Highly sensitive people that have learned to overcome challenges and live to their fullest potential have done so using conscious, intentional self-care. During a pandemic, it’s the difference between survival mode and thriving. When we thrive we know how to care for our needs to live in balance so we can take care of ourselves, be healthy, support our family, and be productive in the work we are called to do and that is needed in the world. As HSPs we are often impacted by those around us a lot and when the whole world is experiencing a global pandemic crisis we most certainly need a stronger form of self-care!

I polled a group of HSP therapists to ask what type of self-care is helping them during this pandemic. Let’s learn from the experts!

Pandemic Self-Care According to Therapists

- Extra grounding and meditation for me, because I’ve found that it’s harder to remain present.

-Bird-watching! I am now up to 4 feeders in my yard and on my deck. They are so soothing to watch and to listen to. Great form of mindfulness for me!

-Getting outside whenever possible. Pushing myself to exercise 5-6 days a week; especially when I don’t want to. Gratitude for the smallest of things- such as readily available hot water. Generous doses of self compassion and self validation for whatever I’m feeling.

-Anything away from my screen.

-Bath, essential oils, walking barefoot outside, laying on the hammock, taking walks.

-Time with my dog 😍Hobbies and fun

-I’ve been running every day after work. I never ran when I worked in person. I started out barely running .75 miles, and now I can get up to 3.5 miles!!! So those kind of goals have helped me focus inward. 🙂

-Before it got so hot, chair hammock. Now it’s the pool hammock. We bought a little stock tank and we float in it every day.

-Getting outside. We bought a porch swing. Swinging is so peaceful. And on weekend take our boat out to the lake to get sunshine!

-Baking, making stained glass art, painting mandalas, cuddling my dogs and children, and taking naps! 😉

-Establishing and keeping a routine.

-Limiting watching news significantly, working on reducing screen time, outdoor things - quality time with my toddler, coloring, painting, funny or comforting TV shows, reading, hydrating, epsom salt baths, took up gardening!

-Baking and cooking fun recipes for pleasure, reading, time outside with the kids, and getting a babysitter who I trust so that I can work in peace for a few hours a week!

-Gardening, reading, spending time with my daughter.

-Prioritizing walks, yoga, and journaling. Listening to my body and what it needs- I have chronic illnesses and lots of chronic pain, so going easy on myself, not expecting myself to have a clean home and bake all the time despite what others are doing. Permission to honor whatever difficult emotions come up.

-Nature walks, family and friends talks, good food—cooking new things...

-Accepting what is true. My office is more or less shuttered and I have noted on my website that I am only providing Telehealth at this time. I was really struggling to own a decision I had really already made for a while.

-Anything outside, pulls me right back into mindfulness, tuning in to each sense at a time and then opening up to all of them. I am lucky to be able to access beautiful places and fresh air 🥰

-I have a hammock for outside and a hammock on a stand inside. Hammock time really helps me.

-Putting my mind on what I can control.

-Limiting the news and grounding myself to make sure I am fully present. I have a great family that I spend time with and we hold each other accountable for it 💗

- Mindful eating, daily exercise, lots of rest, reading.

-I started making good food choices for lunch and I'm trying to workout as I can with chronic illness. It's made a difference in the past 2 wks so I'm hoping for a continued change.

-Doing a lot of virtual yoga and finding some ways to connect safely regularly with people I love. Being gentle and compassionate with myself as much as I am able to with doing what I can do with the timing which seems to be slower now with covid19. Simplifying things with my private practice.💚

- LOTS of walks with my dogs. Taking time to not answer phone calls and work (more than usual). I also allowed myself to give up my office lease so I could use that money to take things easier.

-Hugging my kiddo!!

-Sitting outside on my balcony or in my sandbox. I'm finding I need to be out in the sun more than usual & rarely want to leave my property.

-I'm working more in my expressive art. Such as my visual journal and other creative activities.

-Streaming yoga videos, meditation, home gym routines, reading, etc.

-Watching the sun rise on my front porch. Long bike rides. Calming music. Golf alone at dusk.

-Lots of crochet 🧶

-Lots of cuddle time with my dog.

-Alone time, basically sensory breaks removing as much stimuli as possible.

-Being outdoors in my garden and walk/play/cuddle with my dogs!

-Snuggling with my daughter. Solitude. Resting from making life altering plans and lists. Practicing Self-compassion and Self-Advocacy- Every. Single. Day. Long hours soaking in silence. Listening to helpful content during long baths. Focusing on slow living to regulate my nervous system.. filling my home with lots of living plants. Making delicate foods inspired by what I harvest from my garden. Making my own custom tea blends... one cup at a time. Limiting (extremely) unhealthy relationships, news, articles, and social media exposure and interactions. Being mindful of my healing journey and working on believing my own tender, heartfelt narrative. 💞

-I bought a season pass at nearby lake for kayak rentals.

-Long epsom salt bubble baths! :)

-Exercise. Drink water.

-Going for walks, nature

-Collaging, writing (poetry), Qigong, walks.

-Getting outside, in the garden and on walks. Making sure I shower. 😅 Nourishing meals full of veggies. Time ALONE! Chocolate. Snacks.Crafting on my own. Reading fun books.

-Yes, yoga helps a lot to keep balance. Because of having a yoga practice I also learned to notice any tensions my body gets throughout the day and I can relax after I noticed. Without this practice I felt tensed and stressed quite a lot before.

-I run. No talking. It's my hour where I am just by myself. But outside. Smelling, seeing, breathing, moving.

-Limiting media inputs and screen time, meditation & exercise daily, and most importantly, time in nature.

-Yoga! Not eating too much rubbish. Minimal alcohol. Walks. Sun. Reading. Rest. Relaxation.

-Staying off my phone, taking breaks from all news, noticing summer skies and nature, cold drinks, rests.

-Walling in nature as often as possible. Being creative (writing poems - I've written 3 time as many poems in the past 3 months than I normally do in an entire year!) Gardening. Dancing with others via Zoom. Singing with others via Zoom.

-Going for a lot of long walks and getting out into nature. Yoga and meditation every day. Gardening. Sleeping! Connecting with people virtually via Zoom etc.

-Cycling with my son and husband to parks and lakes nearby our home for our dose of some nature, daily fresh air, workout, and still maintaining social distancing.

-SLEEP! Limiting news and social media because it gets to be too much. Puzzles and puppy snuggles.

Did you find that list helpful? What did you resonate with? What is hard and what helps?

I encourage you to also listen to this podcast episode of Willow McIntosh and I talking about Self-Care During a Pandemic.

P.S. Want more tips to reduce challenges and increase your resiliency as a sensitive person? I’ll send support every week. Sign up for the Sensitive Empowerment newsletter here.

P.P.S. If you are struggling with high stress or anxiety and want to improve quickly, I recommend my course, Brain Training for the Highly Sensitive Person, Techniques to Reduce Anxiety, and Overwhelming Emotions. This is an 8-week program you do one week at a time and HSPs reportedly feel a lot better within the first 1-2 weeks. 

My newest course, Blooming Brilliantly, Understanding and Loving Who You Are as a Sensitive Person teaches how to love who you are and live authentically, protect your energy, set healthy boundaries, and learn holistic alternatives that support and calm an overwhelmed nervous system, and more!

I recommend taking both courses if you haven't taken either yet.  You also get free access to my Sensitive Empowerment community when you take a course and I'm there offering support and connection every day!  Hope to see you there! I do live events every week too. Lots of good stuff to help you thrive to your fullest potential!