7 Survival Skills for the Highly Sensitive

Highly sensitive people are a special breed: tending to be intuitive, deeply feeling and experience profound empathy for others. In other words, it's easy for highly sensitive people to tune into the feelings of others - even when it’s something they may not be wanting.

If you feel easily overwhelmed in public, tend to just know things about others and feel exhausted when you don't get outside enough, keep reading. You are probably highly sensitive to energy and could use some special handling tools for survival!

Being sensitive does not mean there is something wrong. If you find that you can't keep pace with everyone else, get honest with yourself. Take a close look in the mirror, and decide if these traits feel like you, or perhaps someone in your inner circle. There may just be some extra self care measures you can take.

Sensitivity is like a super power when it comes to supporting others. But there's a flip side that can be excruciating: it's just as easy to feel too full, over -drafted and drained. It's like the psychic space for sensitives fills up faster, and utter exhaustion can take over. So when the giving meter is on, it's really on. When it's off, it can feel like pulling teeth to turn it back on when you haven’t taken the time to recharge.

If this sounds like you, you may have wondered why you can't handle as much as others. The good news is that there's nothing wrong with you. Phew! You just need extra special handling; it is critical to frequently employ the self care tools needed to stay afloat. Many of the people that have found their way into my professional life over the years are like this. Not a surprise since I consider myself a sensitive one.

So what's the solution?

First step is to understand your true nature, really be honest with who you are and what it takes for you to keep a healthy pace with life. This typically will have nothing to do with the stories others have about you, or how your peers function. The more you align with yourself, the better you’ll flow in the river of life. I've outlined 7 tips below.

1. First tip, take the time to feel yourself, especially when you don’t feel well or find yourself wanting to flee or hide. Take a moment alone to close your eyes, take several deep breaths and ask yourself if what you are feeling is actually “yours.” Listen to your intuition on this one. If it’s not you, you can choose to release the feelings and energies of others with the help of some breaths and some intuitively guided body movement as you literally “shake it off.”

2. If you’re in a public setting, you can practice this quietly within, or excuse yourself for a few minutes so you can reboot. This will take some practice, so stay with it.

3. If you’re in a situation where you can burn sage or use aura sprays, you can refresh your energy field with these tools. I recommend that sensitives make this a regular practice at the end of the day, at least before bed.

4. If you’re a water lover, sea salt baths have a similar effect to breathing ocean air. The salt and water has a naturally cleansing effect for the auric field, the invisible energy bodies that surround us, especially powerful after intense emotional encounters.

5. Make getting outside and walking to clear your mind and energy field a high priority, especially if you can get your bare feet on the earth to recalibrate your energy field with the earth’s frequency.

6. You can learn to set protective spaces for yourself, not in a defensive way. Rather in a self loving way by setting a bubble or a boundary around yourself in the invisible space that surrounds you. Use your intention with this when you start your day, or when things feel particularly wonky.

7. Ground yourself with breath and sending a cord of energy straight through the center of your body and into the earth. You can do this indoors or outdoors.

If you really want to get good at this, there are ways to learn to actually feel into your energy field, clear your chakras and other energy centers. Stay tuned to my blog space for an upcoming, downloadable mp3 recording with a short guided practice for grounding. and resetting your energy.

Remember things too that have always worked for you to feel more nourished and energized, and put them to practice often. You don’t need to be martyr yourself to serve others. Taking the time for self care keeps you healthy and will allow you to show up for others as your best self. It all begins with self listening.