ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an understanding of the highly sensitive person who is not necessarily a patient, before turning to those who are. It provides a definition of high sensitivity, differentiates it from disorders requiring treatment, and compares it to other well-known personality traits. There is a list of characteristics of sensitive persons and, finally, a discussion of the research indicating that sensitive persons with difficult childhoods do indeed evidence more vulnerability than others to depression, anxiety, and shyness.
