Spotting Overwhelm Before It Hits: Stress
Management Strategies for HSPs

By the end of this episode, you’ll discover how to recognize the signs that you’re getting overwhelmed and how to take action to avoid it.

Welcome to Stress Management for Highly Sensitive People, a podcast helping HSPs avoid overwhelm, eliminate stress, and find true inner freedom. I’m your host Todd Smith, a certified facilitator of the work of Byron Katie. A way to question and reduce stressful thoughts. And you guessed it. I’m a highly sensitive person myself.

In this episode, you’ll discover recognizable signs that you’re getting overwhelmed as an HSP, practical ways to regain balance and avoid overwhelm, and why staying balanced can unlock special superpowers as a highly sensitive person. This is an addition of Strategy Fridays, where we think about specific things you can do to help manage stress as a highly sensitive person.

Having the trait of being a highly sensitive person means that you see finer gradations, in everything that you experience. For example, if the average person sees the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, a highly sensitive person will see also the numbers 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, and then 2, and so on.

That means that there’s a lot more data that a highly sensitive person processes and has to process on a regular basis. This has its major advantages, in terms of subtlety, and we’ll get into that. There are a lot of advantages to being a highly sensitive person, but it comes with one drawback, which is that it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

When you have that many data points floating around inside of you to be processed, it can lead to an experience of overwhelm. So I want to focus today on what are some of the symptoms of getting overwhelmed or being overstimulated as a highly sensitive person. There can be many different kinds of symptoms, and it’s good to just know what they are so that you can recognize them.

Some of them will be very obvious, but sometimes you don’t know whether you’re really getting overwhelmed until it’s too late. And so, just being aware of this can help you to take measures before it becomes too, too strong.

There are five main areas where these symptoms show up. The first one is physical symptoms.

For example, fatigue, feeling unusually tired or drained, after a social interaction or after some exposure to some intense kind of situation is common. So fatigue can also be headaches or body tension, increased heart rate, muscle tension as well. Like your neck or your back or shoulders, digestive issues, like upset stomach or nausea or loss of appetite.

These can be signs that the body’s getting overwhelmed, the mind’s overwhelmed, the whole system is getting into an overwhelm. So if you notice that, like, oh, my digestion is a little off, or, oh, there’s a little tension coming in my back, then this can be a sign to be like, okay, what am I doing? Maybe I need to slow down, back off a little bit to keep the balance.

Then the second area where these signs of overwhelm can begin to show up are emotional symptoms. That could be irritability, being agitated or triggered by minor things, or even by overstimulation. Anxiety is a big one, where you have that general sense of anxiety, and a tension there as well.

Emotional exhaustion is also something that can show up where you just feel spent or drained, and there’s not much energy left. And then sadness or despair, feeling hopeless or overwhelmed by even simple tasks. So these are signs on the emotional level.

Then on the cognitive level, you will also find symptoms like you may have difficulty concentrating, or you may start forgetting things, or you may find yourself looping with an overactive mind, just looping on the same thought, an anxious thought, or ruminating about something more than usual.

These can be signs that you’re starting to reach your limit, in terms of overload.

Then behavioral symptoms would be that desire to withdraw, wanting to retreat, which is not a bad thing. Sometimes a need to withdraw, tells you something that I’m probably reaching my limit.

Procrastination or avoidance can be a way of getting close to overwhelm. Restlessness, or inability to relax or sit still can be a sign as well. Snapping at others, having a short temper, or lack of emotional bandwidth. All these can be behavioral symptoms of that sense of overwhelm.

And then finally, there can be sensory symptoms as well. For example, just super increased sensitivity to light or sounds or smells. Everyday stimuli can cause extra, like you feel like you’re on edge and doesn’t take much to set you off or to shut you down. And also heightened tactile sensitivity, where you’re feeling more discomfort by certain textures or sensations on the skin such as scratchy clothing, tight fabrics, things like that.

So all of these are the kinds of ways that experience of overwhelm can be coming to you. The body doesn’t use words to communicate with us. The body uses experiences and not just the body, but as we saw the emotions and behavior. These all show us the signs of what’s going on, and if you pay attention to it, you may be able to catch it earlier and begin to reverse that process, start taking care of yourself.

So, in that light, let’s go over what are some things you can do to move in the opposite direction, to create balance if you start getting overwhelmed or overstimulated.

One obvious one is to prioritize downtime, to take a break. There’s nothing wrong with just saying, I’ve got to go and take a little, downtime for a few minutes and, or just leave the situation.

Taking regular breaks can also be helpful in general. And just building quiet time into your day can be very helpful. I like to do outward things, and I also like to do inward things, and I like to balance those through the day as much as I can so that there’s a, don’t get too overwhelmed, at any point.

Along those lines, setting boundaries can be very helpful. Just boundaries about the time you spend in overstimulating environments. You know, chaotic workplaces, crowded places, places with lots of noise or hectic environments. You may have to ask for and set up situations so that you can limit that to some degree. Learning to say no, you know, as an HSP, I know that I often feel obligated to meet the needs or meet the expectations of others.

And that can end up leading me off out of myself into a more, there’s a higher chance of overwhelm when I do that. So setting some boundaries there, on keeping, like just keeping the balance for yourself. I’m communicating that to others.

Another one, which I emphasize a lot, is practice of meditation or mindfulness can also be helpful. I love meditation because it just allows me to go deep and quiet and gives me a kind of rest that I don’t even get when I’m in deep sleep. It’s a different kind of rest. And so that really gives a lot of clarity, a lot of energy, and a lot of resilience so that when I’m faced with different kinds of normally challenging situations, there’s enough buffer in there on the inside that I can handle it.

