Tips for managing overarousal over the festive season.
Updated: Jun 2, 2023
If you are a Highly Sensitive Person, you will understand why the festive season can lead to overarousal in our sensitive nervous systems. Large crowds in shopping centres and supermarkets, too much noise or having too many visitors can lead to overwhelm. As well as the sensory sensitivities that they experience, many HSPs feel different to their family and often feel like they don't fit in or belong. So Christmas can also be a very stressful time for them on an inner level. Especially if there is little awareness or understanding from their family about the HSP trait. So it's important that HSPs find ways to reduce overarousal. The 'ACE' method: Avoid, Control or Escape, is a simple, but effective strategy to use when you know you are going somewhere or doing something that will affect you adversely or overstimulate your nervous system. AVOID: If you can avoid doing things that you don't have to do - great! Listen to your body and your feeling responses - so if you are sitting there thinking 'I should do this' but 'I don't want to' and your body is giving you a strong emotional reaction not to do something, listen to it. 'Should's' or 'ought to's' are often a result of internalised conditioning or voices of other people's expectations. However, it's difficult to avoid some activities or certain people at Christmas - after all it is the season of good will! So, we must put strategies in place to CONTROL or ESCAPE from the overstimulation. Simple things like going out for a walk (for grounding our energy), having some personal space and putting energetic protection around ourselves will all help. (Visualise a white or golden light in your heart centre and see, sense or feel it expanding all the way around your body and into your auric field.
For those of you who know EFT - tapping on the overwhelm will help too, as will taking 'Rescue Remedy' or Elm (Bach Flower Essences).
I hope these little tips and strategies will help you to have a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas. Mel x
https://neuecasinoonline.com actually reminds me of the ACE method in a way, since both come down to recognizing overstimulation early enough to step back before it snowballs. The part about 'shoulds' being internalized expectations really hit home, because I've caught myself agreeing to events purely out of guilt rather than any real desire to be there. Having a quiet escape plan ready at home during the holidays has made family gatherings far less draining for me.
At https://paysafecardcasinozone.com, I’ve gotten better at noticing when I’ve hit my limit and need to step back, so the ACE method really speaks to me. The point about listening to “should” versus what your body is telling you is a reminder I need this time of year—I always feel obligated to join every gathering. A quick walk around the block before the meal sounds like a small but effective way to reset.