You saw the word ‘superpower,’ and I bet you immediately thought of a hero type of figure—someone with an unnatural gift of superhuman strength or supernatural ability. Highly Sensitive People (HSP) may not have superhuman gifts that can cause them to soar above the sky and save the world from impending doom. But what they do have is equally important.

People who are considered to be an HSP do tend to soar on a different frequency than the rest of society. They feel everything much more deeply than other people. They connect and interact with their environments in a way that is stronger than most. HSPs are uniquely attuned to their environments and stimuli. So while they may not have superpowers in the normal sense of the word, they do have some phenomenal gifts that set them apart from the rest.

Here are six superpowers of highly sensitive people:

1. They Can Pick Up On Energy

This may seem “woo woo” to most. But a defining trait of an HSP is that they can pick up on energy. They can literally “read a room” or pick up on other people’s energy. These people have a hunch and can detect if something even small is bothering someone. They are uniquely gifted at reading between the lines and picking up on a change of energy within a person.

2. Their Senses Are Always On Overdrive

One way an HSP is set apart from the rest is their heightened senses. A lot of HSPs are extremely sensitive to sound or light. Known as sensory overload, they can easily become overwhelmed by too much stimuli in their environment.

3.  An HSP’s Intuition Is Powerful

Because they are so in tune with their surroundings, an HSP has an uncanny ability to know what is happening. Trusting intuition often relies less on a rational explanation than a gut feeling.

4. Empathy

It’s really easy for most HSPs to pick up on other people’s feelings. They have a way of being able to tell what is going through a person’s mind without that person ever speaking up about it. Empathy, in short, is the ability to feel what someone else is going through. Being able to have empathy, for many HSPs, often means they are sometimes called sensitive or emotional.

This is often why some people are more likely to cry during a movie or television show. Or why someone will feel unexplainably sad when watching the news or seeing a friend or family member struggle.

5. They Are True To Themselves

HSPs are typically some of the most authentic and upfront people you could ever meet in life. As an HSP, they don’t put up a front because they are so used to picking up on everyone else’s. This can be a really strong character trait to have because what you see is always what you will get with a person who is an HSP.

6. They Make Great Art

Art comes in many forms. From paintings, digital art, music, television shows, movies, or plays—there is art in almost everything we do or interact with in life. Because of how attuned they are to emotions, HSPs are also often the world’s artists and can make pieces that truly connect with the people who are listening to them.

Everything with an HSP goes far beyond what you see on the surface. But, because everything they feel is so deep, the world can become a very overwhelming place for many HSPs. If you think that you are an HSP, I would love to connect with you so you can learn more about how anxiety therapy can help you not feel so overwhelmed by the world around you.