What is a High Sensation Seeking Person?
September 8, 2026 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Following the trail of learning all I could about Highly Sensitive People, (remember depth of processing is a trait for a Highly Sensitive Person), I found it wasn’t the whole story and not completely true of me and my experiences and my traits. I realized that I also had very high scores in Dr. Elaine Aaron’s quiz on High Sensation Seekers. It turns out that I’m at the tippy top of both traits – meaning all six of my senses are on overdrive and wide open at all times and I need novelty, thrills, challenging experiences and I also need quiet time, rest, and to cautiously approach the challenges. That is where Dr. Tracy Cooper’s book Thrill: The High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person comes in.
Books and Docuseries by Dr. Tracy M. Cooper, Ph.D. – one of the leading authorities and researchers on Highly Sensitive People and High Sensation Seekers. https://drtracycooper.org/
Thrive: The Highly Sensitive Person and Career
Thrill: The High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person
Consulting-Producer of Sensitive Men Rising-The Documentary Series: https://sensitivemenrising.org/
Thrill is the first book of its kind to really explain what it means to be a High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person. And it does so brilliantly to put into perspective what it means to live with such traits and how to strategically create and manage your life to avoid overwhelm and avoid boredom. Looking back at my life, it explains so much of why I did and felt and experienced what I did and it helped me reframe all of those experiences.
High Sensation Seekers can have all four characteristics and in differing doses of each characteristic, or they can have a variety of mixtures of any or all of the four. I happen to have a very high dosage of all four characteristics of the trait of a High Sensation Seeker. No wonder I chose the type of career, jobs, hobbies, sports, relationships, and living conditions that I did – it all made sense after reading his book.
The four characteristics can be remembered by the pneumonic BAND
Boredom susceptibility: is an inner state of mind where optimal stimulation, arousal, and intrigue are lacking. Boredom easily creeps in to High Sensation Seeker’s lives in even the most modest amounts. Boredom and an inability to tolerate repetitive our routine experiences can cause irritability, agitated states, restlessness, or even depression. Those with this trait find themselves seeking an escape from the monotony of routine and dull existences and tend to shake things up in travel, living conditions, jobs, relationships or hobbies/sports to regain the feeling of variety and intensity and learn something new again. They are curious and continuous learners.
Adventure and thrill/risk seeking: is one way to avoid the boredom susceptibility by taking the leap, taking on the challenge, and sometimes discounting the risk in order to experience the thrill of the activity/decision. The excited feeling of being truly alive and in the rapture of the moment caused by adrenaline to induce an optimal state of arousal. It has been described as a genetically influenced tendency to seek physical challenges such as rock climbing, skiing, SCUBA diving, sky diving and other similar pursuits that are intrinsically rewarding to the brain. It’s not necessarily reckless, it is challenge by choice intersected with unknown and potential outcomes with a cautious approach.
New experiences and novelty seeking: is the third characteristic and it does not necessarily have to be thrill seeking, just something new. Those with this trait are very curious about the world, how things work, researching, reading, experiencing, tasting, feeling, listening and seeing new things around them or traveling to go experience them. Foodies are new experience seekers – the tastes, the textures, the ambiance, the smells, how it looks on the plate and the community of eating together – all new and novel experiences. Creatives usually have this trait – seeking new ways to create something, do creative problem solving, comedians thinking of new ways of looking at the world, creating art as a way to make new things, sewing, cooking, painting, spiritual journeys. They have a strong desire for personal growth and exploration within and all around them.
Disinhibition: shows up in ways that may buck the social norms or expectations of family/friends/society/colleagues. Those with this trait can demonstrate impulsivity, follow their dreams no matter what, test driving new ways of being/living/dressing/exercise/financial investments/drugs/sexuality or bending the rules to experience more stimulation and reject the boredom of the mundane for excitement and surprise and feeling alive. It can show up as boldness and YOLO (you only live once) and they can be the leaders to instigate the bold actions/experiences just to see how it feels. They take calculated (and sometimes not so calculated risks) just to get the sensation of the outcome.
So there lies the paradox if you are a Highly Sensitive Person, that trait generally is risk avoidant while the High Sensation Seeker gets a rush out of novelty, thrill seeking, adventure, and seeks out challenges that may be risky to feel the sensation with depth and purpose. Therein lies the foundation of living with both traits, with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake as the Sensitive Sensation Seeker moves through the world trying to honor both traits. Particularly if you have high amounts – all characteristics of both traits more than those with a sprinkling of one or two characteristics of a trait. It’s all about nuance.
To learn more about the paradox of Thrill – pick up Dr. Tracy Cooper’s books on the topic and watch the 3-part docu-series of Sensitive Men Rising. It will open your eyes to what you or a loved one may be experiencing and help you reframe it.
More to come on Sensitive Sensation Seekers – AKA – Wild Sensitives.
Back to Blogging…Transformed & With a Twist
March 1, 2026 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
It’s been a hot minute since we last came together and I’m a little embarrassed and, a lot grateful to the Universe for the interesting twist that came to be that I’m able to connect with you once again in this space.
About a decade ago I had the tech upgraded on this blog and since then, I was unable to get back in to make edits. It just wasn’t happening after I tried every which way including sideways, then I just let it go and focused on my speaking and training career. As it turns out, I was feeling more and more of an obligation to come up with content, and I was getting burnt out juggling so many things that this one just had to drop. I felt it was Divine intervention telling me to put down blogging for a while and concentrate on other things – it was not the time. I let it go and understood that when the time presented itself once again, that it would be unlocked for me to once again share my resources, my lessons, and help others connect to their capacity through blogging.
Enter the Universe and its infinite wisdom. Having retired from full-time corporate work teaching and training international clientele several years ago and transforming my life and lifestyle after learning I was an Empath and an Extroverted, High-Sensation-Seeking, Highly-Sensitive Person in 2020, the doors opened and the code was cracked to once again allow me entry past the firewall and into the blog. Thanks to a dear friend who had a friend who had a husband who was willing to crack the case wide open. It was once again time to start sharing content after all I had learned that had profoundly changed my life in every way and every day, and what has made clear all that was happening to me/for me in my life up to that point.
I’m now intent on sharing the work and words of wisdom of the many from whom I’ve studied. I’m thrilled to share their brain/mind/body/health/environmental/strategic planning work that was instrumental in reframing past life events, managing time/space/self in present day events, and how to strategically plan for future events/space/ways of being and moving through the world that is more in alignment with my natural brain and body connection.
I’m putting a twist on how I work and who I work with – moving away from corporations and organizations to individuals and one-on-one coaching and advising versus keynotes and corporate training and teambuilding events. I’m intent on helping women in particular who are Highly Sensitive and/or High Sensation Seeking Sensitives because it’s such a complex connection, a guide is most helpful to figure out how to move through the world in the best possible way while honoring your very specific set of traits. Much more on this later, but just knowing these traits exist is the first step in how to get the most out of your life and create a lifestyle by design and not default to be your best self.
