Part 1: How can you reduce overwhelm as a highly sensitive creative?

Hello there! You can listen to this as an audio post,
or if you'd rather read it you can find all the text below the video 💫

One phrase that comes up a lot in conversations
with highly sensitive creatives is:

'I just constantly feel overwhelmed.'

To all the lovely sensitive creatives in that place - I hear you! It's not an easy place to be.

But did you know this is likely to be - at least in part – due to that incredible HSP brain of yours?

Over the next few days I'm going to be talking about how the HSP trait can lead to feeling overwhelmed, and share some approaches I've used when working with clients and my own life.

And of course along the way we'll be looking as the other side of the coin too – all those beautiful things about your sensitivity that are both a gift to you, and a gift to the world.

A quick note - feeling consistently overwhelmed can be a symptom of burnout, which sadly HSP's are more vulnerable to (I've been there too - several times!). If your experience aligns with those listed here, please seek support from a mental health professional and take good care of yourself 💙

What are the different aspects of high sensitivity, how do they impact your creativity and why might this contribute to overwhelm?

In 'The Highly Sensitive Person' book Elaine Aron - who defined the HSP trait - uses the acronym DOES as a good way to summarize all the aspects of high sensitivity. These are:

D for Depth of processing

Sensitive people think about things. Deeply and a lot. Both consciously and subconsciously.

This includes being very intuitive to the needs of humans and animals, reflecting on things, and searching to create a life filled with meaning. It can also mean you are more careful or cautious, and are likely to need more time to make decisions because you want to consider all the different options.

While this undoubtedly contributes to your creativity, with your intuitive responses to the world often coming through in your art, it can also leave you struggling to choose what direction to go in, or take the next step in your creative career.

O is for Overstimulation

Everyone gets overstimulated sometimes. In fact, we all live a lot of our lives trying to find that optimum place between being over and under stimulated. When we are overstimulated we can feel overwhelmed and frazzled, while when we are understimulated we can feel listless and bored.

However as HSP's are highly overaroused by stimuli such as noise, light, what we can see, temperature...even the emotions of those around us. As Aron writes 'What is highly arousing for most people causes an HSP to become very frazzled indeed.'

(Elaine Aron, The Highly Sensitive Person (p. 7). HarperCollins Publishers)

I think I’m going to begin to use that phrase every time I finish a workshop or an event… ‘How are you?’ ‘I’m good - but very frazzled indeed!’.

The ways that we respond to this overstimulation can affect us, our creativity and our interactions with others. As a creative it might make it difficult to work with lots of people, or in high stimulation environments such as large events. Or like me you may need extra time to rest and recharge after these kind of experiences.

E is for Emotional Responsiveness and Empathy

Highly sensitive people think about things carefully, care about things deeply, respond to things emotionally and are usually strongly empathetic.

This can make you a kind, caring, thoughtful person.

It can motivate you to create meaningful artwork to support the causes that move you.

...There is even evidence now that you may feel positive emotions more strongly then non-HSP people.

But it can also lead you to struggle with things like rejection, fear of judgement, being hurt by negative feedback and finding it difficult to maintain your own boundaries to care for yourself.

S is for Sensing the Subtle

This is where I get excitedly tell you have a secret super sense – yes like a superhero!

You probably notice the subtle things, from simple pleasures to non-verbal cues. This can mean noticing the tiny, the delicate, the fleetingly beautiful. It can also mean noticing smells other people don't notice, feeling uncomfortable in scratchy fabrics... or even feeling that someone is lying to you.

How can this impact your creativity?

Well on one hand it may lead to you representing these easily missed moments of beauty in the world. You might respond to a flower with a painting or twilight with a poem.

On the other hand you may be sensitive to certain materials or substances (I cannot stand the smell of spray paint or the sound of polystyrene being cut for example ).

And sometimes all that noticing everything leads to overstimulation, and wanting to just hide away in a quiet dark space for a while.

You may not fit these descriptions exactly because you are a uniquely wonderful human. We all have our own life experiences, which influence how these aspects of the HSP trait impact us.

But in my experience developing your awareness and understanding of the trait can enable you to better care for yourself, and navigate the challenges you might be encountering as a sensitive creative person.

I have met far too many talented, wonderful HSP creatives who are struggling with overwhelm and are maybe even believe now that it will always be that way.

That's not the case.

While being an sensitive creative comes with its fair share of challenges, there are things that can help, which is why I offer HSP conscious creativity coaching.

Why do I think this is so important?

Because the world needs more sensitive, thoughtful, creative people who feel empowered. So you can create what you really long to, and you are able to share your work. To express your authentic self and voice the things you care about.

And because I believe you should be able to make your special kind of creative magic without such a struggle.

I support sensitive creatives to embrace who they are,
find the approaches that work with their personality (not against it!) and learn to trust themselves on their creative path
so they can make what really matters to them.

✨ Basically I want to help you all shine like the
absolute creative wonderbeings you already are! ✨

I’m also a highly sensitive creative who knows how difficult it can be to market your work, be visible online, overcome fears around networking and the many other challenges of being a sensitive artist. But as I've experienced 15 years of working as an artist, I’ve come to see my sensitivity as one of my biggest strengths.

Tomorrow I'll be sharing the one thing I feel will make a strong, immediate impact on reducing overwhelm for you. So I hope you'll open my next post to learn my (not so secret) secrets!

And if you'd like to have a free Discovery Call with me to discuss how I can support you 1:1 to to make the work that matters, live in ways that align with your values and find joy, fun and fulfilment in the process and all that good stuff, then you can book below:

Speak to you soon lovelies!

Eleanor ☄️

A quick note - I have worked hard to be educated in teaching, training, counselling skills and the needs of HSP people so my coaching is as helpful as it can be. However to learn more about being a Highly Sensitive Person overall I recommend you head to Elaine Aron’s amazing website or read her books, where you can find more in-depth information on the trait.