If you’re a Highly Sensitive Person, your sensory systems are on red alert – read overstimulated – a lot. Not only mentally – your body’s in on the action too, firing off warnings left and right.
Quite tiring to body and brain. Sleep – do you think you get enough? I’ll bet you don’t. Anxiety might be rather common in HSP’s. It’s an issue for me, too. But you need rest – sleep, meditation, kindness towards yourself – more than most people you probably know.
Your senses work overtime. Your brain, processing all the input, trying to make sense of it. Every intuitive message, physical sensation, thought – your mind thinking about, making decisions. No wonder you feel exhausted! Then there’s the social norms from the “non-HSP’s” advising everyone to get X hours of sleep every day, coupled with career and achievement pressures……
It feels toxic……and very, very tiring. You’re unique as an HSP. So let’s get creative. If you’re a morning person, try going to sleep in the evening as soon as you feel tired. For night people – sleep late as often as you can, or allow yourself a couple of naps throughout the day. If you’re an employee, think creatively on this. Can you take a short nap in your car during lunch? Or as you soon as you get home? Every minute helps. The ultimate would be a week off work to just sleep as much as you want. If you can do it, it’s more than a battery recharge – it’s like buying an entirely new battery. I do this on my yearly summer vacation. It’s a cabin on a lake; only once a year, and I make the most of it by resting and relaxing.
According to Dr. Aron in The Highly Sensitive Person, 80 percent of stimulation is through your eyes. By simply committing to spending a certain number of hours lying in bed resting your eyes every night is a great treat. Be aware, doing this can backfire by setting your negative, worrying thoughts free. I found a great solution though: listen to an audio book, recordings of positive affirmations – I’ve been listening to recordings from this company, and they help realign your thoughts. (I am not an affiliate – maybe I should be! I want you to benefit from things I know to work). As for resting your eyes, many years ago Bath & Body Works sold an eye pillow made from silk and filled with flax seeds. It has some weight to it, and the flax is pleasantly relaxing. I just lay it on my eyes. It feels wonderful; I highly recommend something like it. An added benefit – it blocks out even bright light. Perfect for those midday naps in your car!
Another tip – help your brain to unwind at the end of the day. Allow your thoughts from the day time to process. I and other HSP’s find that journaling very effective. You can create an online journal. I use an app called Day One to record completed business tasks . Writing in a journal by hand, though, activates the brain-to-hand connection. When your thoughts spill out through your hand onto an actual page, your it opens blockages more easily somehow. I write in a journal every single night, since 2002. Like you, just about everything has emotions attached to it. Writing helps to sort out confusing thoughts into some sense.
Next week, let’s continue talking about “brain care,” ok? 💗
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