But it also works to help when I start to get overwhelmed. I can just back off, go and meditate, and suddenly my energy’s back, and I’m back in touch with myself again.

Another thing that can help is some physical activity. It’s just some gentle activity like yoga, stretching, nature walks, swimming, any kind of thing that gets you back in your body.

That can help to soothe and calm and bring the overactive mind back into a more calm place. You know, having a supportive environment, like calm kind of place or surrounding yourself with really calm, understanding people like friends, family, these kinds of groups or places where you can be yourself and relax.

I find that having a regular routine, time that I get up, time that I eat breakfast, time that I meditate, time that I work, and time that I have my lunch and all that walking the dog, all these things, time I go to bed, time I do all of the different parts of my day helps to give that predictability and structure, which makes me feel like I’m a little more grounded even when things are chaotic.

Along that line of healthy routines, sleep hygiene is a really valuable thing for all of us, but especially HSPs because our minds tend to be active, because it allows us to sort of slowly step down our activity and do more quiet, relaxing things before bed, instead of rushing to the end and then hitting the bed at 100 miles an hour, and it’s kind of hard to sleep when that happens.

I personally like to do some stretches. I do something called Egoscue, which is a wonderful process of retraining the body to use the muscles that support it for good posture. And so I have some very relaxing exercises that I do in the evening, and then I just move into bed from there.

Doing the work on and finding emotional resilience is really key for highly sensitive people. That’s why I love the work of Byron Katie. You may like journaling, but doing some kind of inner work where you’re dealing with and questioning and seeing what’s going on in the mind, it can really help to help from that experience of overwhelm. I’ve had it many times where I was stressed in a situation. I went and did the work of Byron Katie, and 20 minutes later, I was feeling completely at ease about that same situation.

Also, managing energy levels is valuable, just conserving your energy. Sometimes, we rush into things and go 100 miles an hour, but pacing yourself can be extremely helpful. Noticing which activities tend to drain your energies and which activities give you energy. They’re all things we have to do. Not everything is our favorite thing to do, but we can favor the things that we like, and we can question our thinking about the things that we don’t like. In the end, these are all ways of accessing energy instead of getting drained by different activities.

I also want to mention, seeking professional help. Sometimes therapy or counseling can be super helpful to work one on one with somebody and go deeply into anything that may be causing stress. You know, there are some wounds from childhood or different situations that may need extra support to work through, and as a highly sensitive person, you know, as highly sensitive people, we tend to enjoy this kind of work because it’s going deeply, thinking deeply about things, and it’s not only helpful for stress relief, but it also is helpful for just connecting with somebody, going deeply, and doing something that is actually enjoyable for most HSPs.

And then finally, just self-compassion and acceptance of this is the way we’re wired. We didn’t have a choice with this. It’s just a physical trait that 20 percent of the population has to be a highly sensitive person. And it’s important to recognize that and to accept that and to embrace that rather than seeing it as a weakness. A lot of times people judge it as being, like there’s something wrong with you, you’re too slow, or you think too much, or you’re crazy or something.

And this is just not understanding the trait. And if we believe these stories, then we end up causing ourselves a big disservice. There’s nothing wrong with the way we’re built. We just have to work within the limits of this particular nervous system.

If we manage our stress, if we avoid overwhelm, if we can come back from overwhelm, if we get into it, if we can stay within the zone of that optimal functioning, then that’s when the superpowers of being a highly sensitive person begin to emerge. You know, that deep empathy and compassion, the ability to have emotional insight, the ability to support others in that way. Heightened intuition, being insightful in our decision-making, being creative, and having artistic talent, having that rich inner world that so many artists have, and that attention to detail, like, this is a superpower of being a highly sensitive person.

As long as you don’t get too overwhelmed with it, this superpower is here to serve you and to serve those that you serve. HSPs also have an ability to process things deeply, to have a thorough understanding of things, and to learn things deeply. We’re also really good at detecting incongruities, where you’re able to see some little exception or some little thing in the environment that may go unnoticed by other people.

We have emotional intelligence. We’re good at conflict resolution. We have resilience, even though we’re more prone to overstimulation. We have the ability to develop strong resilience through practices like meditation and all the things that I mentioned so far.

We have a great capacity for growing. We have rich, complex inner lives. We are able to have profound relationships. We can appreciate beauty and we also have a moral sense, like a real sensitivity and we often become advocates for fairness. So all of these things are qualities of being a highly sensitive person that are amazing.

These are the super qualities, super powers, if you will, that we want to have, we want to develop. And the only thing that gets in the way of it is stress. Stress covers things. Stress lowers our energy. Stress lowers our creativity. And it keeps us small and limited. So, by noticing when you’re starting to get overstimulated and taking some measures to move in the opposite direction and find balance again, then this is that art of living where you can navigate the challenges of life in a way that allows your greatest abilities to surface and to be present.

In this episode, we looked at the recognizable signs that can come up when you’re starting to get overwhelmed as a highly sensitive person. And remember, these signs can be subtle. They start subtle, and then they become louder. And if you catch them earlier, then you can avoid a larger amount of overwhelm.

Then we looked at practical ways to regain balance and avoid overwhelm. And all of these really moved in the direction of taking care of yourself. This is the balance. Taking time for downtime and taking care of yourself.

And then finally, we looked at why staying balanced can unlock special superpowers as a highly sensitive person. And it’s just a gift to be a highly sensitive person if you take care of yourself. It’s like if you have a race car, it can go fast, but you have to use special fuel for that race car, and that allows it to run at its optimal level.