Here’s a self-test to assess whether you are an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person)
High Sensitivity is neither good nor bad. It is a trait and a characteristic, like hand-preference, height, etc.
Some people say they are ‘afflicted with the condition’ of High Sensitivity, but that’s like saying you’re afflicted with the condition of being 5 foot 5 inches tall. Or of having green eyes. What it really indicates is that the person has run afoul of and internalized challenging or critical cultural values or social judgments. The healing that needs to take place is not removal of the trait, it’s reframing and/or rejection of the negative social programming.
Here’s a self-test to evaluate whether you might be an HSP.
I consider myself highly sensitive but I don’t agree with some of the questions on there such as:
“When I must compete or be observed while performing a task, I become so nervous or shaky that I do much worse than I would otherwise.”
I don’t believe that type of evaluation is suitable,
Being highly sensitive ≠ having a fear of what other people think of you,
which is what nervousness/shakiness from being observed, is
Tests like this are very misleading and they do this with Introverted “Tests” as well
Why? Because it normalizes bad belief systems.
Now a person who has a fear of failure, a low stress tolerance, or a fear of getting out of their comfort zone (because they’ve been coddled their entire life) thinks its just normal and a part of them
Welcome! I’m really happy to see you here as a highly sensitive person. Thanks for looking at the self-test and for even responding to the post.
I really appreciate and enjoy hearing the views and experiences of highly sensitive people. And I think I can say that it has basically always been helpful. Every time.
Now, the science/critical thinking hat.
This self-test is actually a valid and reliable assessment instrument. What this means is that for a statistically significant proportion of human beings, each one of these statements would be endorsed as accurate. This does not mean that each statement is therefore accurately descriptive of you individually. It also does not dictate how you or anyone else must interpret, contextualize, or apply and relate to the construct of high-sensitivity.
I think that in this case, what’s more likely is that you might not be familiar with how psychological tests are constructed, with what they indicate, and with their inherent limitations.
The test is not prescriptive; it is descriptive. In other words, it does not assert how anyone must be, should be, or will be. Rather, it captures some important pieces of how some people feel, who they are, and of experiences that they are likely to have had.
Moreover,
It is true that a specific fear (for example, of being observed or evaluated) can be overcome, transcended, or even avoided completely.
It is also true that there is no shame in the physiological or emotional experience of fear. In fact, one of the important steps in being able to overcome anxiety and fear, is to stop being afraid of fear itself. When we break the fear experience down to its simplest physiological roots, it is just a state of heightened stimulation and an awareness of potential threats and risks. There are many ways to learn to deal with those elements more effectively. (Awareness of them does not have to contribute to a bad belief system.)
All psychological assessments and tests are limited and flawed. This does not mean that they are useless or even that they were not skillfully created. It’s more so an expression of the richness, diversity, and malleability of the underlying phenomenon in question: human nature.
A solid test actually has a margin of error calculated and built into its structure. In the same way, a solid theory or teaching includes awareness of the questions or details that it has left unaddressed.
The more that we stop looking to scientists, teachers, and gurus (and the tests, tools, and concepts that they offer) as perfect authorities or as sources of complete, unquestionable truth is the less we will be threatened and disappointed by them.
At this point in my life, if I encounter a person, a view, or an idea that seems to be perfectly accurate and without flaw, I am more wary of it, not less. This impression of perfection simply means that it has exceeded the limits of my intelligence and awareness (neither of which are superhuman). That renders me more vulnerable to eventual manipulation.
On the other hand, if you can see the flaws and the limits, now you know what to look out for. The real question is: does the value of this tool’s usefulness outweigh the cost of its flaws? If it does, you’ve got yourself a good tool.
Alright, all of that is, of course, my opinion. We’re sharing opinions on an online discussion forum.
Anyway, welcome again. I’m grateful that you are here!
I’m sure you’re well aware of me being one at this point lol.
Took me a while to come around to it and I’m still working on picking off the bits of emotional damage I was susceptible to because of being sensitive.
I think a lot of HSP experienced emotional invalidation when children. Living in a world where there is definitely an expectation for individuals to fit some mold, HSP constantly had to deal with the gaslighting that comes from outside authority figures questioning their very real emotional reactions.
Even as an adult I have to deal with people constantly being under the assumption that everyone operates just like them. This is why boundaries are important and consequently why my life has been so difficult because I never set boundaries.
Unfortunately due to my life being incredibly rocky I’ve yet to really capitalize on inherent gifts being a HSP might grant me. I’m hoping as I heal more my strengths will become more apparent and blend into my life more vs basically constantly rowing upstream like what I’m doing now.
“When I must compete or be observed while performing a task, I become so nervous or shaky that I do much worse than I would otherwise.”
is NOT an an accurate indicator of High Sensitivity, it’s an indicator of a bad belief system.
If it is an accurate indicator of High Sensitivity (which it is being used as), then that would suggest that High Sensitivity is a bad thing.
