What does it mean to be a highly sensitive teenager and how can you navigate life being a sensitive teen? This article will help you thrive as a highly sensitive teenager.
Your teenage years can be a difficult period. It is a time where you lose yourself and find yourself over and over again. Being a highly sensitive person means you feel things differently than everyone.
Highly sensitive people are more empathetic, in tune with their environment, and detail-oriented. This is their superpower. However, highly sensitive people overthink, are over stimulated, and get anxious.
As a teenager, life can be difficult when you have to deal with all those emotions. This is why these tips are necessary for every highly sensitive teenager out there.
Here are six (6) helpful ways to navigate life as a highly sensitive teenager.
Navigating Life as a Highly Sensitive Teenager
1. Understand What It Means to be a HSP
Most people do not understand what it means to be a highly sensitive person. Some see it as a weakness while others don’t understand it enough to make sense of it. To society, being a HSP means you are too sensitive.
Being highly sensitive comes with an added sensitivity. However, there are so many advantages of being one. For starters, highly sensitive people process information faster than the average person.
They are deep and critical thinkers and their empathetic nature makes them great at judging people. They are great lovers who cherish the relationships in their lives.
It is usually important for HSPs to understand themselves as this helps them become more confident. This is very important especially with teenagers who are still finding themselves.
It is without question that society might highlight all the negative traits of a HSP. However, they have a lot of positive traits.
2. Understand Your Other Personality Types
The thing about being a HSP is that you can be either introverted, extroverted or ambiverted. Being a HSP isn’t exclusive to one personality type, although it is greatly associated with introversion.
This is no surprise as introverts are also another set of individuals who are greatly misunderstood by society. A lot of HSPs tend to be introverted because of the overstimulation they get from the outside world.
This is how it works: a HSP isn’t only stimulated by the people around them but by their environments as well. Unlike the average person who just sees light and sound, the HSP feels these things.
Sharp/loud sounds and lights disrupts a HSP’s peace and they ultimately go into fight or flight mode. One reason you need to understand your personality type as a teenager is that it can help you easily navigate through life.
3. Do Not Ignore Recharge Time
Although recharge time is usually a term associated with introverts, highly sensitive people require it as well. Due to the overstimulation from being a teenager and a highly sensitive person, it can leave you mentally and physically fatigued.
It is important to take time off and be alone regardless of your personality type. You can do the things you enjoy without necessarily being interrupted by other peoples emotions.
Being an introvert means you’re more functional when you’re alone. However, as a highly sensitive person, you require alone time in order to get to your peak functionality.
Constantly overthinking, feeling other peoples emotions and being overstimulated is not good for a highly sensitive person, especially a teen. It can affect their moods.
4. Practice Wellness and Mindfulness
The best ways to go about this is through meditation, journaling, exercising, and sleep. It is important to take care of your physical and mental well-being in other to thrive as a highly sensitive teenager.
Meditation helps you stay in tune with your environment amongst others. You can choose forms of meditation such as yoga in order to get there. This is very important for the mind.
Exercising helps your physical and mental health as well. Eating healthy, sleeping, and resting well are also necessary. It helps calm the overstimulation of your mind.
5. Talk To Those Around You
If you are a teenager reading this, it is important to talk to your family and friends about what you experience and show them articles they can read in order to understand you better.
As a parent reading this, understand that your child is still a teenager. Teenagers require a sense of control and freedom in order to thrive and all they truly need is your guidance.
The teen phase is where a lot of parents and their kids tend to have a lot of disagreements. However, this does anything but solve the problem. Communication and comprehension can help prevent the fighting and fussing.
6. Seek A Therapist
If it gets to a point where you don’t understand what’s going on, seek the help of a therapist. There are so many out there that can help guide you.
If you are more introverted and would prefer staying indoors, you can get effective online counseling from platforms such as BetterHelp.com. Sometimes, what we truly need is to hear ourselves speak.
Being A Highly Sensitive Teenager
Life as a highly sensitive teenager can be hard. However, it gets easier with time. Finding your way around it is all that matters with acceptance being the very first step.
Online therapy can be what you need or you could opt for physical therapy. If you’re a parent reading this, it is important to be supportive of your child and let them feel free to talk to you.
As a highly sensitive teenager, it is crucial to understand yourself instead of shying away from it because that is the recipe for disaster.
