tldr; Yeah. If the 15-20% who are HSP never talk about it, the rest of the population will never know HSP exists.

Learning about my HSP-ness is quite a delight for me. It’s like peeling off layers of an onion. Ohmygoodness, that’s true about me! And that! And that! Aw man, no wonder I thought so differently when I was younger… I was trying not to get hurt a ton! Wow.

Every time I hear another person chime in on their HSP experiences, I feel like telling my own more. I feel more peace. And I feel just a smidge more “not alone.”

But what do my experiences mean in the grand scheme of things? Should I be talking about them? Should HSP’s stay “underground” about being HSP? Should “symptoms” of HSP be widely known and highly recognizable?

Well, humanity did benefit from the symptoms of nearsightedness and farsightedness being widely recognizable.

Like eye conditions from birth, a person is born with the highly sensitive trait. I mean, looking back, we HSP’s can see and know we’ve had this all our lives. We have countless examples to pull from. And the odd behavior to go with it.

HSP research shows the same traits can be found within several animal species— again, from the critters’ birth. There’s seemingly always one in the group: cautious, wary, hesitant. It’s the longest-living fish in the lake. The monkey that can’t be captured. The cat that refuses to trust anyone. Why? They are processing at a revved level and receiving more sensory input than the rest.

Highly sensitive, indeed.

So then, why do I feel like a villain trying to get doctors to believe it’s a thing? Why do I feel that admitting I was born different isn’t smiled upon?

Does society really want us all to be alike?

Should I hide the information when seeing a new dentist and neglect warning them “I’m going to be overwhelmed in ten minutes with your hands in my mouth and all the sounds, smells, feels, so work fast”?

Or is it ultimately worth it?

I was recently in the hospital.

A lovely woman came to fill out my paperwork and she told me something that will forever change the way I see this topic:

Honey, you got to advocate for yourself.

Administration Lady at a large hospital in Texas

I think even though there’s so much pushback, HSP’s should be advocating for our right to be understood in context. We need to explain ourselves, even when it’s hard. HSP information is becoming more widespread with each passing day that we talk.

So we do our due diligence. Read the latest research, or review the HSP GoogleTalk.

Then we give people who don’t know about HSP’s something to study if they want.

We can admit to being HSP.

With doctors. Therapists. Leaders. Employers. Buddies…

Because, God bless them, they have no idea how tough it is being this. Being us. Being HSP.

And if the whole world did know due to our stepping out?

The world would be just a little more sensitive.

Like us.

💙