When you can’t physically escape an overstimulating environment, you can still create a calming refuge in your mind.

Using these tactics, you can thrive — not just survive — in stimulating social environments as an HSP.

‘Climate grief’ is loss and anxiety you may feel about the climate and how it’s changing. And since HSPs feel everything more deeply, ‘climate grief’ may be more common than you think.

One example of a cognitive distortion is “filtering,” when you look at a situation through metaphorical binoculars and focus on the negatives vs. the positives.

If you have a victim mentality, you perceive your life as happening to you instead of your own actions directing your life.

I no longer wished to “fix” my sensitivity. Instead, I created a life that aligned with my sensitive soul.

You may not feel like you need to seek help, but that’s the dangerous irony: when HSPs don’t feel much, it’s potentially a cause for concern.

“As a highly sensitive person who wanted her family to be happy, I used to constantly search for ways to please them. But living in a van is something that I wanted for myself.”

Light sensitivity is common among HSPs — from overhead fluorescent lights at work to sunlight coming through the bedroom window.

Highly sensitive people need a bit of extra emotional armor to take on emotionally charged events.

HSPs may be more sensitive to constructive criticism, because they feel things more deeply than others.

Knowing what triggers you — and having a plan for when you find yourself in a stressful situation — can help you feel less overwhelmed.