Worry has been around us more or less for quite some time now. The worry of catching covid, infect someone else or that a loved one will get really sick or worse. And that uncertainty of not knowing when the world will go back to “normal” again. I felt like I’ve started thinking less and less about covid lately. Felt more hopeful about a change for the better and that things will go back to the “new normal”. I even started dreaming again. Allowed myself to pull out those dreams that I put on hold during the covid-years. Dreaming about travelling and going on adventures. Seing new places, meeting new people and reconnecting with friends I haven’t seen in a long time. I was full of energy and inspiration and then BOOM! Putin. War. Like a punch in the face just as I’d started to let my guard down.
Like most of us, I was overloaded with information and horrible pictures wherever I went. I had all these emotions fighting to get up to the surface. I didn’t know which one to let out first. Worry, fear, uncertainty, anger, incomprehension, disappointment, sadness and an enormous feeling of powerlessness. I felt like I didn’t want to “spread” these feelings of worry to others around me (even though probably most people felt it too), so I tried to keep them to myself, because I want to be the one to spread joy, not fear and worry. It was possible for a little while, but I knew that I at some point will need that release.
One of the probably most important tools I’ve learned as a HSP is to process emotions, big and small, but especially when a lot of them really pile up all at once. Talk to someone you trust that won’t judge you or just write it down. Name the emotions, even the ones you’re ashamed of. All emotions are okay to feel. Say exactly what you feel and think without holding back. Let it all out. Cry if you need to. Scream or punch a pillow if that feels right. Just feel how you clear out all the heavy stuff you’re carrying and that feeling of relief afterwards.
After having let go of my heavy stuff I could think clearly again and I went deeper into the thought of what I can control and what I can do to contribute to the world. I had been planning for a while to host a webinar about being a highly sensitive person, but when the war in Ukraine started it just felt wrong promoting something like that. After some thinking, I decided to do it anyway and focusing on something like that instead of worrying turned out to be a really good idea.
I can’t do much about the war, but I can choose to contribute with a positive input to the world. I can smile and look people in the eye, I can laugh at my own expense and create a positive and friendly atmosphere and I can be there to listen without judging when someone needs to talk. Turns out that I also could contribute with increasing knowledge about being a higly sensitive person and make HSP’s feel better about themselves and in their relationships thanks to my webinar and that feels fantastic. It’s so easy to get stuck thinking that “nothing I do matters”. Of course it matters, even the smallest things matter. My webinar doesn’t matter regarding the war in Ukraine, but to a HSP feeling wrong, weak and not enough it may matter big time.
So when you’re feeling powerless and like life has no meaning, what can YOU do to take back your power and create more meaning into your life?
[The photo is taken at Moeraki Boulders in Otago, New Zealand, 2018]
P.S in case you're interested in my webinar about HSP I will be hosting another one on Saturday 9th of April at 11am. If you're interested email me on jennicalassila@gmail.com 🙂