Am I a highly sensitive person?+
Only you can answer that fully, but a few signs point that way: you need quiet time after busy days, you think things through more than most people, other people's moods reach you, and you notice small details others miss. Psychologist Elaine Aron sums these up as four features. If all four sound like you, you likely have the trait. This test scores each one so you can see which fit you and which do not.
What are the 4 signs of a highly sensitive person?+
Aron describes four features, often shortened to DOES: Depth of processing (thinking things through deeply), Overstimulation (getting worn out by busy or loud settings sooner than others), Emotional responsiveness and empathy (feeling things strongly, including other people's moods), and Sensing the subtle (noticing small details). She sees depth of processing as the core, with the other three following from it.
Is being a highly sensitive person a disorder or a diagnosis?+
No. High sensitivity, known in research as sensory processing sensitivity, is a normal temperament trait, not a mental health condition. It is not in the DSM or ICD, and a doctor cannot diagnose you with it. It can sit alongside conditions like anxiety or depression, and sensitive people may be more affected by stressful surroundings, but the trait itself is not an illness.
Is HSP the same as autism?+
No, though they can look alike from the outside because both can involve strong reactions to noise, light or touch. Autism is a developmental condition that also involves differences in social communication and repetitive or focused patterns of behaviour, usually present from early childhood. High sensitivity does not involve those differences. Some people are both. If sensory overload comes with other signs like these, our autism screen is a better starting point, and a professional assessment is the way to know.
Is a highly sensitive person the same as an introvert?+
No. Aron's first studies (Aron & Aron, 1997) found the sensitivity trait was related to introversion but partly independent of it. Many highly sensitive people are introverts, but some are outgoing and enjoy people, and still need more recovery time afterwards. Introversion is about where you get your energy; sensitivity is about how deeply you take things in.
How many people are highly sensitive?+
It depends on how you draw the line. Aron's work usually puts it at about 15 to 20% of people, and a 2014 brain-imaging paper describes it as roughly 20% (Acevedo et al., 2014). A larger 2018 study of 906 adults found three groups rather than two: about 29% lower sensitivity, 40% medium, and 31% high (Lionetti et al., 2018). The trait runs along a scale; the groups are ways of cutting it.
What is a high sensation seeking HSP?+
Aron also describes highly sensitive people who are high sensation seekers (HSS). They are drawn to new experiences and get bored easily, but they still get overstimulated easily, which can feel like having one foot on the gas and one on the brake. This test does not measure sensation seeking, so a high score here does not tell you whether you are that kind of HSP.
How is this test different from Elaine Aron's official HSP test?+
Aron's Highly Sensitive Person Scale has 27 items and is the measure used in most research. It is free to take on her website and is the better choice if you want the research version. Ours is a shorter, original 20-question check in plain language. It gives you a separate score for each of the four features, which the official self-test does not show. Our three result bands are our own cut-offs and have not been tested on a research sample.
How long does the HSP test take?+
Most people finish in 3 to 5 minutes. There are 20 statements, each answered on a 5-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Your result shows right away, with no sign-up.