Here’s Why HSPs Are More Prone To Overwhelm

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Why are highly sensitive people more prone to getting overwhelmed? Every day I talk to such wonderful HSPs who want to help others or the world in some way but feel held back by being overwhelmed and exhausted. Some of what I have heard lately:

  1. I’m overwhelmed and exhausted. I’m living in survival mode just trying to get through the day. I’m not the kind of parent I want to be. I feel stretched thin like I don’t have enough energy to get everything done and I feel like I’m failing at everything.

  2. I’m exhausted and don’t have the energy for everything, and it’s impacting my relationship. My partner wants to do stuff together, but I’m too tired. We are having a lot of arguments, and I feel so tired I can feel the resentment growing.

  3. I’m overwhelmed at work. I feel like I’m exhausted all the time and don’t have the energy for the rest of my life. I wish I could change my job or start my own business, but I’m so overwhelmed I cannot even imagine being able to do that.

  4. I’m so overwhelmed and tired all the time and I can tell it’s taking a toll on my health.

  5. I want to make a difference in the world, I have all these ideas, but I don’t know how to implement them, and every time I start I get overwhelmed.

Feeling overwhelmed zaps our precious energy that could be used to be creative, productive or make changes in our lives that can improve where we are right now.

Let’s talk about some facts and myths.

Fact: HSPs are more prone to overwhelm. We have particular brain differences that make us more susceptible to feeling overwhelmed. We take in so much more information into our brain than over 80% of the population. You also have a depth of processing that is unique and means you need to process all that information you take in. HSPs might have 50-100 tubes of information going into the brain, whereas a non-HSP might have just a few tubes. I’ve found that the higher you score on the HSP self-test, the more overwhelmed you feel. Most of us don’t know how to manage this overwhelm and instead feel out of control.

Myth: There's nothing you can do to prevent overwhelm when you are an HSP.  This concept is a myth. There are things you can do to make it better.  Every day I get to witness considerable transformations in the highly sensitive people I work with in my brain-training program, and I always hear, “I wish I had done this sooner.”  

I had a massive transformation in life. I went from feeling overwhelmed every day with high anxiety and feeling like I couldn’t get everything done, too. I wanted to hide in my room and avoid the world.  I had to train my brain and learn how to preserve my precious HSP energy and be sure I was only giving it out in areas I chose to give it. I now CHOOSE to give my energy out in ways that transform other HSPs! But I also have the energy I need for me, my partner, my children, and my friends and family.

I wouldn't be doing what I do if I hadn’t worked on making the changes necessary to help support my HSP brain.  I am an extremely sensitive HSP that scored 27 out of 27 on the HSP self-test, and I am living the life I have always dreamed of living. I have my own business.  I get to work from home as often as I want, AND I get to help people AND provide for my family. It’s all doable! I want that for you too!

If you are interested in exploring what your ideal life could look like and how to get there as an HSP, Click Here and see if my 8-week brain-training program is a good fit for you. My mission is to help empower and transform the lives of HSPs!  Your best self and full life is needed in the world.

The following are so many important resources for you that I invite you to check out. The first step is learning about your unique HSP brain differences to help you understand why you experience the world in the way you do. We can make real and life long changes to reduce overwhelm so you can get your life back!

~Julie Bjelland is a psychotherapist, author, and leader in the field of high sensitivity and has helped thousands of highly sensitive people around the world. As an HSP herself, Julie understands what it is like to live with high sensitivity and strong emotions and is on a mission to get more empowered HSPs living their best lives in the world. Julie teaches an online course for HSPs and is the author of several books.  In her free time, Julie loves being in nature, around animals, gardening, reading, researching and spending time with the family. She shares her home with her Chef partner, two children and a houseful of pets. www.juliebjelland.com.

Julie Bjelland