A Survival Guide Book for HSP's During a Pandemic!
COVID-19 has changed the world for everyone, but how might it be different for someone known as a Highly Sensitive Person?
Highly sensitive person survival guide
You may have been told that there is something wrong with you for constantly worrying about the state of the world — or for overly preparing for the bleak picture you’ve painted of the uncertain future.
“Everything will be ok and stop overreacting. COVID-19 is no worse than a flu. In a few weeks we will be back to work and our daily routines.”
But if you’re an HSP, statements like these probably didn’t calm your worries. The week leading up to shelter-in-place, as a Highly Sensitive Person I found myself constantly on edge while monitoring my mental and emotional responses. COVID-19 had been in the back of our minds until this past March. There was no escaping news reports and the overwhelming realization that social restrictions were inevitable and necessary.
What is a Highly Sensitive Person?
In 1996, research from Dr. Elaine Aron discovered that approximately 15–20% of the world’s population is born as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Often mischaracterized as “too sensitive”, this empathetic personality type feels and thinks deeply about their inner world and surroundings.
Have you ever felt that your nervous system is frequently working overtime to regain physical, emotional, and spiritual balance in times of a lot of uncertainty and overstimulation?
Even if you are an extroverted HSP like I am, too many social engagements leave you wiped out and in need to find a quiet place within your home for self-care. For most of my adult life, I mischaracterized my temperament as mood swings or hot and cold syndrome. It wasn’t until 3 years ago that I took an HSP Self-Test that entirely changed the way I viewed myself and others. I finally had the tools to fully understand and accept my trait as the gift that it is.
Everyone has that day in which something didn’t go as planned — you didn’t get enough rest, had a difficult conversation or experienced a lot of disruption throughout the workday. For an HSP, it’s particularly challenging to bounce back quickly, to dust ourselves off, and jump right back into the thick of things without downtime to recoup, process events, or heal our emotional wounding.
Everything has a yin to its yang, and for HSPs it’s not always an easy task to calm their finely attuned nervous system and stay out of sensory-processing overload, while remaining emotionally available and grounded. Every HSP experiences their traits differently and at variant magnitudes.
Here are 10 common challenges HSPs face:
Compulsive thinking
Feels generally misunderstood
Fosters resentment
Often experiences social exhaustion
Poor boundaries
Low self-esteem
Flight or Fight when dealing with conflict
Experiences triggers from past wounding
Easily disrupted & low pain tolerance
Emotional buffering
Being HSP has a lot of virtues and talents when we understand how to leverage our traits. There is no such thing as being “too assertive”, “too emotional” or “intense” when you have a healthy understanding and acceptance of self. Once you know how to work with being an HSP, you can proudly own it.
Here are 10 common benefits of being an HSP:
Depth of experience and feeling
Strong self-awareness
Appreciative of the small things
Intuitive nurturing skills
Increased empathy
Masters of self-care
Excels at forming close relationships
Generous and passionate
Finely tuned senses
Conscientious nature
How to thrive during COVID-19?
Like canaries in a coal mine, HSPs are quick to assess and alert our non-HSP counterparts to perceived challenges and disruptions to our every day during and post-quarantine. With mandated limitations placed on the San Francisco Bay Area on March 16th, I had to quickly readjust and find new creative ways to manage my active nervous system in a confined space with new daily restrictions.
The mental exhaustion I was beginning to experience was similar to when your iPhone battery is drained by the multiple apps running in the background — not noticeable until it’s too late and your battery needs to be recharged.
With the U.S. now living more than a month into shelter-in-place, we’re all trying to find our way and establish a new “normal” the best we can. I’ve had to work with my thoughts and create a new approach to my daily home and job routines.
Every HSP is uniquely different and the optimal amount of stimulation varies for each person. Too much stimulation causes anxiety and too little results in boredom. Figure out what your personal needs are and how your physical space and schedule have been impacted during the quarantine.
When feeling overwhelmed, be assertive when communicating your needs and minimize blame on others. Maintaining your internal boundaries is key. Above all remember to stay positive, active, and compromise with others wherever you can. Now more than ever, it’s important that every HSP learns how to harness a healthier mind, body, and spirit.
Here are 10 tips to help HSPs stay healthy during quarantine:
Schedule Quiet Time — Having an active nervous system requires a lot of down time to recharge and be fully present in the world to minimize the fallout of emotional burnout.
Quarantine Goals — Create a daily routine for yourself in which you prioritize the activities that you would have done pre-quarantine. What are the things you have always wished you had the time to invest in?
Soothing Music — For empathic HSPs who are deeply moved by arts, music is therapy! Music has the power to relax our minds while becoming one with our bodies. Try starting/ending your days listening to calming background music.
Practice Gratitude — Check in on friends who live alone, reconnect with old friendships, send postcards, start a gratitude daily practice, and support those you can when you can. The world could use more of your gentle spirits!
Volunteering & Donating — Find volunteering opportunities in your community. If you don’t have the time but do have the financial resources, consider supporting local businesses and charities in your community.
Get Out of Your Space! — Take a daily walk, visit local parks, go on an urban hike, find a bike trail, read under a tree, meditate outdoors, walk or run to the beach, take work calls while on a long walk, wake up to witness sunrises, and enjoy/watch sunsets while always social distancing.
Technology Detox — Be intentional of your screen time and don’t always have your phone on you. Figure out what’s a healthy amount of screen time and social media for you.
Embrace the ‘Slowdown’ — You might find yourself working more during this crisis or unemployed and on the hunt. Either way, work towards accepting the “isness” of this moment by stopping and listening to nature or uplifting mantras. Above all. Breath. Try and take it all in.
Stay Physically & Mentally Challenged — Meditating every day either in the morning or during a break will help strengthen those mental muscles. Yoga, running, HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), or an online dance class could be a great outlet to get your endorphins flowing and improve your overall mood.
Social Hour — Reach out to your friends and have a virtual happy hour, schedule a game night, or have a long call with a family member. Don’t socially isolate yourself.
These are all suggestions that have worked with past and current HSP coaching clients or are part of my daily self-care practice. If you have other tips or suggestions please share them in the comments or email me directly.
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Spirit Panda Coaching has been helping young adults who struggle with finding their way after college to integrate into work and life with confidence and direction while leveraging the best of their sensitivity temperaments. As an HSP Business Coach, I am trained in guiding clients to a state of self-empowerment and success. All coaching sessions are remote, and you can schedule a 15 min complimentary consultation here.
