Highly Sensitive People

High sensitivity can be given the general definition of “acute emotional, mental, and/or physical responses to internal or external stimuli”. There are certain people born with an innate pre-disposition to higher sensitivities, and others develop this as a response to trauma. Regardless of the reason, learning about different types of sensitivity can increase awareness and help identify aspects of those with more sensitive personalities.

Social Sensitivity 

Social sensitivity, just as it sounds, surrounds interactions with other people. People with high social sensitivity may withhold negative feelings and rather take a more people-pleasing approach. They may be more sensitive to criticism—finding themselves more easily hurt by small things, tending to internalize the emotions and opinions of others. This can lead to overreaction or defensiveness. 

Alternatively, those with high social sensitivity may isolate and avoid social situations or close relationships due to feelings of awkwardness and self-consciousness. There is a rather large variance in how those with social sensitivity may present to others.

Environmental Sensitivity

Environmental sensitivity is related to external stimuli and the outside world. This may present as an aversion to large crowds, internalization of negativity in the world, or overstimulation from light and sound. This type of external sensitivity can be harder to see by others than social sensitivity. It can also be more difficult for a person who struggles in this area to understand and identify what is happening to them when these feelings hit.

Internal Sensitivity

Internal sensitivity, or sensitivity about oneself can be more closely characterized by overthinking and comparison to others. Internal sensitivity often manifests as increased tension and physical anxiety as well. Because an internally sensitive person may not have much of an external expression of their struggles, this type of sensitivity can go undetected and is often difficult to characterize. Many people with generalized anxiety symptoms are, in-fact, people who struggle with high sensitivity.