I recently read Elaine Aron’s book, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You and found it incredibly helpful. As someone who often feels frazzled, overwhelmed, overstimulated, and in need of a great quantity of alone time, understanding this more and how I can “help myself out more” in managing this trait through various daily life choices has been quite useful.

I have known for years that I fall into the 15-20% of the population who would be classified as “highly sensitive,” but learning more in-depth about this is helping me to reframe some of my past experiences as well as move forward in making helpful changes in my life and business so as to not feel so overwhelmed, frazzled, and exhausted.

Thinking more about about the high sensitivity trait in general also has had me thinking more about how COMMON I think this trait is among people who end up developing anorexia nervosa at some point in their lives.

While I haven’t been able to find any stats that directly measure this, my personal experience with anorexia, my experience counseling people with anorexia, and what I know of anorexia from years of study leads me to believe that the vast majority of people with anorexia (past or present) are likely HSPs (highly sensitive persons).

Are you a highly sensitive person?

• Do you feel an intense need for alone time, especially after being with people or after a busy day?
• Do you feel increased sensitivity to bright lights, loud sounds, violent movies, certain scents, uncomfortable clothing, or caffeine/alcohol?
• Do you consider yourself to have a rich inner life?
• Do you feel like you easily pick up on the emotions of others?
• Do you have a harder time when it comes to sleep?
• Do you easily notice changes in your environment?
• Do you often feel frazzled, rattled, or overwhelmed?
• Do you dislike multitasking and/or having an overly busy day?
• Do you have a hard time calming down from stress?
• Did people label you as “too shy” or “too sensitive” when you were younger?

If so, you likely have the trait of high sensitivity.

The highly sensitive trait can also be summarized by the acronym DOES.

D –> Depth of Processing
O –> Overstimulation
E –> Emotional Reactivity
S –> Sensing the Subtle

NOTE: while some HSPs would consider themselves introverted and/or shy, being highly sensitive is NOT the same thing as introversion or shyness. It has more to do with the nervous system and the increased degree to which you process emotions and stimuli. About 30% of people who have the highly sensitive trait are extroverted.

The highly sensitive trait is something that is innate from birth. It affects the way one experiences life, but it doesn’t “come about” because of life experiences.

There are many challenges to being an HSP in our overstimulated, largely extroverted world, BUT there are many amazing benefits as well! 

Common characteristics of the highly sensitive personality & those with anorexia nervosa:

There is a LOT of overlap when it comes to common characteristics of HSPs and those who develop anorexia nervosa (AN).

This graphic is by no means exhaustive, just what came to mind initially.

Most (if not all) of the traits of HSPs I would also consider to be common traits of those with a history (past or present) of AN.

What might being highly sensitive mean for developing anorexia?

I consider anorexia nervosa to largely be a psychological/emotional disorder with biological/genetic roots. We know that there are clear biological and genetic factors that generally need to be in place for someone to potentially develop anorexia at some point in his or her life.

That being said, “genes load the trigger, and environment pulls the gun.” Just because you have certain genetics/biological factors that may predispose you to anorexia does not mean you will develop anorexia. There also needs to be the “right mix” of circumstantial/environmental factors in place to set off the development of the illness, so to speak.

Given the right environment, someone who is an HSP is going to be more prone to anxiety and overwhelm because of their nervous system sensitivity. HSPs are also more prone to intense feelings that they may not have the emotional support/skills to manage. Thus, if you have the genetic/biological factors predisposing you to AN, and you are temperamentally an HSP (which, again, is probably true since there is similar genetic overlap), you are at increased risk for developing anorexia when this “right mix” of emotional and environmental dynamics comes into play. 

More details on some of the possible factors related to developing anorexia can be found in the below graphic. Please note that every person and every case of anorexia is different and many of these may not apply to you!

What does being an HSP mean for your anorexia recovery?

While being an HSP may have been one of the contributing factors to your anorexia development, it is also a trait that can serve you well in your recovery. There are many benefits to being a highly intuitive, emotionally attuned, conscientious person!

You are likely a resilient, resourceful, and empathetic person, who has an innate drive for personal growth and understanding of complex emotional / inner dynamics. All positives when I think about helpful traits for long-term recovery!

A few closing thoughts on how to consider your temperament in light of your recovery…

• Choose support people (therapist, dietitian, etc.) who are good fits for your personality and temperament.
  • An emotionally-attuned dietitian and competent therapist are musts when it comes to recovery! Not every therapist and not every dietitian is going to be a good fit for each person, so don’t be afraid to switch gears to someone who feels like a better fit.

• Grow in naming how you are feeling and exploring what may be underneath these feelings.
  • As a highly sensitive person, you almost certainly have a vast depth of intense emotion to explore as it relates to your life prior to and leading up to the eating disorder, and as far as what you are experiencing right now in recovery. (The emotion may be “buried” but I can guarantee it is there!). I recommend starting to explore these dynamics more with a quality therapist, as well as considering some personal journaling. One idea for getting started with journaling is to write down a specific feeling you are experiencing and a sentence or two related to that feeling (such as where might the feeling be coming from?).

• Honor your needs throughout recovery.
  • Learning more about your highly sensitive trait is helpful when it comes to knowing how to better honor your needs. That may include increased downtime, less “on your plate” from a scheduling standpoint, and more time to process how you are feeling and doing emotionally in recovery.

Additional resources you may find helpful:

–> Elaine Aron’s website, The Highly Sensitive Person
–> Lots of helpful articles on life as an HSP
–> Podcast episode on “Thriving as a Highly Sensitive Person”
–> “7 Reasons There is a Prevalence of Eating Disorders Among HSPs”

Interested in more Understanding Anorexia posts? Check out the following…

–> Anorexia and ZINC DEFICIENCY
–> Anorexia and SET-SHIFTING

Stay tuned… much more to come!

If you have any specific topics related to anorexia you’d like addressed, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Have a wonderful rest of the day!