你愛哭嗎？

ichael Hassard， a former engineer for NASA， hikes and camps， takes long motorcycle rides， mows his lawn， fixes leaky faucets， and loves football.

He also cries—quite often： Whenever the Battle Hymn of the Republic is played or if the checkout clerk at Wal-Mart says， “God Bless You”； when the country song about the guy who fixes a tire and refuses payment comes on； and once when he donated some winter coats his children had outgrown to a family he knew from church.

“I keep tissues handy at all times，” says the 44-yearold engineer for an oil and gas company， who lives in Houston.

Meet the Highly Sensitive Person， or HSP—someone who responds more intensely to experiences than the average individual. Experts say HSPs process both positive and negative information more thoroughly， and so they can easily become overwhelmed by 1）stimuli. They are acutely aware of sensations， whether of taste， touch， sound or smell. And they are particularly sensitive to emotions—their own and those of others.

Research studies show that about 20% of the population fits into this category， and the trait is found in the same numbers in men and women.

HSPs are currently having a moment： Last week， the First International Scientific Conference on High Sensitivity or Sensory Processing Sensitivity was held at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel， with panels on sensory processing sensitivity in children and what we can learn from successful people who are highly sensitive. There is a documentary in the works titled Sensitive. （The trailer features Alanis Morissette， a self-proclaimed HSP.）

Mr. Hassard first noticed he was highly sensitive in his early teens. Singing in his church choir， there were songs that he says he “had a hard time getting through” because they moved him so much. Sometimes friends noticed his tears and asked him what was wrong. His 2）rote response： “Nothing， I’m fine.” Eventually， he learned to 3）curb his emotions by playing the songs over and over again in his spare time.

Sometimes called Sensory Processing Sensitivity， high sensitivity isn’t a disorder or a condition but rather an innate， permanent trait. It was first identified in the 1990s by Elaine and Arthur Aron， research psychologists who developed a 27-item scale to assess it. People who are highly sensitive have a deeper depth of cognitive processing， are easily overwhelmed， have bigger emotional responses and notice subtleties more， says Dr. Elaine Aron， who has a 4）clinical practice in Mill Valley， Calif.

Today， several hundred research studies， from brain scans to genetic analyses， have been done on topics related to high sensitivity. They have found that high sensitivity may occur on a 5）spectrum， just like many other personality traits. It isn’t the same as introversion， although HSPs find the need to withdraw from social interactions or stimuli when their brains get overwhelmed.

Brain-scan studies of HSPs show differences in their neural activity， compared with non-HSPs： HSPs are more empathic， pay closer attention to their environment and are more attentive to social clues from their close friends and partners.

A study， led by researchers at the University of California， Santa Barbara， and published in April， 2014， in the journal Brain and Behavior， found that people with high sensitivity show more neural activity in specific regions of their brains when looking at the face of a loved one than do people with average sensitivity.

Experts say that high sensitivity can be found in at least 100 species， including fruit flies， sunfish， dogs， cats and monkeys. In modern times， HSPs make excellent counselors， teachers， artists， pastors and reporters （or relationship columnists）.

The trait has its downsides. HSPs get worn out by too much stimuli. They can become easily hurt or offended. And they have been known to overreact to a situation. “They’re processing information more thoroughly，” says Dr. Arthur Aron， research professor at Stony Brook University in New York and a visiting scholar at the University of California， Berkeley. “So they are more easily overwhelmed.”

Researchers now believe that high sensitivity has a genetic cause. While they haven’t yet identified all the genes involved， research suggests that the 6）serotonin transporter gene—which is involved in the recycling of serotonin， a 7）neurotransmitter in the brain that impacts emotional wellbeing—plays a role. They also believe that psychological factors—your temperament or personality—have an effect on your level of sensitivity， as does your physiology， specifically how you respond to stress.

HSPs can learn to cope with their feelings and reactions—sometimes even better than others. A study published online in March 2015， by the journal Personality and Individual Differences， looks at how 166 girls ages 11 and 12 respond to a school-based mental health program in England. It found that those who were highly sensitive benefited from a 12-week class on reframing their depressive thoughts much more than girls who had an average amount of sensitivity.

Only the highly sensitive girls’ depression symptoms also decreased over the subsequent 12 months. “The more sensitive ones were probably more likely to 8）internalize what they’ve learned and apply it，” says Michael Pluess， a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and the lead researcher on the study.

Mr. Hassard admits that sometimes being overly sensitive can cause problems such as “when you can’t hide how much arguing with idiots upsets you.” And he’s sometimes noticed that women he’s dated have become uncomfortable when he is more emotional than they are. “Nobody loves a crybaby，” he says.

Over the years， he has taught himself how to modulate his feelings and reactions—and to “9）dehumanize” situations to remove emotion.

And he has learned to see advantages in being so sensitive. He feels he is a better father because he can empathize better with his children. And he says he recently saved a multimillion-dollar deal at work because he was the only one on his 12-member team who 10）picked up on the client’s apprehension， enabling the group to address it.

Mr. Hassard’s girlfriend， Julie Matte， a surgical nurse， says that although his 11）wear-it-on-his sleeve emotions have taken some time to get used to， she now loves how sensitive he is.“12）Stoic has its place，” she says. “But engaging， thoughtful conversation about things that matter with someone who feels and isn’t afraid to show it is a welcome and unexpected change from the norm.”

邁克爾·哈薩德是美國國家航空航天局的前任工程師，他平常愛遠(yuǎn)足、露營、騎摩托車跑長途、修剪草坪、修理漏水的水龍頭，還喜歡踢足球。

他還愛哭——經(jīng)常哭：聽到《共和國戰(zhàn)歌》時，或聽到沃爾瑪?shù)氖浙y員說“上帝保佑你”時；當(dāng)一首鄉(xiāng)村歌曲（內(nèi)容是一個人修好了輪胎卻不收錢）響起時；還有那次他把孩子們不合穿的衣服捐贈給他在教堂認(rèn)識的一家人時。

“我總是隨身帶著紙巾，”他說，這位石油和天然氣公司的工程師今年44歲，住在休斯敦。

高度敏感者（簡稱HSP）——這類人對經(jīng)歷的事物比一般人有更為強烈的反應(yīng)。專家稱這些人對正面和負(fù)面的信息都處理得更為透徹，因此他們很容易受到刺激。他們的感覺很敏銳，不管是味覺、觸覺、聽覺還是嗅覺。他們對情感尤為敏感，包括自己和別人的情感。

調(diào)查研究表明大約有20%的人屬于高度敏感人群，男女人數(shù)相當(dāng)。

HSP最近有一項重要活動：上周，第一屆高度敏感或感覺處理敏感性國際科學(xué)會議在布魯塞爾自由大學(xué)舉行。會議上的兩個專家組分別對兒童的感覺處理敏感性和我們能從成功的高度敏感人士中學(xué)到什么兩方面進(jìn)行討論。相關(guān)議題中有一部名為《敏感》的紀(jì)錄片。（預(yù)告片的主角是阿拉尼斯·莫里賽特，他自稱是高度敏感者。）

哈薩德先生第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)自己極其敏感是在其青少年時期。那時他在教堂合唱團(tuán)唱歌，他說有些歌唱起來特別困難，因為這些歌讓他特別感動。朋友們有時候看到他的眼淚會問他發(fā)生什么事了。……