HSP Burnout: Early Warning Signs and How to Recover | Sacramento & Online CA Therapy
Lauren Ash
Why HSPs Are More Prone to Burnout
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) tend to process sensory and emotional information more deeply than others, which means their nervous systems are working harder across various environments. One day filled with bright lights, loud background noises, and tough interpersonal challenges can all contribute to a lot of exhaustion for a highly sensitive person in ways it might not for someone else.
Because HSPs also tend to be very empathic and conscientious, they will often push through this exhaustion and effectively mask their overwhelm until it becomes unsustainable, often resulting in burnout. By learning to identify some of your personal warning signs and practice helpful self-care tailored to your needs, you can work to prevent the type of exhaustion that often leads to burnout.
Early Physical and Emotional Warning Signs
HSP burnout signs often begin with subtle physical cues, such as tension headaches, digestive trouble, muscle stiffness, sleep disruption, and the “wired but tired” feeling that can happen during bedtime. Some emotional signs could include increased irritability, less tolerance for general stimulation, increased anxiety about work responsibilities, and a creeping sense of dread about ordinary obligations that may not typically cause much distress. An HSP might also notice themselves avoiding social contact, not because they lack the desire to socialize, but because they are simply too exhausted to have anything to give to others.
How HSP Burnout Differs From General Burnout
While general burnout can often be tied to a specific stressor, like a stressful work environment or draining life transition, HSPs can experience burnout even in seemingly manageable conditions. This is due to the depth of sensory and emotional processing HSPs possess, and can make it difficult to identify exactly what the stressor is.
Because it’s often difficult to identify, HSPs can tend to dismiss their exhaustion or direct blame inwardly. Additionally, burnout for HSPs can tend to reoccur more easily than for other people due to their heightened sensitivity. HSPs sometimes need more structural change in their daily lives, rather than a temporary break in order to prevent the burnout cycle from repeating. Recovery Strategies That Actually Work for HSPs
Some important changes that HSPs can implement in their environments on day-to-day basis include:
dimming lights
limiting noise or using noise-canceling headphones
building in solitary downtime
spending time in nature
having layers to adjust for temperature
using aromatherapy or candles
time with pets
Some HSPs also benefit from restructuring their work or home schedules around their natural energy rhythms, and building in rest throughout the day rather than just when they’re already exhausted.
Some other ways HSPs might recover from burnout are building in buffer time between activities, and giving themselves permission to say no to social obligations without over-explaining themselves. Needing time to recover is not a personal failing, and just because your needs are different from someone else’s doesn’t mean they matter less.
Getting Ahead of Burnout With Therapy
Therapy can help HSPs learn to recognize their own early warning signs before they escalate, since many have spent years ignoring or explaining away their own signals. A therapist can also help clients reframe their sensitivity as a trait to design their life around, rather than a flaw they need to fix - which reduces the shame that often keeps HSPs pushing past their limits and leading to burnout.
Therapy can also offer HSPs a place to practice skills they can implement in their lives, including setting boundaries and practicing distress tolerance around the possibility of disappointing others. Therapists can also help HSPs identify specific accommodations they might find useful, such as utilizing noise-cancelling headphones, ear plugs, or an eye mask to use during moments of overstimulation. Identifying your own specific needs can also lead to deeper understanding of yourself and increased ability to practice self-compassion.
Your needs matter!
Warmly,
Lauren Ash, AMFT #140948
she/her
Supervised by Ivy Griffin, LMFT #51714