Your results indicate high sensitivity.
Your body and mind react more strongly to stimuli around you compared to most people. You might feel emotions more intensely or get overwhelmed by sensory inputs like noise, light, or even your own thoughts and feelings.
It’s important to understand your high sensitivity so you can develop strategies to cope with it and use your unique abilities to your advantage.
On this page, you’ll learn how.
The science of high sensitivity.
Being a HSP is innate and can’t be changed.
First you have to know that high sensitivity is not a disease or a mental disorder. I am a highly sensitive person too and it made my life better, not worse (more on me later).
It’s a different sensitivity of the central nervous system, estimated to be present in 15–20% of people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or culture.
High sensitivity is well documented in scientific literature. Here are some examples:
- The Highly Sensitive Person | Dr. Elaine Aron’s website
- Researchers study how and why some people are highly sensitive | Universitat autonoma Barcelona
- Webseite des Netzwerk Hochsensibilität | Schweiz
- Neurosensitivität | Dr. Patrice Wyrsch
- Windmühlen im Kopf: Wie Hochsensible dem Alltagsgetöse begegnen | SRF Kultur
- The gentle power of highly sensitive people | Elena Herdieckerhoff | TEDxIHEParis
- Reportage: hypersensibles, les émotions à fleur de peau | Play RTS
- Comment savoir si je suis hypersensible? | Le point J Podcast RTS
- L’hypersensibilité, une notion en vogue ? | Podcast Radiofrance
- About sensitivity | Sensitivity Research
- What Is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)? | Very Well Mind
“You were born to be among the advisors and thinkers, the spiritual and moral leaders for your society. There is every reason for pride.”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You
“We have the strange illusion of living in a standardized universe from which we alone are excluded, and our uniqueness disturbs us to such an extent that we prefer to turn away from it, to bypass it, to pretend it doesn’t exist. But this solution isn’t just wrong: it’s dangerous.”
—Fabrice Midal, Suis-je hypersensible ?
“Neurosensitivity is ‘the ability to register and process environmental stimuli’. High sensitivity or heightened neurosensitivity is thus the increased ability to register and process stimuli.”
—Dr. Patrice Wyrsch
HSP often display stronger emotional reactions — both positive and negative — and are also regularly prey to manipulators and victims of burn out.
If you don’t know you are highly sensitive or you don’t know how to deal with it, you may feel misunderstood, as you’re functioning different from other people. You’re easily feeling overworked and overstimulated, both at work and in the private sphere, because your threshold of tolerance to stimuli (internal and external) is lower compared to the norm.
In reality, the HSP is endowed with the ability to feel what others can’t feel, and to perceive what others can’t perceive. The five senses are more developed and often, they develop a strong sixth sense: intuition.
Understand yourself
Characteristics frequently found in highly sensitive people.*
* Of course, every highly sensitive person is different and has different character traits. For more details and to find out if you’re hypersensitive, read on.
Empathy and listening skills
You’re empathetic and genuinely care about others, so much so that you often forget about your own needs and limitations.
You can sense the moods of people around you and know right away if someone is doing well or badly. Thanks to your great ability to listen, people confide in you easily.
Unfortunately, you’re a sponge and you pick up on other people’s emotions as if they were your own, which makes you tired, especially at social events.
Overwhelming emotions
You are frequently overwhelmed by your emotions and those of others. You experience them all intensely and often have difficulty understanding and regulating them.
From the outside, you may appear to be a relatively calm person but there is a storm within you. You’re often anxious and stressed without really understanding why.
Risk of burnout
You don’t like to be overworked and feel under pressure quickly. Even if you work well in a team, you don’t like having to make the final decision. You constantly doubt your abilities and frequently second-guess yourself.
The harmony and well-being of others is very important to you. Conflicts and tensions affect you deeply, which makes the working environment particularly challenging for you.
Likes being alone but needs connections
You’re rather solitary and enjoy moments of solitude. Not because you don’t like people, but after social events, you often feel exhausted and drained of all your energy.
You don’t like superficiality and prefer to engage in deep thoughts and discussions
Your social relationships are important, but you have trouble trusting people. Few people have full access to your rich inner world and you often find it hard to fit into a group. Your circle is made up of a few very close people, and this fills you up.
