What the trait actually is
A clear explanation of sensory processing sensitivity, where the research comes from, and why it is a temperament rather than something to be fixed.
Free guide
An introduction to the highly sensitive person
If you have always felt things more deeply than the people around you, there is a name for it and research behind it. This short guide explains the trait in plain language.
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What's inside
Language for something you have always felt
Being a highly sensitive person means you have a research-recognised temperament known as sensory processing sensitivity, identified by psychologists Elaine and Arthur Aron. It is a trait, not a disorder, and it is found in roughly 1 in 5 people.
How it shows up day to day
Depth of processing, overstimulation, emotional intensity and noticing the subtle, and what each of them looks like in ordinary life.
Something to share
Written so you can pass it to friends, family, teachers, colleagues, therapists or healthcare professionals to help them understand the trait too.
The four characteristics
The research calls it DOES
Dr Elaine Aron's framework describes high sensitivity through four traits. The guide walks through each one in more detail.
D
Depth of processing
You take information in thoroughly and turn it over, which is why decisions take longer and insight runs deep.
O
Overstimulation
Because you process so much, busy environments and long days leave your nervous system needing real recovery.
E
Emotional responsiveness
You feel strongly and pick up what others are feeling, which is the ground of empathy and of exhaustion.
S
Sensing the subtle
You notice shifts in tone, atmosphere and detail that others move straight past, often before you can explain how.
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Who this is for
You might recognise yourself here
Most people who download this guide have spent years wondering why everything lands harder for them than it seems to for everyone else.
- You have been told you are too sensitive, too intense or too emotional
- Busy environments and long days leave you completely depleted
- You pick up other people's moods without meaning to
- You need more time alone than you think you should
- You have just come across the term and want to understand it properly
- You want to explain yourself to someone who does not yet understand
It often sounds like this
“Why does everything feel like too much?”
“Why do I cry so easily?”
“Why can't I just get on with things like everyone else?”
“Is there something wrong with me?”
There is nothing wrong with you. There is a name for it, and this guide is where a lot of people start.
Once you have read it
