Practice mindfulness to control anxiety and symptoms. It's what a recent study by Japanese researchers suggests. The study reported that, if a person was highly sensitive, mindfulness decreased their chronic anxiety. An older study in the Netherlands reported that 47 highly sensitive person(s) who followed an 8 -week mindfulness program suffered less from stress and appeared to have less social anxiety.
Mindfulness is non-reactive awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and in being non-judgemental when interpreting sensations. It is available to us in every moment, whether through meditations and body scans, or mindful moment practices like taking time to pause and breathe when the phone rings instead of rushing to answer it.
In standard mindfulness-based training, such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR ) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Segal, Williams, & Teasdale, 2002), people intentionally pay attention to a part of their body without reacting to or judging the sensation in that body part. This includes sensations from inside the body such as heart beat, chest pressure, or tight or tense muscles. Being aware of bodily sensations is a big part of being able to regulate your emotions (Khalsa & Lapidus, 2016).
HOWEVER, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, research by Baker & Moulding (2012) reports that being aware of bodily sensations is only helpful if you are also able to accept the sensations. As HSPs, I wonder whether, in our desire to try and make sense of an event and our bodily reaction to it, we sometimes jump to negative conclusions? If our heart is pounding, we interpret it as danger, since a pounding heart and adrenaline flowing through our body is what signals danger to all animals. We forget that our biological system is more sensitive and reactive to any sign of possible danger. So, in our case, we think there is danger based on our physical reactions, but there is really no danger.
There are a number of fairly new therapies which help people accept their emotions , such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Both have been written about in the academic journals, However, I haven't seen any academic studies, that is, studies done at universities and evaluated by other scientists (also called peer-reviewed studies) that investigate the effectiveness of these therapies for high sensitivity. However, because these therapies help with emotion regulation, I believe that they could be useful in helping HSPs regulate their emotions.
One of the most important factors in being able to apply any therapeutic technique, is the fit between you and your coach, counsellor or therapist. If the person understands you and your trait, and you feel comfortable with them, it is more likely that you will improve.
I offer a program called Technique for the Reduction of the Intensity of Emotion (TRIE ©), a simple but not easy technique which combines being mindful about your bodily sensations with acceptance of the emotions you are experiencing now, along with the commitment to change the way you interpret ambiguous situations in the future.
For example, telling yourself “Feelings are not facts.” can be a quick way to acknowledge your bodily sensations and feelings while reminding yourself that your negative interpretation of an ambiguous situation may not be correct.
If you would like to find out more about how to stay in-the-moment and to accept your feelings and sensations, while trying to change behaviour/behavior that gets in your way, contact me for a complimentary consultation. Together, we will work towards making you feel better. www.highlysensitivesociety.com/contact