All of us have moods, temperaments, and personalities. Each of these is subject to change — although making personality changes is a large undertaking. Beneath these individual trends lies something more fundamental. People may use words like “soul” or “heart” to describe it. It’s sort of an internal compass that shapes your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors.
A fine example of this is anyone identified as an empath. Running parallel to that distinction is the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). These are some of the most compassionate, creative, and often delicate earthlings. Since there is both overlap and confusion about both labels, let’s compare and contrast.
Traits of a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)
HSPs display extreme sensitivity to sensory input, e.g. sound, light, texture, smell, etc. Subsequently, their threshold for stimulation is lower than average and they require solitude more than most people. HSPs are usually introverts. They avoid large, high-energy gatherings. If they are unable to avoid such a scenario, they will take a long time to unwind and recover.
The HSP enjoys and appreciates:
Helping others
Nature
Quiet environments
Having a rich inner life
Traits of an Empath
All of the characteristics listed above in the HSP section can be accurately said about most empaths except that they can also be extroverts. However, there are profound and often subtle ways that an empath expands on the typical HSP experience. These include but are not limited to:
An empath tunes into intuition and energy.
Whether it’s an environment or a person, whatever vibe is given off will be absorbed by an empath.
As a result, an empath deeply connects with the physical and emotional sensations emitted within their vicinity.
These sensations can be internalized to the point where the empath cannot differentiate their feelings from those of others.
As startling as this might sound, these experiences provide profound moments with others and themselves.
Empath trust their intuition and feel as if they have inner guides
To Quote a Meme: Why Not Both?
You can be a Highly Sensitive Person and an empath. They are not mutually exclusive. It is widely accepted that many HSPs are empaths while also being posited that perhaps all empaths are HSPs.
Either way, someone who is an HSP/empath combination may face challenges such as the aforementioned overstimulation. The daily process of managing outside stimuli can sometimes feel exhausting. Unless they seek enough balance, they run the risk of becoming both physically and emotionally burnt out.
This is not unusual because they have absorbed so many other energies and may lose touch with what is going well for them. Also, since most people are not either HSPs or empaths, someone who is one or both can feel as if no one “gets” them. They may feel lonely at times.
But there are also so many positives about being such a deeply feeling person. It can give you a sincere sense of purpose. When contemplating all the strife, division, and detachment in the world, the HSP/empath knows they have a critical role to play in making things better.
Practice Self-Love and Self-Care
It is essential for HSPs and empaths to diligently recharge, e.g.
Get enough alone time
Connect with others who also appreciate deep conversations
Get out in nature
Avoid overstimulating environments
Practice relaxation techniques like meditation and yoga
Take on creative, fun hobbies and projects
In addition, recognize that you are not required to nurture or fix everyone. It’s crucial to receive sometimes instead of carrying the burdens of those around you. If you find this difficult to do, meeting with a therapist can be a wise and self-loving decision. Let’s connect soon if you are an Highly Sensitive Person or need anxiety therapy. If you want to read more about Anxiety Treatment click here.