I am Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.
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Life can make you second-guess yourself. You wonder if you have what it takes to cope with setbacks. Things are going along fine, and out of the blue … Wham! A huge barrier is thrown in your way. A path that was otherwise easy to navigate suddenly appears impossible to handle.
That can lead to a lot of negative emotions. Will you be able to get past this problem? If you had prepared yourself for potential issues like this, maybe it wouldn’t have been a problem. But you didn’t. So your self-image and self-belief falter, and you question your ability to create positive results.
That happens to all of us from time to time. For the highly sensitive person (HSP), it can be devastating.
Their sensory perception is supercharged. What might be seen as a minor setback to most people is sometimes viewed as a major problem to the HSP. This is why these people with highly tuned sensory networks need to have reliable coping strategies they can implement quickly.
Here are three proven coping strategies for dealing with intense emotional responses to the inevitable problems life will hand you:
- Identify Your Triggers
What is making you feel this way? Be honest with yourself. Is your response overblown or exaggerated? It’s important to be who you are. That means letting your emotions express themselves. Then, take a deep breath and calm down. Go to a quiet, calm place physically and in your mind.
Try to identify what made you respond in such an emotional way. If you are stressing out over an upcoming party you must host, set aside your fears of failure by preparing ahead of time. Don’t wait until the last minute to address the details leading to a successful party.
If there’s no action you can take to better address a situation, remind yourself that your anxiety has a lifespan. Eventually, it will be over. Distract yourself and remember that this is just a temporary experience.
- Remember That Your Perception of Reality Might Be Wrong
Highly sensitive people sometimes overblow or exaggerate a situation. Their thoughts can become exceptionally positive when they are in a good mood. Unfortunately, when something upsets them, they can see the entire world and everyone in it is terrible, with no positive outcome in sight.
The coping strategy here is to write down your thoughts. If you think the world is always out to get you, write that down. Record the date and time you had that thought. Then, record what was going on in your life and what experiences or situations you were involved in.
Keeping an emotions journal like this can help you realize that sometimes your perception of reality is incorrect.
- Remind Yourself That Your Thoughts May Be Lying to You
The highly sensitive person might start to believe the thoughts that appear when an intense emotional response occurs. This isn’t always good. Often, our thoughts are driven by our ego and survival instinct. They don’t necessarily put us in the best place.
Emotional reasoning should be abandoned sometimes. Your emotions dictate your thoughts. Your thoughts drive your actions, and if they are fueled by your emotions rather than logic and reason, you might end up with an unenviable result.
Being highly sensitive has its upside. Your senses are finely tuned to give you a deeper perception of your life experience. Sometimes, though, your highly evolved sensory network can work against you. When it does, use these coping strategies to put yourself in a better place mentally and emotionally.
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I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/contractnegotiations to pick up the free guide to help you negotiate the contract of your dreams.
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