Are you easily overwhelmed, empathic and imaginative? You could be a Highly Sensitive Person

Around 30pc of us are ‘HSPs’, finely attuned to our environments and emotions, and, as a new book argues constitutes the definition constitutes a ‘missing personality type’

Being a highly sensitive person does not mean you are weak or emotional. Photo: Getty Images — © Getty Images

Suzanne Harrington

Are you highly sensitive? Do your eyeballs feel peeled when the lighting is too harsh, does the sensation of clothing tags rubbing against your skin drive you insane, do you gag at perfume counters, and recoil from blaring adverts on the telly? Do you need to spend vast amounts of time alone? (Me too. If I had to interact with people all day long, I’d die).