So you said that High Sensitivity is neither good or bad, but the statements used in this test to verify High Sensitivity are contradictive towards that.
By bad belief system, I’m talking about programming that limits a person’s potential and expression of their self due to false fear.
That’s what that statement is based on.
This brings me back to the previous point I made, about how these labels of identity normalize bad
belief systems
Firstly, remember that the term ‘sensitive’ is being used here in a very specific way. In general, it refers to the ease of being startled, stimulated, or aroused by stimuli. In other words, it’s neurological sensitivity. It does not refer to intelligence, emotional sensitivity, etc.
In brief, neurological arousal levels in various life forms seem to follow a normal distribution (i.e., ‘a bell curve’). (Interestingly, this pattern has been observed across various animal species). In any given species, about 15 percent, at one end, are lower in that internal arousal level that we’re calling ‘sensitivity’. Those people can handle a lot more stimulation comfortably. Those people actually need more stimulation and sensation to feel comfortable. Another 15 percent at the other end of the continuum have a higher-than-average internal arousal level. These people are ‘on’ already without much need for continuous external stimulation.
That’s what’s being described here. Less like a ‘sensitive, caring human being’ and more like a ‘sensitive mousetrap’ or a ‘sensitive microphone’. With a highly-sensitive mousetrap, if a feather floats onto the trigger mechanism, the thing is going to clap shut. With a highly sensitive microphone, it’ll be able to pick up very slight whispers and very quiet sounds. On the other hand, the high-sensitivity microphone is likely to be overloaded and flooded with feedback if it’s exposed to extremely loud noises.
So, that’s what’s being evaluated by the test.
Secondly, the scoring bit at the bottom says:
If you answered more than fourteen of the questions as true of yourself, you are probably highly sensitive. But no psychological test is so accurate that an individual should base his or her life on it. We psychologists try to develop good questions, then decide on the cut off based on the average response.
If fewer questions are true of you, but extremely true, that might also justify calling you highly sensitive. Also, although there are as many men as women who are highly sensitive, when taking the test highly sensitive men answer slightly fewer items as true than do highly sensitive women.
So there you go.
If you read the description of ‘high sensitivity’ and you recognize that it’s accurate for you, that trumps the test.
Ya I understood what you meant.
That’s what I am asking about.
As per as I know myself I can pretty much sensible to subliminals. Give me any subliminal on yt. I can tell after 2-3 listens is that subliminal is really useful or not "That’s was I am referring " Sensible to subtle changes ,subtle to energies etc.
I have noticed that I can sense people’s nature too .
How I am saying this? So two years ago, there was a teacher in our class, everyone says that he is Good, he is awesome, however I told my classmates thats isn’t the case ,I sensed that he is not a good man (not in all aspects but the part we will soon deal) ,so nobody believed me(ofc I told this thing to my close frnds only), you would not believe at the end of the year this teacher gave us the most problems (academy related).
My mom used to keep faith in people close to her. Her relatives , sisters etc. I told my mom that in need ur so called relatives will not help,so stop expecting, my mother has a good heart(atleast in my eyes) ,so she helped them, served them when needed. But when my father became ill(got a brain stroke if you remember) ,then our real sufferings began. In that time period ,my mom who expected the people who will help most didn’t help at all(they did but in compare to what my mother did to them,it was nothing) ,
So there are things I can precisely sense. Sometimes these are at its peak,sometimes I cannot sense at all.
Actually I am still not clear by the term HSP
Here you mean people that are highly sensitive to changes in their brain? Like ik a person who is very sensitive to energy fileds(like morphic fields), or you mean that are sensitive to external stimuli.
Can you explain a bit??
Best is just to read the website. My explanation may not be as helpful since I’m not familiar with your understanding of neural function. But if I can clarify any specific points let me know.
I guess so I scored 25 this explains when I used to go to concerts I would always faint was way to much stimuli for me the doctors told me it was my vagus nerve but I knew there had to be a deeper explanation. Even hearing my husband press the buttons on his Xbox remote irritates but he doesn’t understand or even care when I tell him to turn the tv down because it makes my heart race anyways… my mother is even more sensitive than me so I wonder if this is somthing that can be passed down. My 7 year old screams at times when things are to loud as well or if we are out I’m public and there is alot going on she gets extremely uncomfortable. My 4 year on the other hand totally different polar opposite
Absolutely. I believe HSP is basically down to how the nervous system is tuned. Me and my mom are close to identical in how we react to things. Things that can’t be passed off as just me learning it as a kid.
Yes. It’s a genetic trait. But like all genetic traits, its expression will be shaped and modified (epigenetically) by the attitudes, behaviors, and sociocultural environments that we experience over the course of our individual lives. So, the underlying genetic predisposition (the genotype) may end up looking extremely different from one person to the next (the phenotype).
It’s not only a neurological trait among human beings. It’s actually also been observed in the same basic population proportions among non-human animals (e.g., fish, chickens, dogs, etc.,). So, you’re right; definitely genetic.
