Affirmations for HSP's
Ivy Griffin
You know the feeling when you get that AWESOME insight and things just “click” and make sense? It’s that “Aha!” moment when you’re like “Wow, therapy is really paying off!” Just kidding…sort of. And then…it’s gone! As quickly as it enters your mind, it just floats away on the breeze! Where did it go? I like to say that some of our best insights are put on shelves somewhere in our brains, collecting dust.
How do we keep our best insights from disappearing or collecting dust? Sometimes I wish I could condense down all the meaningful realizations that come from in-depth conversations and introspection into short phrases that are really easy to remember. This is actually one of the reasons I sometimes recommend jotting things down on post-its instead of stressing yourself out trying to journal every day. Sometimes our most brilliant thoughts are brief and fleeting and are best captured in the moment on a piece of paper or on the notes app in our phone.
It can also be helpful to utilize reminders on your phone or calendar as a way of reconnecting to your earlier realizations and keeping them from floating away completely or collecting dust. To help you get started, here are some helpful affirmations for HSPs to remember on a consistent basis:
“I can take my time to respond to someone.” People who are highly sensitive or conscientious can feel as though we need to respond to people right away and this can lead us to over-committing and acting out-of-alignment with our own values. You do NOT have to respond right away.
“If others respond to my boundaries with upset or discomfort, it does not mean I’m doing something wrong.” People who are highly sensitive may feel that we must agree, placate, or shrink ourselves for others. Some of the people in our lives may benefit from that and when we set a boundary, they may become upset. What they’re really upset about is the fact that they might have to take care of themselves now—and that’s okay!
“I can tune into my needs and respond to them.” As HSPs, we may be EXCELLENT at tuning into the needs of others. We may have even been rewarded for it! Conversely, we might not have been taught to acknowledge our own needs or they might have been ignored or actively punished if we voiced them. Acknowledging and responding to our own needs may feel unfamiliar–that’s why we need to encourage ourselves that we are capable of doing so.
These are just a few affirmations to start off with–you have and will continue to come up with many more! Write them down, repeat them to yourself, integrate them into your life. And if you’re struggling to do this, no problem! We’re here to help!
Best,
Ileana Arganda-Stevens, LMFT #129032
Clinical & Administrative Lead
Thrive Therapy and Counseling
she/her
https://thrivetherapyandcounseling.com/ileana-arganda
916-287-3430