Interest in philosophy and spirituality
You’re passionate about all of life’s big questions. You’re often told that you ask yourself too many questions, but you know that it’s the questions that come to you, not the other way around.
Highly developed senses
Your connection to the five senses is highly developed and some are hyper-developed, e.g. :
- You’re disturbed by sounds. Noises tend to bother you, so if you can, you probably work in silence and with the door closed.
- Bright light can disturb you.
- You’re sensitive to the textiles of the clothes you wear, so much so that you can’t wear clothes that “bother” you.
- You have a highly-developed sense of smell, which can sometimes disturb you.
Intuition and doubt
You have the ability to sense and grasp the meaning of a situation long before anyone else.
Despite this, you have trouble trusting yourself and making decisions. It’s worth noting here that many highly sensitive persons were totally disconnected from this ability during their childhood.
Attraction to beauty, nature and art
You have a natural attraction to art, aesthetics and nature. You’re easily amased by a sunset, a picture, a song, or any of life’s little moments.
You observe deeply which enables you to create links and understand connections between things very quickly, without necessarily being able to explain them.
Easily distracted and hyperactive mind
You’re easily disturbed by a thought or idea. They can take up a lot of space in your mind and prevent you from functioning normally. You’re sometimes irrational and unwittingly complicate situations.
Perfectionism and self sabotage
You also have a low tolerance for your own mistakes. You’re very hard on yourself and tend to dwell on what you’ve done (or not done!). You criticise yourself harshly. This makes moving into action particularly difficult for you.
Movement and addictions
You need movement, and staying put for long periods is difficult for you. You often go from being very active to very passive, and find it hard to balance your energy on a daily basis. It’s often difficult for you to relax, and you may compensate for this with addictions. This can often lead to sleep problems.
Is high sensitivity a problem for you?
Most people go through life without ever knowing that they are an HSP and without being able to harness this ‘power’ properly.
Being highly sensitive becomes a problem if you…
- Are overwhelmed and ruled by your emotions
- Overthink and often feel anxious
- Regularly feel misunderstood, lost and alone
- Don’t dare to set and express boundaries because of guilt, shame or fear of rejection
- Find it hard to know what you want and need, and to make decisions
- Have a hard time connecting with what really brings joy into your life
- Compare yourself to others and don’t feel good enough
- Judge yourself very harshly and have a low self-esteem
- Over adapt to others by fear of rejection (people pleasing)
- Feel drained after social events
- Even though you have a lot of ideas, your perfectionism prevents you from stepping into action
- Have negative thoughts and ‘dark’ moments
- Control and judge your body
These are only some of the many challenges that HSP face. If you’re suffering from one or the other, read on to learn what high sensitivity as a strength can look like and how you can use your high sensitivity to your benefit.
I am Monique, professional question asker. I pass on what I would have so much liked to know as a young high sensitive person many years ago.
I have always had a deep need to understand my inner world and an immense drive to feel free. I am passionate about people, the ‘movement of life’, moments of transition and all the ‘work’ that goes with it: emotions, thoughts, traumas, inner child, energy.
By learning to feel and understand my body’s messages, I managed to turn my high sensitivity into my greatest strength!
You can do it, too!
Imagine a life in which:
- You know what drives you deeply
- You’re connected to your boundless creativity
- You trust yourself and know how to make decisions without anxiety
- Your intuition is your best ally, and doubt is gone
- You communicate your needs and set your limits guilt-free with ease and softness
- You use your skills and potential without feeling constantly overworked or overwhelmed
- You manage your emotions and are equipped to ride out the “waves of life”
- You feel close to yourself and to others, and no longer feel anxious in social situations
- You love yourself as you are, and live your life to the fullest
This would in turn allow you to:
- Increase your self-confidence
- Overcome doubts and obstacles
- Make courageous decisions
- Understand and manage your emotions
- Take good care of your energy
How would your life look like ?
Who would you be ?
Coaching for HSP
The first step is understanding.
No change is possible without acceptance. It’s essential to become conscious of your functioning schemes. Coaching helps decode what emotions, triggers, or difficulties in any aspect of your life is trying to teach you.
In each session, you choose a topic: something that is bothering you at the moment, a difficult interaction you had, some emotions you are not understanding. It can be anything that is actually blocking you to live your life freely.
The second step is listening.
