Great news will be shared tomorrow!
As we grow the Sensitive but Unstoppable Community, I have a mission to bring awareness about us, HSPs.
Over the past months, I have been preparing for this and cannot wait to share with everyone here!
Stay tuned early tomorrow for more!
Hey there, let's talk about the impact of nutrition on your journey as a HSP. Research suggests maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet is essential for everyone. But for that highly sensitive person, proper nutrition takes on a different connotation.
I am not a big eater, but I do love my food. That being said though, I am extremely cautious about what I put between my lips. And I am very much aware of my nutritional needs that I will share with you. Hopefully, this will help you too.
- I have to eat regular meals. If I don’t start off the day with a good breakfast with protein and grains, I can get very lightheaded, jittery, anxious, and drained. Oh what a horrible feeling that is.
- I always since I was a kid loved veggies. Turnips, carrots, yams, potatoes. These foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, and carbohydrates. These vitamins help to control the food intake needed by the body. Therefore, body weight stays stable and balanced.
- Nutrient dense foods such as whole vegetables, fruits, cocoa, seafood, eggs, and liver are so rich in nutrients. I never feel hungry when I eat these foods.
- Even though I eat well, I have to take supplements like B Vitamins as my system really lacks Vitamin B. Stress/anxiety can really deplete vitamins like Vitamin B and magnesium.
- Knowing that the digestive system can be sensitive to our emotional system, I have learned to treat my gut very gently. I only eat all natural food.
- We must eat at regular intervals as the blood sugar levels could be compromised.
- So, we really are what we eat. When we are aware of our systems, what we are all about, what our system needs/wants choosing the right foods for proper nutrition, we are providing the essentials for the proper functioning of our nervous system.
I hope you are having a great weekend!
Goal setting can be tough for the highly sensitive. I know that from experience, unfortunately. Research says it is due to our tendency to experience emotions more deeply and our perfectionist nature. Well, personally I can’t see that just because we experience emotions more deeply would really play a factor in goal setting. I can’t even see how being a perfectionist would have anything to do with it either. As a matter of fact, it is my opinion that being a perfectionist would make it easier to try and set goals.
I believe we experience goal setting as hard because we tend to be free spirits. We live by the heart and are quite comfortable living outside of our comfort zone. I don’t like that feeling of being boxed in or tied down either.
I can say, I want one of my projects done within 3 weeks for example. But how do I know on any one particular in those weeks, I am even going to have an opportunity to work on that project. I can’t predict the future. I don’t even know what each day is going to bring. I can work on the project, yes, but maybe working on a project 3 days in a row, I start to feel overwhelmed. Then what do I do? I have to back off for my own mental health. So I lost a couple of days and my project was delayed.
As I write this, I am thinking maybe, a highly sensitive person should look at the mind-body-heart system as a way to achieve goal setting. In other words, integrate the mind, body and heart in this goal-setting process. By addressing the mind-body-heart system we are demonstrating self-care towards ourselves.
I believe we experience goal setting as hard because we tend to be free spirits. We live by the heart and are quite comfortable living outside of our comfort zone. I don’t like that feeling of being boxed in or tied down either.
I can say, I want one of my projects done within 3 weeks for example. But how do I know on any one particular in those weeks, I am even going to have an opportunity to work on that project. I can’t predict the future. I don’t even know what each day is going to bring. I can work on the project, yes, but maybe working on a project 3 days in a row, I start to feel overwhelmed. Then what do I do? I have to back off for my own mental health. So I lost a couple of days and my project was delayed.
As I write this, I am thinking maybe, a highly sensitive person should look at the mind-body-heart system as a way to achieve goal setting. In other words, integrate the mind, body and heart in this goal-setting process. By addressing the mind-body-heart system we are demonstrating self-care towards ourselves.
It is funny, we talk a lot about boundaries. But did you ever think of setting boundaries for yourself as you cope with your high sensitivity? In other words, live your life within your own personal limits.
For example, I can’t stay up late at night. While this bothers me a lot, I have to set a boundary for myself to retire at a specific hour. I can’t even enjoy a good night out. If I go to bed past that hour, I pay for it the next day, big time. But then, to be fair to myself, I am up early in the morning raring to go wide eyed and bushy tailed. I am not only showing respect for myself, but I am also showing compassion for myself.
I am not a big eater. But when I get hungry, I get really hungry to the point where I feel irritable or even angry when I am hungry. They call this hangry. The reason for this is that hunger can lead to a drop in blood sugar, which triggers a gust of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This can cause a highly sensitive person to feel edgy and more sensitive to blood sugar imbalances. This increased sensitivity to being hungry can lead to irritability and stress. I am so sensitive to this feeling of hunger, I have recognized I have to be mindful of my blood sugar levels to maintain my emotional well being. Again, it is all about setting boundaries for myself with respect to maintaining good healthy eating habits.
And then when it comes to food, that’s another story. I can’t eat anything with additives in it. I can actually taste the additives. That’s how sensitive my sense of taste is. All my food is made right from scratch, all natural ingredients, lots of fruits and veggies, good meat, salads. The choice is unlimited but it all has to be prepared. Very time consuming. But, I am lucky in that I love to prepare and cook interesting meals.
Did you know that the sun is shining even on rainy days? Well it does and even on rainy days, while driving the car, I still have to wear sunglasses. Why, because I am so sensitive to the rays of the sun.
Does noise bother you? I can hear a pin drop even if the tv or radio are on. The reason for this is research has proven the brain of the highly sensitive person accelerates auditory making us more aware of and reactive to sounds. I again speak from experience on this as I become totally overwhelmed and irritable which raises my stress levels. Again, I have to set a boundary for myself, wear ear plugs, or leave the room. I have no choice. But on the positive side, I have learned to embrace my sensitive hearing as it has been a big help in some very serious situations.
So, in the course of a day, anyone of the above can show up in my life. My brain and that of any highly sensitive person is constantly working and by night time, I am more than ready to retire and relax.
Hope this has been helpful to you as a highly sensitive person.
Making a decision to become more self-aware as a highly sensitive person is a huge step towards personal growth and development. There are 5 tips we can look at
1. Understand what it means to be hsp. We must be educated and recognize our unique emotional responses, strengths and challenges.
2. Identify what really throws us off and how to set boundaries so we are not over stimulated.
3. We must exercise self-compassion and accept who we are with our unique traits.
4. It is extremely important to engage in self-care practices. Recognizing the need for time alone, or connecting with fellow HSP’s, engaging in creative activities are all important to recharge and rejuvenate our spirit as we embrace our sensitivity.
5. Personal growth and development are crucial for building self confidence, as we try to manage our self -conscious thoughts in social situations.
By following these steps and becoming more aware of our strengths and not our shadows we will not only become unstoppable but more self-aware of who we are as we get more in touch with what we can offer the world so we can make a difference.
