Hi, I’m April, a psychotherapist who wants to help you understand your unique needs as a Highly Sensitive Person so you can discover your gifts and feel more fulfilled.
All tagged self-care
Why is it Difficult for the Highly Sensitive Person to Set Boundaries? Learn to say "yes" on your own terms to reduce overwhelm and exhaustion.
Why is guilt so pervasive for Highly Sensitive People? Learn to manage guilt with self-compassion practices that transform it into self-acceptance.
The pursuit of perfection is fueled by our fear of failure and never feeling good enough. Instead of helping us find happiness and success, it actually keeps us captive in a state of stress and exhaustion.
Highly Sensitive People often feel misunderstood, resentful and overwhelmed in relationships, so it’s important that Highly Sensitive People find a balance of quiet downtime for ourselves and meaningful shared experiences with our partners.
To prevent overwhelm, anxiety and depression, it’s important that Highly Sensitive People include more sleep and quiet downtime in their self-care routine.
Cancelling plans is sometimes inevitable, but evokes guilt and worry. With a little direct communication and self-compassion, you can make this decision without hurting the other person’s feelings.
How often do you truly feel energized and fulfilled? If you’re a highly sensitive person (HSP), you’re more likely to feel overwhelmed, stressed, and exhausted most of the time. Most HSPs don’t get the self-care and quiet downtime they need to survive, let alone thrive. Instead, they believe the messages from society, the media, or their own social circles that it’s selfish or shows a lack of ambition to take time for themselves, and they feel guilty whenever they do.
You use a lot of emotional and physical energy that needs to be replenished every day. Self-care is more about getting quiet on a daily basis and deeply nurturing your emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical needs.
There is such a love-hate relationship with social media and our devices. You’re fully aware of why too much scrolling and screen time is harmful, but it’s also very alluring. The downside is being so plugged in that you lose connection with yourself, your emotions, and your needs. For the Highly Sensitive Person, screens are also very overstimulating to your nervous system. In this article, I explore my takeaways from taking a complete social media break for seven days.
As another year begins, we get flooded with messages about setting resolutions and making grand changes in our lives. Starting this year on our own terms means honoring our needs as Highly Sensitive People to make changes more slowly and focusing on self-reflection over resolutions. This approach frees us from the shame of incomplete resolutions and allows us to reconnect with what’s most important in our lives.
Do you often dread the holidays because it leaves you feeling exhausted and depleted? While the busyness and high expectations of the holiday season have the potential to be stressful for everyone, Introverts and Highly Sensitive People are especially vulnerable to becoming overwhelmed during this time of year.
Trying to fall asleep can be so stressful. Ironically the more you need sleep, the harder it can be to actually get enough rest. And the bigger your sleep deficit grows, the more susceptible you become to mood fluctuations and health issues. In this article, I explore how mindfulness can ease a restless mind to get better sleep and offer two exercises to get you started. From the Mindfulness Workbook for Stress Relief by April Snow, LMFT.
During times of heightened stress or uncertainty it’s important to find ways to integrate comfort, connection, familiarity, and a sense of control. It’s hard being so empathetic and perceptive during really hard times and remember that you have opportunities to care for yourself.
Anyone who is Highly Sensitive may be having a different experience of daylight savings time since any type of change can be a difficult adjustment and we are more prone to getting overstimulated when fatigued.
Do you often dread going home for the holidays or visiting with friends and family because it leaves you feeling exhausted and depleted? While the busyness and high expectations of the holiday season have the potential to be stressful for everyone, Introverts and Highly Sensitive People are especially vulnerable to becoming overwhelmed during this time of year.
Quiet downtime is essential for all Highly Sensitive People because without it, we end up feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious or irritable. We can find the balance between productivity and rest by letting go of our perfectionist habits, creating a consistent routine of prioritizing our needs and softening our inner critic.
Many Highly Sensitive People struggle with anxiety which can be managed with lifestyle changes such as practicing mindfulness and incorporating more downtime.
Are you worried that your teen seems more anxious or withdrawn compared to their peers? Many Highly Sensitive teens struggle with feeling overwhelmed, but can easily thrive with a few lifestyle adjustments.
Throughout our lives many of us have been told that Sensitivity is a weakness or we have been labeled as fragile, anxious, shy or too emotional as a result of feeling deeply. The truth is being Highly Sensitive is a Strength with many advantages!
Working with the Highly Sensitive Client: A Guide for Psychotherapists
Does flying leave you feeling anxious and overwhelmed? The crowds, noise, cramped spaces and pressured timelines can make it feel like too much to handle. Airports are very overstimulating and chaotic in general, but even more difficult for the Highly Sensitive or Introverted traveler who is hyper-aware to their surroundings and more attuned to sensory input.
