Do THIS If YOU Are Highly Sensitive! (Valuable Tips for Everyday Life)
First things first, being highly sensitive is a gift, even if it often weighs heavily on your shoulders. Highly sensitive people perceive everything that happens around them more acutely, more intensely and, as the name suggests, more sensitively with all 5 of their senses. Your brain works a little differently to other people’s. Your sensory channels are constantly open, which is why you absorb everything totally unfiltered.
You’re receptive to significantly more things from your surroundings than the vast majority of other people are. That can obviously be very stressful and overwhelming. For example, if loads of people hold a meeting, gather at a family event, or cram into the subway, that means there’s going to be all kinds of emotions, noises and smells all jostling for position, and that can quickly become far too much input. So how can you protect yourself from sensory overload?
Firstly, you can make everyday life as a highly sensitive person much easier by understanding that you are different from other people and accepting that that is completely okay and nothing to be ashamed of. You bring new momentum with you and take the path less traveled. You should be aware of this and treat your needs respectfully and calmly instead of forcing yourself into a way of life that doesn't suit you.
In this article, we're going to introduce you to 10 tips that will help protect you from sensory overload in your daily life.
1. Visualize future situations
Unknown situations or new experiences can quickly stress you out. An upcoming exam or a presentation for clients or colleagues is usually an extreme situation for highly sensitive people. Visualization can help with these kinds of events. Try to see the room where the presentation will be, read your notes aloud for the imaginary audience, imagine where you will look, and how you will act.
Meditation can also help with visualization. You can find plenty of guided meditations to choose from online. A calming voice will guide you through collecting your thoughts and preparing yourself for unfamiliar situations, so you can get used to them and focus your energy.
2. Just take a deep breath
Make a habit of giving yourself a few breaks during your day-to-day activities, where you can breathe deeply and deliberately, preferably out in the fresh air. There are different yoga breathing exercises that you can use as a guide. But it’s not just worth taking a breather when you get a free minute, it’s also worth doing it during stressful situations or when too many external factors are affecting you. It can be super calming to take 3 deep, purposeful breaths before carrying on with the task at hand.
3. Give yourself a little break
Getting up, getting dressed, going to work, going shopping, meeting friends, this all happens one right after the other. Sometimes we even have to skip our lunch break if we’re short on time. This might work for other people from time to time, but for you as a highly sensitive person, this would be almost impossible. You don’t have to be a smoker to nip out for a little break here and there.
Plan time into your day for some downtime. Take time for yourself to be mindful of how you feel. Open the window, breathe deep, have a cup of tea. Just 5 to 10 minutes of chill time in place of a continuous work sprint will do you a lot of good, so you can relax and work with more focus.
4. You’re not like everyone else
Comparing yourself to other people is so bad for you. It’s completely irrelevant what your colleagues are doing, or how relaxed your friend is chatting away on the subway surrounded by all those people. You perceive everything around you much more intensely than other people. Accept that and give yourself time to process everything. You are not your colleague, or your friend. You are you, just as you should be. Learn to accept and love yourself. And live your life exactly the way that suits you.
5. There’s no such thing as perfect
No matter how hard you try to do everything right to please everyone around you, there will always be someone who grumbles about it. There’s no such thing as perfect. And that doesn’t just apply to you, it applies to every single person. Nothing and nobody will always be 100% perfect. It’s important that you always keep this fact in mind. Now that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t always try your best. It’s just there to help you to forget the idea of perfection.
If you’re tired, give yourself a break and focus on what’s actually feasible for today. This also includes saying, “No”, from time to time. You can’t please everybody all of the time no matter what. Even with diligence and hard work, it’s just impossible to do.
6. Savor the moment
Keep in mind that you live in the here and now, that the sunshine that warms your skin is beautiful, that the children’s laughter in the park is infectious, that kind words from trusted friends are pure gold. Don’t think about what once was, what perhaps went wrong, and don’t worry about what might happen in the future that makes you anxious.
You are living your life right here and right now. Keep reminding yourself where you are and what’s so beautiful about that exact moment. What is it that people say so often? It’s the little things in life.
7. Find yourself
Throughout the day you absorb a lot of reactions and information from other people. That’s why it’s so important that at the end of the day, at the very latest, you find yourself again. Give yourself time to yourself for meditating or going for a walk in nature. Enjoy being by yourself, and don’t make the mistake of confusing being alone with being lonely.
It’s extremely important for you, as a highly sensitive person, to take time for yourself. It’s this time that gives you energy and helps you to free yourself from all of the things that are going on around you that you’ve absorbed. It’s the only way that you can then truly be present and enjoy the time you spend with your loved ones.
8. Only you can choose
If you have a bad feeling about something, it’s probably best to avoid it. Don’t think so much about decisions. Listen to your inner voice. This inner voice just knows what’s good for you. It knows when something will be too much and where to find new perspectives. It doesn’t base its decisions on what other people are doing, either. Your inner voice protects you from sensory overload and it can help you to see new paths.
9. Wind down instead going for drinks after work
Ideally, you shouldn’t have to go straight onto the next social engagement right after work. Instead, you could give yourself a little break, preferably outdoors. If you don’t have much of a choice, at least try to plan that your journey home, to pick up the kids or to whatever other engagements you might have, goes through a park and you can wander a little way through some green space.
The fresher the air, the more unspoiled the nature, the better. For highly sensitive people, this time spent in the quiet calm of nature is pure relaxation. And this is exactly the kind of relaxation that you need. You need this little retreat so you can recharge ready for whatever you have planned after work.
10. Be honest and make time for your needs
There’s no benefit to suffering on through certain situations. For example, if you’re sitting on the subway and a friend rings you, but you can hear the music of the person you’re sitting next to, as well as the conversation of the person opposite, and you can feel all their emotions too, just let your friend know that it’s not a good time for a chat.
If you’re aware that you’re just not up for it, and you’re in a situation where there’s already too much going on, you can just tell your friend this. Tell them openly that you can talk later instead of you only half digesting what they’re saying.
Our quick conclusion: Being highly sensitive isn’t a bad thing
You experience things much more intensely than other people. It’s important that you be aware of this and that you also accept this as a fact. To appropriately cater for your own needs, you have to value and love yourself. With small, regular breaks and taking your needs into consideration, you’ll protect yourself from sensory overload in daily life, and save your energy for the things in life that really matter.