Therapy for the Highly Sensitive Person

Feeling misunderstood by the world as to why you have deep feelings?

You’ve felt too sensitive or have received comments from other people that you should suck it up? Perhaps this message was not always conveyed verbally, but it nonetheless was hurtful.

Are you overwhelmed by stimuli and try to organize your life to avoid it? You probably feel like you need time to process stimuli, more time than other people.

You need time to process your feelings as you absorb feelings in a deeper and more detailed way. You have a wonderful way of picking up subtlies, and this can help in many decisions. It may take you “longer” to make any one decision, but this is a strength as you will have the ability to add depth to a project and idea.

You likely judge yourself more harshly than you would judge other people.

Living in a state of constant overwhelm isn’t easy!

You likely have a hard time with boundaries and feel bad saying “no.” You may live in a state of consistent overwhelm and over-stimulation. Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. I’m an HSP who works as a therapist for other HSPs.

The world does not value every personality type equally. Those who contain their emotions are viewed as strong, but contained emotions need to be expressed in some way regardless. But at the same time, the world is enhancing its awareness. As a highly sensitive person, you deserve to have a voice in how you are treated.

Patrick has experience working with the queer community, including different gender identities and sexual orientations from what is viewed as the “norm” by society: heterosexual and cisgender.

Unfortunately, despite our progress, cis heterosexual individuals are viewed as the normal people in society compared with other gender identities and sexual orientations that fall under the queer or LGBTQ+ umbrella. Patrick also of course sees many cis heterosexual people who are HSPs as well.

You probably have felt as if you would feel better without being SO sensitive. But every personality trait has a positive and negative. When we are told the negatives of our personality, we can forget the positives of our personality.

What if I told you sensitivity was a gift? You may roll your eyes or point to examples that “prove” that it’s a bad thing.

The reasoning is not fair to you because every personality type has two sides to it. While those examples may be part of the trait, once you learn from continued growth in self-awareness as well as strategies, you’ll have more sympathy for the times you become overstimulated or overwhelmed or easily startled, for example.

Being an HSP and dealing with Sensory Processing Sensitivity is NOT a disorder, but a trait. There can be confusion with Sensory Processing (or Integration) Disorder (SPD). You can read about the differences here: https://hsperson.com/faq/spd-vs-sps/

It’s worth it to seek help and reclaim your life from someone who knows…

As an HSP, I continually work on my self-care since I know that is a crucial part of living my life to the fullest. Remembering to keep to a routine will be instrumental, as that will help you feel much more able to think clearly and able to breathe. But some days you will feel overwhelmed, and that is just okay. Every day has to be taken one day at a time.

You deserve this too. You can do this. It helps to have someone else who understands the lived experience process how the both the world as well as yourself have seen you as different.

I, Patrick Tully completed formal training with Dr. Elaine Aron of the Highly Sensitive Person Foundation for working with Highly Sensitive People (HSP) clients. This involved furthering my education and training with coursework as well as passing an exam provided by Dr. Elaine Aron’s Highly Sensitive Person Foundation to become HSP Knowledgeable.

If you are tired of feeling exhausted all the time and feel as if the world’s continued reluctance to embrace who you are is frustrating, please reach out to me by filling out the form below. I look forward to hearing from you!