Your Low-Stress Guide to Leveling-Up Your Bedtime Routine
Are You Burnt Out or Depressed?
Now, in my mid-30s, Ive finally embraced this quality as a superpower rather than a defect.
(I evenwrote a song about it.)
It all started when I read the bookThe Highly Sensitive Personby Dr. Elaine Aron last summer.
(Its also known assensory processing sensitivity, or SPS.)
The HSP is nearlyconstantlyimmersed in a sea of feeling and sensing others energy.
clinical psychologist, life fulfillment expert, and author ofDate Smart,Joy From Fear, andAging Joyfully
Other people often really dont understand how important it is for us to take a break, she adds.
6 self-care tips for the highly sensitive person
1.
Jacobs advises finding what might feel most restorative and nourishing to you.
This time enables us to tune into our own needs and experiences without interruption, she says.
It might very well be resting and not doing anything.
Mid-afternoon walks and evening baths have the most beneficial effects for me personally.
(Talking to certain family members on the phone, for example, left me feeling so depleted.)
As Dr. Klapow points out, HSPs tend to take on other peoples emotions and energies.
I didnt buy the benefits.
clinical psychologist, life fulfillment expert, and author ofDate Smart,Joy From Fear, andAging Joyfully
I felt silly talking to myself.
I am a separate emotional being.
I said it three more times.
And it got me through that phone call without spiraling.
These affirmations are not just words of supportthey are cognitive skills.
Sometimes, Ill even wear them at a crowded supermarket or chaotic family gathering.
Jacobs notes that even wearing sunglasses can help take the edge off in overstimulating environments.
If possible, give yourself permission to take a break when feeling overstimulated.
Another practice that can be settling for HSPs, says Jacobs, is palming the eyes.
HSPs benefit immensely from the grounding and healing power of nature, says Dr. Manly.
Of course, how you access nature will depend on where you live.
Research supports this, too.
For me, songwriting and experimenting in the kitchen feel especially restorative.
When I just need a therapeutic activity that relieves stress and engages all my senses, cooking never fails.
The idea is to find something that bringsyoujoy and release.
Start paying attention to how different activities, rituals, and people make you feel.
We start by recognizing that there may have been good reasons that we developed a heightened sensitivity.
We celebrate the unique perspective that this offers us as we navigate our world(s).
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