Dyslexic? No. Autistic, maybe. I never felt as though I really fitted a neurotypical profile but couldn’t quite see myself in the better-known neurodivergent traits. Still, the feeling of being a square peg in a round hole was always there. When I came across the concept of masking, it made so much sense, I knew I’d been doing it subconsciously for years. But was I actually neurodivergent or was I looking for evidence of neurodivergence where it didn’t exist?
Then I came across an article on the highly sensitive person (HSPs) and everything slotted into place. Elaine Aron first suggested the concept of HSPs in the mid-90s. Her research shows certain individuals have a greater depth of processing, are easily moved by sensory experiences and are alert to subtleties often missed by others. Studies examining the brain waves of HSPs have shown that they hear sounds faster and louder than others.
The best way I can describe living as an HSP is that it’s like seeing everything in high definition, hearing everything in surround sound and feeling everything as though it’s coming at you at full velocity.
Typically, we’re great at empathising with others, we’re intuitive and we’re observant. The flip side is a tendency to overthink pretty much anything leading to procrastination or over-complication. As the name suggests, we feel things deeply, so criticism hits hard. We’re not all introverts but we will almost certainly need time away from others to recharge
What gets me is that although the concept of HSPs has been around for decades, so little is said about it, especially on this side of the Atlantic. I was left with the feeling of why has no one told me this before? Apparently, 1 in 5 of us are HSPs, so where are you my HSP tribe? I’d love to connect with anyone who identifies with any of this.
There’s so many things I could draw from my experience but I’ll focus on just one and that’s the idea of labels. Even though I can’t be formally recognised as an HSP, it was incredibly helpful to discover an explanation for how I respond to the world and those around me. It’s taken away years of wondering why I am the way I am, why I act the way I do. It’s given me a fresh perspective – there isn’t something missing or wrong, I’m simply wired differently. I’ve come to see that I have my own value and I can make my own unique contribution to the world.
Emma has worked in the health, education and charity sectors, providing training and coaching to adults and managing projects. These have included literacy and numeracy support for adults in an area of high deprivation and provision of remote training to care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emma is also a qualified teacher, coach and dyslexia specialist
