversion. About 70% of HSPS are introverts, meaning a good number are actually extroverts. However, an introvert is not necessarily highly sensitive or an empath.


What kind of partner does a HSP need?

A verbal safe haven: HSPs thrive in relationships where they feel seen, heard, and valued. Since highly sensitive people feel things more deeply than most, their feelings often get hurt more quickly than others'. HSPs thrive in relationships where they feel seen, heard, and valued.

Does HSP have low self esteem?

There is often a misconception that highly sensitive people have low self-esteem, as if the two are one and the same. But high sensitivity does not cause low self-esteem, nor are highly sensitive people born feeling insecure.

Is highly sensitive person neurotypical?

A highly sensitive person, being neurotypical, may not like the extreme stimulus e.g. loud noise, but they're not going to have a meltdown and, also, they can normally avoid those situations. But what's striking in HSP that's not present in these other disorders is awareness of subtleties.”


What is a Neurodivergent Empath?

Neurodivergent people tend to have high affective empathy and low cognitive empathy. The inverse is true for neurotypicals. (Some people have a high degree of both types of empathy, because they have practiced and learned the type that does not come as naturally to them.)

How do I stop being hyper sensitive?

How to Stop Being So Sensitive
  1. Realize that it's most likely not about you. ...
  2. Give silence a try. ...
  3. Be realistic. ...
  4. Value your own approval. ...
  5. Understand that negative feelings take time and effort to maximize. ...
  6. Practice controlling your emotions. ...
  7. Keep your attention in the present.