We then explore the topic and shed light onto uncovered parts that are blocking you in your life. We make the unconscious conscious so that you can see clearer.
You learn to listen to your mind, body and emotions. As you get to know your high sensitivity better, it will become your greatest ally.
The third and final step is implementing!
Finally, you’ll be able to use your overflowing creativity, explore subjects that interest you without losing yourself, connect with others and feel confident, contribute your lucidity and ideas without fear of rejection, use your sense of empathy to support those around you without feeling drained of your own energy, use your intuition to make quick decisions without getting caught up in the mind, and finally, assume your need for solitude and reconnection with nature with ease.
Voices of my clients
FAQ about HSP
Why is body awareness useful for HSPs?
As HSPs our body is very reactive and sensitive and learning to understand its messages helps align better to our needs, wishes and deep desires in life. Our body is like a compass and gives us access to our intuition which is a very powerful tool. This ability helps gain trust, follow one’s passion and live a life more in alignment with who we really are.
Many HSP have disconnected to this inner wisdom as kids in order to adapt to the context they were living in.
Why should I do coaching instead of therapy if I am HSP?
HSP is not an illness but rather a character trait and a way of perceiving and sensing life. You don’t need to be healed. You just need to learn how to deal with this trait and how you can benefit from it.
As a highly sensitive coach, I can guide you quicker to such realisations and share specific tools with you (mindfulness, body awareness, breathing techniques but also, communication tips etc.).
What is coaching?
Coaching is a type of discussion (question and answer) between a coachee and a coach in which there is a clear goal and focus. The idea is to gain clarity, undo blockages and move into action.
When can coaching be helpful ?
A coach is helpful for HSPs in order not to stay alone in moments of doubts or lows and to take care of oneself (and not put the weight on family members or friends for example). It is a way to be listened to by someone neutral. Furthrmore, coaching allows to move into action an apply the gained knowledge into daily life.
As a highly sensitive coach, I can guide you quicker to such realisations and share specific tools with you (mindfulness, body awareness, breathing techniques but also, communication tips etc.).
How does a coaching session go?
You always come with one specific topic (usually related to a situation you are struggling with in your daily life). We then set an objective together and work through all the blockages and limiting beliefs, so that you can move into action with more ease.
As a highly sensitive coach, I can guide you quicker to such realisations and share specific tools with you (mindfulness, body awareness, breathing techniques but also, communication tips etc.).
What is specific in your coaching?
As a specialised coach for HSP and HSP myself, I understand the challenges you are going through this very specific lens.
I often use body awareness techniques, which many coaches don’t. As a trained yoga and mindfulness teacher I can guide you into your own body in order to learn to understand its language. This is particularly helpful for HSPs.
I’m not a “formal and distant” coach, but rather a frank “friend” with lots of tools at my disposal. I know how to communicate what I pick up in a clear and caring way. When it makes sense, I’ll share exercises or suggest techniques – on a case-by-case basis. I also often pass on messages of ancient wisdom and personal development tips. I am clear and fairly direct, which is often appreciated. I don’t beat about the bush, although of course I’m always kind and gentle.
I offer you my total presence, my knowledge, my intuition and my tools. I feel, see, and perceive and pass this on to you, always leaving you the choice of whether or not to accept what I give you. Thanks to the close relationship and trust that exists between us, you dare to say NO to me, which is essential if you are to move towards yourself and your senses.
How is this doable online?
I have a lot of experience as an online coach and can perceive you well even through a screen. The effect of our online sessions is the same as if we were in the same room.
What if I feel low, bad, depressed but do not think I am an HSP?
If you’re not sure whether you’re an HSP or not — or you’re sure you’re not an HSP — you can still get in touch with me in order to work together to find a solution to your problem.
How long does a coaching process take?
It very much depends on the topic, or where you are at in your journey and what you wish to ‘work on’. For some people, one single session was useful enough and others like to come on a regular basis or whenever a new challenge arises.
Free alignment session
What is it ?
This free 30-minute online session is made for you to learn more about high sensitivity and my coaching process. It helps you decide what next steps to take, no strings attached.
Who is it for ?
I encourage you to book a free call …
- if you are not sure whether you truly are an HSP
- to get to know more about me and the coaching process
- to see if my energy matches yours
- to learn what next steps you can take