Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby? Not really. But I have cotton ball phobia.

-Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time? No. All nighters we're my MO in college

-Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows? Yes, some. Walking Dead is a travesty.

-Do you need to withdraw during busy days, into bed or a darkened room or some other place where you can have privacy and relief from the situation? This works on a larger time frame. After several days of socializing I hibernate for a week.

-Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations? High priority? Nah. But it's a consideration.

Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art? yes but who doesn't?

-Do you have a rich and complex inner life? Wth?

-When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy? Yes.

Some mornings I'm barely identifiable as a person.

sensitivity scale?

Frantic, Highly Sensitive, Mildly Sensitive, Attentive, Distracted, Oblivious, Numb, Dead.

I'm going for Distracted.

Nope, not according to their description.

Sensitivity to physical/environmental irritants? No. (With age I can't tolerate bright lights in my eyes--concerts suck.)

Rattled by pressure? No.

Avoid violent shows? Yes, increasingly, with age. Recent phenomenon.

Need to withdraw? No.

Strategic scheduling? No.

Subtle tastes? Yes.

Complex, rich inner life? Hell to the yass, queen!

Shy, sensitive child? Very yes. Much true.

Final analysis? I wouldn't call myself HSP.

This kind of thing smacks of the legitimizing power of labels run amok. People are obviously having these experiences, but I don't know why we need to put a label on it and construct a paradigm around it quite like that--rather than just understanding and promoting the idea that sensitivity (to all things) exists on a spectrum and varies widely...like just about every other human quality!

It's not the science around something like this that concerns me--for all I know, the science may be unimpeachable--it's the attitude toward how the science is used that concerns me. This one strikes me as a response to a thirsty lobby of people that don't want to be picked on anymore--or their advocates. Now people can say, "See? I'm a 'Highly Sensitive Person', so you can't be mean to me anymore." Or they can just say that to themselves: "I'm not a wimp; I'm a HSP."

This is not necessarily wrong or a bad thing to do, but I don't think making a shield for yourself out of a label is the best way to deal with certain things--like getting picked on, or feeling left out or insecure. Much better to work on yourself so it doesn't bother you, or stand up for yourself and say, "Don't treat me that way"--period, no qualifiers.

Worst case scenario: having a legitimizing label like this gives a person an excuse not to work on themself.

TL;DR: Meh, sounds like a woo solution in search of a common sense problem.

My wife and i have different sensitivities to things.
She gets her feelings hurt easily, I dont. She hates bright lights in the house, I dont. It's what's defines us... we're nuts.

I'm not sure I fit the definition according to your post, though I do think I'm sensitive.

I call it sensory overload. You are talking about me.

Some of that is me, but very little, so I would say its a no.

Not me.

I'm an empathetic person, and my parents and teachers were aware that I was sensitive and shy. I would say that I also have a fairly busy or complex inner life. On the other hand, I'm not excessively sensitive to lights, sounds, smells or tactile sensations. So I don't know if I qualify or not.

Not at all.

This is poorly written, because it's either yes or no, but there are several questions lumped in together. Do you have to identify with every question to be an HSP? Or is there a percentage?

In any case, I'm not an HSP.

I have a problem with loud noises - I have a pronounced startle effect and I avoid loud music a lot of the above applies to me but not all I don't get rattled don't need to go to bed and I am not sure that I would like the label h.s.p applied to me.A lot of my life experience has been weird because of a weird upbringing its seems amazing to me that childhood trauma can last such a long time.