Affirmations for Highly Sensitive People

Being one of the Highly Sensitive People (HSP) means that you have unique needs, experiences, and points of view compared to everyone else. This is a positive thing, but it doesn’t always feel that way.

Most highly sensitive people feel enormous amounts of shame and frustration for being who they are and having the needs they have. You might regularly feel out of place or burdensome to those around you, almost as if you should be more emotionally robust or tougher.

When you can’t find the words to express yourself, it helps you to listen to other people’s affirmations of you. The best thing to combat shame is truth, and particularly truth based on research and professional insight. Being a soft person in a hard world is not easy, but it helps to be encouraged and celebrated for who you are and what you bring to the table.

Beautifully Complex

Have you ever been outdoors and found a flower so small and perfect that you marveled at it, not wanting to pick it? Or perhaps you’ve been on the beach and found a shell that was iridescent and so fragile that you didn’t want to put it in your pocket, lest you damage it.

These are the kinds of natural wonders that many people would ignore or not think twice about. But there are people out there, and perhaps you’re one of them, who delight in finding hidden treasures like these.

Highly sensitive people are much like these small wonders. Much like people on the neurodiverse spectrum, too, highly sensitive people are frequently unseen and misunderstood by those around them. Many have misunderstood and been frustrated with themselves, mistaking their complexity for complications and their softness for weakness.

The cruel fact is that life is difficult when you’re different, and you can’t make everyone understand and value you. However, you can learn to understand and value yourself.

Just like the small wildflower or the shell on the beach, most highly sensitive people flourish in unique environments, and many find it hard to adapt to other places. It doesn’t matter what others think about you or whether they take the time to notice your complexities and uniqueness.

What matters is what you think of yourself. The more you learn about the way you function and what it takes to make you thrive, the more you will be able to value and protect yourself as you should.

Affirmations For Highly Sensitive People

Affirmations are statements intended to build a person’s self-esteem when they speak or hear them. When we feel guilt and shame about ourselves, in this case about being highly sensitive, these feelings are attached to things we think or even say out loud about ourselves. These beliefs and statements are like weeds that suck up nutrients and prevent us from growing and blooming.

Affirmations are like flower seedlings we plant, water, and nurture. The idea is that these positive statements will challenge and eventually replace shame, guilt, and fear, like flowers growing in place of weeds.

No one improves their self-esteem accidentally or automatically. It takes action and intention to replace years of negative thinking. One simple way of starting that process is to read each affirmation out loud, making them personal statements about yourself.

It might feel uncomfortable to say these things over yourself, and you might not believe them, but that is the perfect challenge. If a particular affirmation feels too awkward or difficult to say out loud, that might be your particular pressure point in need of repeating until it feels less difficult.

Affirmations to Try

You are not a burden, and having unique needs does not make you one

One of the most difficult things about being a highly sensitive person is having to live in an insensitive world. From childhood, people are picked on and ridiculed for being different. Sadly, many adults never grow out of their bullying tendencies but find more subtle ways of making people feel ashamed of themselves.

However, even when no one has made us feel like a burden, we often do. You might want to change seats at a restaurant, for example, because the lights are too bright or the conversation too loud. You might have had an emotional response that feels disproportionate to the situation, and now you need to talk it through with someone, but you’re afraid they won’t understand.

Whatever situation is making you feel like a burden, remind yourself that your response is involuntary and your needs are valid, however unique they are.

You are not overly dramatic; you can’t help the way you feel

If your life were a film, you would be a superhero with special powers, rather than the villain. Being highly sensitive often means that you pick up on vibes that others miss, hear the intentions behind certain communications, and sometimes absorb the emotions that other people feel. It’s not easy to deal with, but it also doesn’t mean you’re being too dramatic.

Just like the superheroes in those films, you might need to learn how to deal with certain aspects of being highly sensitive. You might not be able to control your responses and reactions, but at least you can learn to live with them. You’re not overly dramatic; you are sensitive, and that is a wonderful thing.

You’re not selfish or standoffish. Alone time is how you recharge

Being highly sensitive is exhausting. You are likely affected by certain spaces, drained by intense one-on-one communication, and tired for reasons you haven’t even considered yet. It might be difficult for you to withdraw and ask for space from people, especially your loved ones, but you need it, and you are not being selfish.

To put it quite simply, your nervous system works differently from others. The things that affect you and drain your batteries might seem random and trivial, but that doesn’t matter; you simply need to be alone to recharge.

Getting enough alone time is part of anyone’s personal care, whether they are highly sensitive, introverted, or not. In the same way that we are thrown off balance if we don’t eat healthy foods, get enough sleep, or maintain good hygiene, getting enough alone time is part of self-care and crucial for mental, physical, and emotional health.

When you withdraw to spend time alone, it’s nothing personal against anyone else. You need space even from your closest loved ones from time to time, and that’s especially important for highly sensitive people.

There is nothing wrong with you, even when you feel emotionally dysregulated

Every highly sensitive person has worried about the state of their mental health at least once in their life. Whether it’s crying because the tone of a text message hurt you, feeling anxious because of how your loved one is treating you, or feeling an intense emotion out of the blue, being highly sensitive often means being emotionally dysregulated.

It’s not easy to deal with. On the contrary, it’s draining and difficult. However, it is a normal part of the highly sensitive experience.

The best thing you can do for yourself is not to be dismissive of your feelings or try to ignore them. Repressed emotions never truly vanish. Instead, acknowledge your feelings and practice getting used to them. There will be times when your dysregulated emotions are like storms on the sea. They appear out of nowhere, rage intensely for a while, but then disappear as quickly as they come, and you need to wait it out.

Learn how to thrive as a highly sensitive person

There is a lot to learn about being a highly sensitive person, and experiences that even your closest friend will not be able to understand. It is often a lonely, frustrating experience. It helps to have someone to vent to, and someone who can affirm some of your experiences as being normal. Consider meeting with a counselor as part of your self-care routine. Contact us for more information.