Are you a high sensation-seeking HSP?

I have often felt as if there are two people inside me, one that is stepping on the accelerator and the other that is pushing the brakes. Last year, I wrote a detailed blog post about how I am BOTH a highly sensitive person and a high-sensation-seeker.

One part of me loves new experiences and craves variety. I love to travel, try new things and explore the unexplored. Then, there is the other side of me, a side that is very cautious and highly risk-averse.

Did you know that a third of highly sensitive people are also high sensation seekers?

About a third of highly sensitive people are also high sensation seekers. These traits seem like opposites at first, but they can actually work very well together. For example: When you are trying to solve a problem, your highly sensitive “look-before-you-leap” self can look at the problem from all sides while your curious, novelty-loving HSS side can find new pieces of information and try out new ways of doing things.

If you are curious about whether you are a high sensation seeker, you can take this test on Dr. Elaine Aron’s website.

I have been thinking again about my own brake and accelerator lately. Sometimes, as I said, these two parts work quite well. But sometimes, they create this tension inside me that is hard to resolve.

There are times when the high-sensation seeking part of me wants to go full-speed ahead.

In the past, there have been times when I almost decided to do some “high-risk” thing. But then, my sensitive brakes came to life and brought everything to a screeching halt.

I also feel like sometimes, I have talked myself out of taking risks that might have been worthwhile. And yet, it’s also true that my highly sensitive side has kept me safe at times.

So, it’s a tricky dynamic, and I want to learn how to balance these different parts of me better.

There’s also another nuance in this relationship between being highly sensitive and a high sensation-seeker.

I score very high on the highly sensitive person test. But my score on the high-sensation seeking side is not as high. So, although I am an HSP AND an HSS, my highly sensitive side is definitely more pronounced than my high-sensation seeking side.

Depending on how high you score on both the tests, you’ll have a different relationship with these different parts of you if you are a high sensation-seeking HSP. I think it just goes to show that the term “highly sensitive person” is an umbrella term and many different kinds of smaller groups can be found inside it.

This is definitely a very interesting relationship and dynamic though. I think sensitive creatives especially have these very different kinds of parts inside us. That’s what makes us into a different kind of creator, and I think this tension between the different parts of ourselves is partly where our creativity comes from.

If you are curious about whether you are a high sensation seeker, you can take this test on Dr. Elaine Aron’s website.

Read my detailed blog post on being a high-sensation seeking HSP here.

Ritu Kaushal is the author of the memoir The Empath’s Journey. Set during the first few years after she emigrated from India to the United States, it combines personal stories with practical insights to give highly sensitive people more tools to channel their gifts.