Honoring Your Sensitivity During Stressful Situations
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With all of the intense news stories over the last couple of weeks, energies have been running high. I’ve definitely found myself deeply impacted by the global and national news and have found my heart weighing heavy. I’m sure that you as a highly sensitive person have felt it too.
It seems that nearly every client I’ve worked with in the last couple of weeks has felt a heavy heart, a bit of pain in their neck and shoulders, a feeling of heaviness or lethargy, and a deep sadness about the recent events.
As a sensitive person, not only do you move through your own personal feelings about any kind of challenging or painful situation but you’re also impacted by the global thoughts, feelings, and overall impact as well. This can create another layer of heaviness and or pain in addition to the feelings and emotions that you’re already working through.
When intense or deeply painful feelings are being experienced it’s even more important to take really good care of yourself. It can feel like a bit of a challenging cycle when you’re feeling overwhelmed or lethargic and trying to manage a really busy schedule. Often times, the thing that gets put onto the back burner during highly stressful times is self care. This can then lead to a whole other ball of wax that can lead to getting sick and exhaustion.
Not a good thing.
I wanted to share some of my favorite quick ways to foster self care as a way to offer you some extra support right now.
Please know this is not an end all be all list, it’s just a jumping off place for you to get some ideas and try different things to see what works for you.
What I know for sure is that you don’t have to spend a lot of time investing in self care to make a positive impact in your day.
However, you do have to do something.
Small segments of time invested in your self care adds up and is worth every moment of your time. I promise you, You Are Worth the investment. All the people within your world will benefit from you taking time for yourself, including you.
Smudge
Burning Sage to clear yourself and your home or office helps to clear away heavy and dense energies that have built up within and around you. This method is a powerful way to completely clear your environment and it quickly shifts the energy. Smudging electronics is also very helpful especially since so much of our information and communication is transmitted through our devices. This method does have a strong smell and creates smoke so you’ll need to open your windows while you sage your home or office. If you aren’t able to burn sage do to an allergy or building codes you can also use the sage spray. (Don’t spray water directly onto electronics or fabrics.) You can find sage at most health food stores and it’s very affordable. You don’t have to use the entire sage stick or spray bottle to clear your home or office; one sage stick or bottle provide many clearings.
Breath Work
Breathe. During stressful situations, people begin to mouth breathe which turns up the stress response in the body including increasing stress hormones which then flood the body creating a stress cycle. Breathe in through your nose, hold the breath for a count of 2 and then breathe out through your mouth for a count of 2. Repeat this breathing technique 3 to 4 times through. This works like a control alt delete for the body and helps to reset your central nervous system to rest and restore which is your natural state.
Disconnect
Turn off your phone, computer, tablet, and any other device for 10-15 minutes. Yes, you can do it. Then physically move into a quiet space and breathe. If you can physically move your body even if it’s a walk around the office, house, or block do it. The body holds onto the electromagnetic frequencies from your devices and it’s physically draining on the body. Disconnecting allows you to recharge your battery.
Go Outside
Getting outside allows your body to breathe fresh uncirculated air while also decompressing from the energies which have build up inside your home or office. It also exposes you to sunlight which is good for your health, allows you to physically slow down and get back onto your natural body clock which is very different from your digital clock. 5-10 minutes makes a huge difference. Try not to take your devices outside with you if possible.
Essential Oils
Pure essential oils are a wonderful support system physically, emotionally and mentally, and spiritually. You can mix a few drops with a carrier oil like coconut oil and rub it onto your wrists, chest, and bottoms of your feet to help soothe, comfort, and relax you. Some relaxing and soothing oils include:
Lavender
Bergamot
Lemon
Eucalyptus
Rose
You can also diffuse them into your home or office to help create a soothing environment for yourself and others. This is a diffuser that I’ve used and really like. (But there are endless choices available.)
Sweat
Yep, sweating literally moves heavy and stressful energies out of your physical body which helps you to feel better physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually too. It doesn’t matter how you work up a sweat. You can sit in a sauna or steam room, workout, lay out, garden, build something, dance, or any way that works for you.
Nap
Even if you aren’t a napper, resting or closing your eyes for 15 minutes or longer allows your body to go into rest and restore. During sleep the body repairs itself so investing in sleep helps your body to heal, clear, and come back to balance.
Spoonk
I’m not affiliated with Spook but I love their mats and they really work. This mat puts pressure on the meridians in the body releasing the comfort, restore, and renew hormones in the body while moving out stress and tension. This mat also helps to decrease pain and pressure that comes from sitting at a computer for long periods of time and has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body. (Inflammation leads to pain.)
Energy Work/Body Work
If you enjoy energy work or body work, this helps to clear away heaviness, tension, stress, grief, and or pain from the body. When you’re feeling like something is off or you know that you are carrying around extra stuff that you want to release, working with a trusted healer is a great way to honor your self care.
Creativity
Any kind of creative outlet that you enjoy will help you to clear, self soothe, and move into a place that feels nurturing to you. Make things, play music, decorate, write, create, color in a coloring book, or cook a delicious meal. The options here are endless, the big shift is the doing part. Make time to do your creative outlet and don’t talk yourself out of it because it will take too long to get started or because__________. Invest in your creativity.
Talk It Out
Sometimes talking about how you’re feeling allows you to open a floodgate you may not have even realized was closed. A trusted friend, family member, partner, coach, or therapist can be a powerful source of support for you.
Highly sensitive people often bottle up their feelings because they don’t want to burden their loved ones or add anything to someone else’s already overflowing plate. They often tend to be the person that others come to for help which can compound their situation.
If you find yourself in this group, the group who feels guilty talking about your feelings, needs, or stressors, I recommend working with a counselor, coach, or therapist rather than a loved one. They have time to talk to you and you aren’t bothering them or adding too much to their list or load. It’s important for you to release your feelings as well as the feelings and conversations you’re carrying around with you from your loved ones.
I hope this helps to give you some ideas of how to increase self care in your day to day schedule.
P.S. Do you have a friend or family member who’s also highly sensitive? If so, please share this with them so they can invest in their self care and decompress from stress too. Thank you!
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