-Are you easily overwhelmed?
-Do you need alone time to recharge your batteries?
-Do other people’s feelings affect you?
-Are you moved deeply by music and the arts?
If you relate, you might be a Highly Sensitive Person
For Highly Sensitive People (HSP), the world can often seem chaotic and overwhelming. Many HSPs need quiet, alone time to recharge their batteries. You might feel different, more sensitive, and maybe even some shame for asserting your needs. Importantly, being a Highly Sensitive Person is an amazing thing but many HSPs need support and tools to manage their sensitive nervous systems. Therapy for Highly Sensitive People in Ventura can help. We truely understand your experience and your needs. Additionally, we support HSPs all over California online.
We help Highly Sensitive People reduce and manage overwhelm so sensitivity is a gift and not a curse.
Other people’s moods & feelings affect you.
You might be moved deeply by music and the arts.
You’re bothered by bright lights, or certain sounds.
You feel more empathetic and intuitive than most people.
Maybe you get overly excited about things.
Your feelings get big.
After traveling, you need a day of rest
When you were a child, people said you were shy or you were too much.
(If you relate to some of this, you could be Highly Sensitive)
Dr. Elaine Aron coined the term “Highly Sensitive Person”. She found that 15-20% of people are highly sensitive. Interestingly, males may be suppressing their sensitive traits more than women. HSP is not a diagnosis. It is a personality trait where people have sensitivity with sensory processing and deeper inner states.
Being highly sensitive is not something that needs to be “fixed.” However, if your nervous system has also been shaped by trauma, chronic stress, or difficult life experiences, learning how to regulate big emotions and care for your sensitivity can make daily life feel more manageable. Therapy can help you understand your sensitivity, work with it rather than against it, and develop a life that honors who you are.
D- Depth of Processing
O- Overstimulation
E- Emotional Responsivness & Empathy
S- Sensitivity to Subtleties
Being a HSP is truly a wonderful trait but it can come with struggles like anxiety, overwhelm, shame, nervous system dysregulation. Depending on your goals for therapy, we draw from a variety of modalities. If overwhelm is hard, we might teach you stills from Somatic Therapy to support your nervous system.
Many HSPs take on beliefs such as- I am too much, I am too needy, there’s something wrong with me. Our practice explores these belief systems and we aim to help our clients find empowerment rather than shame. Coherence Therapy and Parts Work are modalities we might use. If you have childhood trauma, we weave in trauma therapy. Additionally, you might struggle with boundaries, getting your needs met, and finding a healthy balance in your life. Working with a therapist in Ventura that understands Highly Sensitive people is so important.
Studies have shown the Highly Sensitive People showed more activation in brain regions involved in body awareness, empathy, and deeper processing of information. This is why HSP nervous systems become easily overloaded with too much external and internal stimuli.
Additionally, it’s been found that HSPs have more active mirror neurons in their brain. For example, if a loved one is sad, the HSP brain will deeply feel that persons sadness because of mirror neurons. Overall, scientific studies to do brain differences in Highly Sensitive People.
After reading this you might think that being Highly Sensitive is a burden! Yes, the HSP nervous system and brain needs more tending too but other than that, being an HSP is an amazing trait.
Not necessarily. HSP is an innate trait. In other words, it’s something you are born with. Yes, trauma might make a person more sensitive and hypervigilant. But Highly Sensitive People are born with the sensitivity. A HSP with trauma usually has more issues with overwhelm and anxiety than an HSP without trauma.
Being highly sensitive is not a disorder. It is a personality trait. Dr. Elaine Aron calls it- sensory processing sensitivity. HSPs might have some similarities to people with autism. But overall, being a HSP is not the same as being autistic.
Many do. Because Highly Sensitive People are often empathetic and attuned to others’ emotions, they may prioritize other people’s needs over their own. Often in childhood, sensitive children have needs that are misunderstood, minimized, or overlooked. Over time, many Highly Sensitive People come to believe that their needs don’t matter or that they are simply too much for others. Therefore, as adults they might people please, have problems saying no, and understanding what healthy boundaries are.
Yes, Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) may be more vulnerable to burnout because their nervous systems process sensory and emotional information more deeply. Constant stimulation, perfectionism, people-pleasing, or spending too much time in stressful environments can leave HSPs feeling emotionally and physically drained. While being highly sensitive doesn’t automatically lead to burnout, learning to recognize your limits, set healthy boundaries, and regulate your nervous system can make a big difference. If you’re looking for therapy for Highly Sensitive People in Ventura, California, we can help you better understand your sensitivity and learn strategies to reduce overwhelm while embracing the strengths that come with being an HSP.
We get you! Reach out to schedule with one of our Highly Sensitive Person therapists in-person Ventura or online all over California. Our HSP friendly office is close to Ojai, Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Oxnard. We also support clients in Los Angeles County. Contact us for a free 20 minute consult.
