Most HSPs are either INFJs or INFPs — the ones that don't tend to be ENFJs or ENFPs. Whether you're one or both, it's important to know what stresses you, what overstimulates you and what makes you feel calm, relaxed and happy.
Defining the HSP Personality
A highly sensitive person is wired to respond quickly and strongly to everything that is going on around them. Their five senses are heightened, and they often display exceptional emotional sensitivity.
INFJs are the rarest of all personality types, so it's easy to see why other types find them hard to understand. And while INFJs do tend to be highly sensitive people, the reasons behind their sensitivities go much deeper than a lack of fortitude.
The good news is that highly sensitive people aren't more or less emotionally intelligent than others. They just use emotional intelligence differently.
People of this personality type are deeply sensitive, emotional souls. However, being introverts, they don't readily share those emotions with others. For example, when a friend or coworker hurts an ISFJ's feelings, they're more likely to bottle up their pain than lash out.
ISTP: Physical Touch
Likely the most physical of all the introverted Myers-Briggs personality types, ISTPs crave novelty, freedom, and autonomy.
Of all the personality types, ENTJs are arguably the ones who care least about other people's opinions of them. This is not a personality type who sugarcoats things or cares what others think of them. They are decisive, assertive and extremely blunt.
While there is certainly a major overlap in sensory processing experiences of both autistic and highly sensitive individuals, specifically sensitivity to sensory information, this does not mean they are the same thing.
There are indeed links between the two, but also certainly some differences. In 2015, clinical psychologist Elke van Hoof did research on high sensitivity and looked at a possible link with giftedness. She discovered that 87% of gifted people are also highly sensitive.
According to Aron, 15 to 20 percent of the population is born with a high level of sensitivity. “When you know that you are highly sensitive, it reframes your life,” says Aron. Knowing that you have this trait will enable you to make better decisions.
The INFJ Dark Side
However, when they're unhealthy, INFJs can become withdrawn and out of touch with what's going on around them. Rather than putting their insights to good use, they tend to isolate themselves and become lost in their own private world.
What happens when an INFJ gets mad? INFJs often lock out their emotions when they're upset. These often try to process their thoughts before reacting, which is why they might keep quiet or shut people out when aggrieved. The last thing they'd want to do is to react without consideration.
It is generally stated that about 70 percent of all highly sensitive people are introverts, but that as much as 30 percent are extroverts. So introversion and high sensitivity are not necessarily always linked. The sensitivity to stimuli is slightly different for introverts than for HSPs.
The introverted (I) intuitive (N) types (“INs”)—INFJ, INFP, INTJ and INTP—are among the most “sensitive” of the personality types.
ESFJ. Those who are extroverted, sensing, feeling, and judging are often identified as one of the kindest types by experts. "ESFJs have extroverted feeling as a dominant cognitive function," Gonzalez-Berrios says. "This makes them rule by their hearts.
Highly sensitive people may be more affected by certain situations such as tension, violence, and conflict, which may lead them to avoid things that make them feel uncomfortable. You might be highly touched by beauty or emotionality. Highly sensitive people tend to feel deeply moved by the beauty they see around them.
Most highly sensitive people display rare strengths in key areas of emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient (EQ) — the ability to recognize and understand emotions in themselves and others. These strengths including self-awareness and social-awareness.
Living with High Sensitivity
HSPs may struggle to adapt to new circumstances, may demonstrate seemingly inappropriate emotional responses in social situations, and may easily become uncomfortable in response to light, sound, or certain physical sensations.
According to Aron, HSPs make up about 15 to 20 percent of the world's population.
The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is a term coined by Dr Elaine Aron, to describe a neutral trait present in about 20% of the population of humans as well as non-humans. HSPs are also neurodivergent, their brains being wired differently.
INTJ: One of The Rarest, Loneliest Personality Types [Introverts and Writing]
INTJs are typically very quiet and reserved unless they happen to meet someone who, like them, loves exploring theoretical concepts, analyzing possibilities, and dreaming up long-term goals. That said, they're not typically very verbal when it comes to discussing their feelings or people's personal lives.
According to the MBTI® Manual, ISFPs were the type most likely to get upset or angry and show it, as well as the type most likely to get upset or angry and not show it.