Biological Deep Processing. Do you have the HSP brain trait?

Neurodivergent brain types like Autism Spectrum and ADHD are known for non-stop thinking. A Highly Sensitive Person’s (HSP) brain is wired to think non-stop, but it’s wired differently from other neurodivergent and neurotypical brain types.

Neuropsychological research led by Dr. Jadzia Jagiellowicz has verified that the HSP brain has unique wiring, where all the data collected will flow to the deep processing part of the brain. The data is prioritized and processed, in great detail. This was observed as the HSP brain’s deep processing was active all the time, including when at rest.

There are two levels of processing in the human brain: Shallow and Deep processing. Deep processing is responsible for meaningful forms of analysis and is usually engaged during important experiences that will be memorable. Both Neurotypical and Neurodivergent types utilize deep processing, but it is usually engaged temporarily. The surprising finding about the HSP brain trait is that the brain is wired to utilize deep thinking all the time, non-stop.

Observed results from one study after another have shown, that when deep processing is engaged all the time, our perception of our environment becomes different. A good way that was used to describe it, it’s like everything is amplified. The higher a person is on the HSP scale, the more the amplification and the perceptions that follow from that. So here are examples that some HSPs report, that people around them usually report they can’t sense:

• Hearing someone talk clearly through a very thick wall, or from a very long distance
• Sensing temperature changes by one degree
• Sensing someone has a negative emotion behind a smiling friendly face
• Observing anything that has changed in place or has been modified since last observed (even if it was a long time ago since last observed)
• Easily picking distinct smells of people and things

The list is quite long; it varies by person like anything biological. It can also get pretty shocking as the scale goes high. Depending on the nature of HSP, their abilities to collect sensory and emotional information, and apply analysis over extended periods, needless to say, HSP insights tend to be quite unusual as well.

HSPs have been referred to as humans with superpowers. But the truth is every type of human brain has its strengths and advantages over the other types. So these are the advantages of the HSP. All advantages come with a price and these abilities have their cost. Imagine if you had a car, and you ran it at the top of the meter’s speed, non-stop.

It’s estimated that 1 in 5 people have the HSP brain trait. Whenever it was introduced by a speaker, they usually had to say: “It is real”. For a very long time what HSPs sensed, and the insights they had, were dismissed in a variety of different ways, it seemed to always be hard to believe. I don’t know how many times I have heard a teary HSP say: “I wasn’t crazy”.

Modern life is full of stressors that tax everyone. In a neurotypical brain, this leads to anxiety and overwhelm. For an HSP, the threshold to reach this state is lower, given their brain is always at top speed. HSPs have to give their brain breaks and time to recover by being away from all stimulants, and making that part of their lifestyle daily.

This is one of the reasons why it’s important to be aware of the HSP trait. Many HSPs get treated for anxiety and other mental illnesses, not knowing all they need to do is get some rest and adjust their lifestyle. What usually works for a neurotypical brain doesn’t work for HSPs, and that is OK!

To all the HSPs out there, we always hear that we should enjoy our gifts, have you figured out a way to do that? Would you be willing to share it in the comments?

I will share this one: Sometimes it feels like everyone is color blind, but I can see a wide variety of colors. When I really look, the world is spectacularly beautiful with so much vivid color. I wish I could show it to those who can’t see it.

So how do you know if you have the HSP brain trait? You can start with the self-tests that Dr Elaine Aron published on her website.

I’ve talked in this blog post about Deep Processing, but there’s a lot more going on in an HSP brain. I plan to focus the next post on the archetypal mirror neurons, after all, they were the reason behind the name: Empaths. I also hope to start diving more into how HSPs experience the world, to give others a better understanding of it.

I’ll tell you all about it in the next post!

AI acknowledgments: This blog post was proofread by Grammerly. The featured image was created by Starry AI.