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Overwhelmed? -

Most parents of a young child will experience feeling overwhelmed with emotion. Even those with laid-back personalities will have moments when everything gets on top of them. 

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No off switch -

There is very little downtime when a toddler is involved. And, they don't come with an off button. You have to be aware of them and what they're doing at all times.

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Mess threshold -

Depending on the levels of mess, chaos, screaming, and tasks left to complete, a parent's nerves can become frayed as tiredness levels reach a fever pitch.

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The highly sensitive person (HSP) -

Around 20-30% of the population are what's described as highly sensitive people. For them, the overwhelming feelings might be all the more acute.

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The highly sensitive person (HSP) -

Their highly sensitive nature makes them more conscious of sights, smells, and sounds. This has led to the comparison with orchids. Orchids are more impacted by their environment, similar to certain sensitive people.

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The strength of sensitivity -

Highly sensitive people are believed to experience life with a different intensity of sensitivity. They feel both positive and negative emotions more deeply.

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The challenges of sensitivity -

Having such high empathy can come at a cost, though. It's challenging to navigate life and many HSPs need to learn to manage their empathy appropriately. 

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Increased responsiveness -

The increased responsiveness an HSP experiences to both positive and negative influences means they need time to come back to center and care for themselves.

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Increased responsiveness -

Naturally, this becomes a lot more difficult with a screaming toddler in the mix. The orchid parent might find the chaos and increased stimuli more overwhelming than the average person.

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Heightened awareness -

Their heightened awareness of other people's moods and feelings combined with the demands of parenting can lead to emotional overload.

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Highly sensitive parents to highly sensitive children -

And if you're highly sensitive yourself, you have a 47% likelihood of having a child who's also highly sensitive, which brings some more challenges.

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The impact of being an HSP: Conflict avoidance -

Conflict, tension, or violent situations might be too much for an HSP, and they might avoid situations (or even watching such situations on TV) because it makes them so uncomfortable.

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Feeling moved by art -

HSPs can be deeply moved by the beauty they see in the world, which could be a painting, story, or even just a video with cute animals.

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Forming deep bonds with people -

HSPs make close bonds with people and are supportive friends. Their sensitivity means they pick up on what the other person needs to feel supported and loved.

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Gratitude for what is -

Although they might be more likely to suffer from existential dread, HSPs are also more likely to feel an intense sense of gratitude for what they have and the pleasures of life.

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How to recognize if you're an HSP: Downsides -

When HSPs have a lot to do in a short amount of time, they might feel completely overwhelmed; even if they have enough time to do it. A schedule that's too packed doesn't usually suit them, as they feel stress more keenly.

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Downsides -

They might feel trouble brewing in a relationship from the moment things don't feel completely right between them and another person. They might then interpret unrelated behavior as anger.

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Less tolerance for everyday stressors -

Being more sensitive to certain stressors means HSPs might find it difficult or impossible to concentrate in the presence of certain smells, sounds, or other stimuli. This can build a lot of frustration into their day that others don't feel.

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Rumination -

An HSP is more sensitive to rumination and self-doubt. The end of relationships might be particularly difficult for them, as they will wonder if there was anything they could have done differently. Likewise, they feel embarrassing mistakes or personal "failures" more acutely and for longer.

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Increased perception -

Highly sensitive people have increased perception, receiving more details from a situation than the average person. It is a personality trait, not a disorder to be a HSP.

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Sensory Processing Sensitivity -

The strong reaction HSPs experience from sensory stimulation is called Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). They pick up more about their environment than others.

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Parenthood -

In the early stages of parenthood, this sensitivity has been studied and HSPs report finding parenting more difficult and stressful than other people do. 

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Parenthood -

Interestingly, their own negative childhood experiences appeared to impact how they were able to respond to their children. 

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Short-lived parenting stress -

The stress initially felt by HSPs about parenting was also found to be short-lived. In one study, by the time their babies were nine months old, the HSP parents were having similar responses to their child as someone with lower sensitivity.

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Challenging environments -

The same phenomenon was observed in people who are HSP and working in challenging environments. While they struggled more at the beginning, by the time they got used to their environment, they completely recovered.

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Greater attunement -

While it might be more challenging initially to adapt to parenting as an orchid parent, the high empathy levels of HSPs make it easier for them to attune to the needs of their child.

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Greater attunement -

Because of this, they can perceive and respond quickly to what their child needs, in a way that's most appropriate. 

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Demands of parenting -

The demands of parenting can take a toll on anyone, whether they are highly sensitive or not. However, HSPs should try to stay aware of their emotions and how their environment affects them, and try to make it as supportive as possible.

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Social support -

Highly sensitive parents benefit greatly from social support, so don't be afraid to reach out (especially in the early days of parenthood). Getting help from others means you can take small breaks to experience moments of calm that give HSPs a chance to thrive in their new environment.

Sources: (BBC Future) (Verywell Mind)

See also: How to tell if you're an empath

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