How to Cope With Stress As an HSP

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCreate Healthy BoundariesMeditate and Practice MindfulnessCreate “Relaxing Zones"Practice Self-CareKnow Your Triggers

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Create Healthy Boundaries

Meditate and Practice Mindfulness

Create “Relaxing Zones”

Practice Self-Care

Know Your Triggers

Highly sensitive people(HSP) process subtleties and details that most miss. They also tend to be much more emotionally attuned to those around them.They are the first ones to notice when a friend needs a hug or if someone is angry.

Unfortunately, this heightened sensitivity to internal and external stimuli often translates into rumination and extra stress.

Press Play for Advice On Dealing With Negative Emotions

Below are five strategies you can use to cope with the additional and unique stress of being a highly sensitive person.

When we speak of “boundaries,” we meanboundaries in your relationships, but we also mean it in other ways as well. This means becoming more comfortable letting people know where you stand and what you need—classicboundary-setting techniques.

This can also mean creating somewiggle room in your scheduleso you don’t feel stressed when things inevitably go wrong, pile on, or require an extra response from you.

Meditation andmindfulnessare closely related to the practice of setting boundaries. Boundary setting, meditation, and mindfulness all involve creating a perimeter around your experiences in life and your thoughts and feelings about them.

When you practice meditation, you learn to step back and observe your thoughts and feelings, and even your physical reactions as separate from your life and your “self.“With practice, a few important things may happen:

These benefits make meditation and mindfulness worth the effort for anyone, but they are especially beneficial for the highly sensitive person.

Ultimately, it’s important to distance yourself from toxic personalities and build a supportive network of friends. Save your supportiveness for those who will return it, at least in part, rather than those who will drain you and desert you or inspire self-doubt.

As a highly sensitive person, you are likely more susceptible to the ravages of sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, and burnout. This means you need to be sure to get enough sleep at night,eat healthy meals, andtake care of your body, mind, and spiritin whatever ways you can. Practicing self-care will leave you more able to handle whatever comes your way.

Everyone has their own unique challenges. As a highly sensitive person, it helps to know what stresses you the most so you can prepare for or avoid those triggers in your life.

Pay attention to how you feel throughout the day. You might consider keeping a stress journal to record your feelings and the situations that triggered strong negative emotions.Be proactive in adding resilience-building practices as well as eliminating stressors whenever possible.

What This Means For You

Is There Really Anything Wrong With Being a Highly Sensitive Person?

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wall K, Kalpakci A, Hall K, Crist N, Sharp C.An evaluation of the construct of emotional sensitivity from the perspective of emotionally sensitive people.Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2018;5:14. doi:10.1186/s40479-018-0091-yKok BE, Singer T.Phenomenological fingerprints of four meditations: Differential state changes in affect, mind-wandering, meta-cognition, and interoception before and after daily practice across 9 months of training.Mindfulness. 2017;8(1):218-231. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0594-9Chamine I, Oken BS.Expectancy of stress-reducing aromatherapy effect and performance on a stress-sensitive cognitive task.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:419812. doi:10.1155/2015/419812Worley SL.The extraordinary importance of sleep: The detrimental effects of inadequate sleep on health and public safety drive an explosion of sleep research.P T. 2018;43(12):758-763.Smith MA, Thompson A, Hall LJ, Allen SF, Wetherell MA.The physical and psychological health benefits of positive emotional writing: Investigating the moderating role of Type D (distressed) personality.Br J Health Psychol. 2018;23(4):857-871. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12320

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wall K, Kalpakci A, Hall K, Crist N, Sharp C.An evaluation of the construct of emotional sensitivity from the perspective of emotionally sensitive people.Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2018;5:14. doi:10.1186/s40479-018-0091-yKok BE, Singer T.Phenomenological fingerprints of four meditations: Differential state changes in affect, mind-wandering, meta-cognition, and interoception before and after daily practice across 9 months of training.Mindfulness. 2017;8(1):218-231. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0594-9Chamine I, Oken BS.Expectancy of stress-reducing aromatherapy effect and performance on a stress-sensitive cognitive task.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:419812. doi:10.1155/2015/419812Worley SL.The extraordinary importance of sleep: The detrimental effects of inadequate sleep on health and public safety drive an explosion of sleep research.P T. 2018;43(12):758-763.Smith MA, Thompson A, Hall LJ, Allen SF, Wetherell MA.The physical and psychological health benefits of positive emotional writing: Investigating the moderating role of Type D (distressed) personality.Br J Health Psychol. 2018;23(4):857-871. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12320

Wall K, Kalpakci A, Hall K, Crist N, Sharp C.An evaluation of the construct of emotional sensitivity from the perspective of emotionally sensitive people.Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2018;5:14. doi:10.1186/s40479-018-0091-yKok BE, Singer T.Phenomenological fingerprints of four meditations: Differential state changes in affect, mind-wandering, meta-cognition, and interoception before and after daily practice across 9 months of training.Mindfulness. 2017;8(1):218-231. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0594-9Chamine I, Oken BS.Expectancy of stress-reducing aromatherapy effect and performance on a stress-sensitive cognitive task.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:419812. doi:10.1155/2015/419812Worley SL.The extraordinary importance of sleep: The detrimental effects of inadequate sleep on health and public safety drive an explosion of sleep research.P T. 2018;43(12):758-763.Smith MA, Thompson A, Hall LJ, Allen SF, Wetherell MA.The physical and psychological health benefits of positive emotional writing: Investigating the moderating role of Type D (distressed) personality.Br J Health Psychol. 2018;23(4):857-871. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12320

Kok BE, Singer T.Phenomenological fingerprints of four meditations: Differential state changes in affect, mind-wandering, meta-cognition, and interoception before and after daily practice across 9 months of training.Mindfulness. 2017;8(1):218-231. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0594-9

Chamine I, Oken BS.Expectancy of stress-reducing aromatherapy effect and performance on a stress-sensitive cognitive task.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:419812. doi:10.1155/2015/419812

Worley SL.The extraordinary importance of sleep: The detrimental effects of inadequate sleep on health and public safety drive an explosion of sleep research.P T. 2018;43(12):758-763.

Smith MA, Thompson A, Hall LJ, Allen SF, Wetherell MA.The physical and psychological health benefits of positive emotional writing: Investigating the moderating role of Type D (distressed) personality.Br J Health Psychol. 2018;23(4):857-871. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12320

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Press Play for Advice On Dealing With Negative Emotions#

What This Means For You#

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What This Means For You