5 Benefits of Creative Living for Highly Sensitive People by Nicola Newman

Guest article by Nicola Newman

Do you ever feel like your emotions are just too much? That you can't handle them all and you need an escape? If so, you're not alone. Highly sensitive people often have a lot of intense emotions that need to be processed. For some of us, creative living is a perfect way to do that. It gives us time and space to tune inward and listen to what we're feeling, practice using self-compassion and develop loving relationships with ourselves.

Here are five benefits of creative living for HSPs

#1. Creative living is about listening to ourselves.

By carving out time to pick up a paintbrush, write from our heart, or take photos that capture our attention, creative expression is a great way to shift our perspective from focusing on pleasing other people and instead helps us to reconnect with ourselves.

We can tune into our wants, desires, dreams, preferences and what lights us up when we are being creative. It can be easy to forget those things when we're constantly trying to please others or live up to their expectations. But when we take the time to express ourselves creatively, we remember what's important to us. We get in touch with our inner voice and start living more authentically.

#2. Creative expression gives us time for processing

As highly sensitive people, we take in a lot of information. When we express our creativity, we give ourselves time to process all that stimulation and information. It's like an active form of meditation.

When we're feeling overwhelmed by our emotions, it can be helpful to take some time out and process them in a creative way. Journaling, painting, or even just spending some time in nature can help us make sense of our feelings and figure out how to deal with them. We can use these moments as an opportunity to practice mindfulness and self-compassion.

#3. Self-compassion helps us dissolve creative shame

Many of us have a lot of shame around our creativity. We feel like we're not good enough or don't deserve to express ourselves. But the truth is, everyone has a creative side. It's part of what makes us human. And there's no reason to be ashamed of our skills (or perceived lack thereof!). When we can start to view ourselves and our creativity with compassion, we can begin to let go of that shame. We can start seeing our creativity as a beautiful gift, even if it doesn't always match our expectations.

The first step in developing self-compassion is to recognise the feeling when it starts to pop up (you may think of it as your inner critic getting louder and louder) and then bring your awareness to something in your present environment. 

You can use your five senses to come into the present moment. For example, you may notice the feeling of the brush as you glide it across the canvas, the smell of your coffee before you take a sip, or seeing what colours emerge when you mix a dab more blue paint into the pink. Doing these actions mindfully, really tuning in to what is happening in this present moment, can help you calm your nervous system and thereby shift feelings of creative shame.

Then, use calming and reaffirming self-talk to reaffirm that what you feel is normal. Something like "It's OK to feel creative shame. I'm feeling it because I care about my work" or "I am allowed to make mistakes. My creativity is not defined by perfection". You may also want to bring in a physical self-compassion practice, such as placing your hand on your heart or giving yourself a hug.

#4. A healthy way to process deep emotions

If you're an HSP, you may find that you have a lot of deep emotions that need to be processed. And that's OK! It's a good thing. When we can process our emotions in a healthy way, it helps us release them and move on. Creative living gives us the time and space to do that.

You may take a mindful walk and pay attention to the sunset. You may like to sit on a rock and do a simple watercolour sketch of something beautiful you see in your sketchbook. Or you could open your journal and allow everything to spill onto the page without censoring yourself or holding yourself back.

The important thing is that you're taking the time to process your emotions in a way that feels good for you. And when you do, you'll likely find that they start to dissipate and no longer have such a hold over you.

#5. Develop a loving relationship with yourself

You can invite your inner child to come on a play date with you when it comes to expressing your creativity. Often our inner child just wants us to play, be present, nurture their curiosity and try new things. Creative expression fosters all of these things. It can be a way to connect with our inner child and develop a loving relationship with ourselves.

It may feel silly at first, but try talking to your inner child and asking them what they would like to do today. Then, follow through with it! Whether it's building a fort out of blankets, finger painting or dancing in your living room, give yourself permission to play.

And remember, the goal is not to produce something perfect or try to be someone you're not. The goal is simply to enjoy the process and connect with yourself in a loving way.

I hope you found these tips helpful! If you have any other self-compassion practices that help you express your creativity, I'd love to hear about them in the comments below. And remember, be gentle with yourself. Focus on the process and the present moment, not the destination. 

If you're interested in learning more about self-compassion, I recommend Julie's post where she has a video taking you through the entire self-compassion process. And if you'd like to find a supportive community where being highly sensitive is normalized, validated, and even celebrated, I highly recommend the Sensitive Empowerment Community. I've been a member for months now, and I love the inspiring posts, articles, heartfelt sharing, and connections that unfold there. It truly is a special place to be a Highly Sensitive Person.

Be kind to yourself and nurture your creativity!

With my warmest wishes,

Nicola xx

Join Nicola for free painting classes for HSPs within our Sensitive Empowerment Community!

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Nicola Newman is a creative mentor and business coach, award-winning artist, founder of the Creative Hearts Community and the year-long creativity school Flourish: The Art of Creative Living.

Nicola’s passion is inspiring and supporting Creative Hearts to build loving relationships with themselves, nurture their creativity and trust their inner wisdom.

Her approach is to embrace gentleness, playfulness and self-care to navigate self-doubt and instead cultivate deep self-trust so you can truly enjoy the creative process, bring together your body of work, make money doing what you love and leave a creative legacy you’re proud of.

Nicola’s creative business coaching is tailored to support sensitive, heart-led creatives to develop, grow, and expand their offerings, follow their heart and find fulfillment in their work and life.

She offers multiple resources for Creative Hearts. You are invited to take her free Creative Archetype Quiz, get her free Art of Creative Living mini-course, sign up for her Inspiration Letters and nurture your creativity through her online courses, programs and in-person retreats at www.nicolanewman.com

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