Helpful Routines for HSPs

Have you ever felt deeply affected by sounds, smells, or bright lights, or found yourself overwhelmed by a busy day filled with social interactions? You might be a Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP. Highly Sensitive People make up around 15-20% of the population and possess a heightened sensitivity to their environment due to a finely-tuned nervous system.

More About Being a Highly Sensitive Person?

An HSP is someone who processes sensory information more deeply than others. This trait, known in the more traditional Western Psychology world as Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), can manifest in various ways, such as heightened awareness of subtleties in the environment, strong emotional responses, and a greater need for downtime. HSPs often feel things more intensely, which can be a gift, but it can also lead to feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated.

If you’re unsure or you really enjoy taking these kinds of quizzes, you can take the official HSP quiz from the woman who developed the term here.

The Importance of Daily Routines for HSPs

For HSPs, maintaining balance and harmony in daily life is crucial. Due to their heightened sensitivity, they are more susceptible to stress, burnout, and emotional exhaustion. This is where daily routines come into play. Establishing consistent routines provides a sense of stability and predictability, which helps HSPs feel grounded and in control.

Daily routines can include activities that promote calm and reduce sensory overload, such as regular meditation, quiet time, or engaging in creative outlets. Setting aside specific times for work, relaxation, and self-care ensures that HSPs have the space they need to recharge and avoid feeling overwhelmed. 

By crafting routines that honor their unique needs, HSPs can navigate the world with greater ease and maintain the delicate balance between sensitivity and well-being.

Creating a Harmonious Routine for Highly Sensitive People

⚖️ Balance Work with Rest: Make sure your routine includes moments for both productivity and relaxation. Allow time for focused work, but also for rejuvenating activities that bring joy and peace.  🤓🧘‍♀️

💜 Mindful Connections: Dedicate time each day to connect deeply with loved ones, friends, or even your own inner self. This could be through a heartfelt conversation, a thoughtful note, or simply some quiet time in meditation. 💙💖

🌸 Beautify Your Space: Consider enhancing your environment in ways that feel calming and inspiring—fresh flowers, soothing scents, or art that uplifts you.

✍️ Daily Balance Check: At the end of each day, take a moment to reflect. What felt balanced today? Where did you feel off-kilter? This simple practice can help you make small, mindful adjustments to keep yourself centered.

HSPs and the Zodiac

Since I like to incorporate Astrology into a lot of my work, I looked up which Zodiac signs were most likely to be HSPs, and the answers I found a lot were:

♓︎ Pisces

♋︎ Cancer

♍︎ Virgo

♏︎ Scorpio

And it makes sense. Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio are all our water signs who tend to be naturally empathic, intuitive, psychic, and therefore are definitely more likely to be Highly Sensitive as well.

Virgos are earth element, but also extremely perceptive and detail-oriented, so again, that could lend to being an HSP as well.

But, I would add our three other dual sign as well—Gemini ♊️, Sagittarius ♐️, and especially Libra ♎️ who are extremely receptive to intuitive information regarding other’s emotions, and are naturally drawn to a need for balance and harmony. Geminis—as mutable air—are not only likely to draw in and sense all that is around them, the mutable quality to that air element means they will mirror it back to others around them and be more attune to other mirroring traits, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to them. This is a quality shared with Sagittarius, the mutable fire sign of the wheel. The difference with these three signs is that fire and air are elements that will pick up and often let go of other elements with ease. While our watery signs pick it up and take it with them, and same with that Virgo earth—takes it in and keeps it there.

So while the first four signs mentioned might be more likely to be HSPs, I would say that while the last three signs are less likely, when they are HSPs, they are likely to be very HSP.

And that’s not to say that other signs won’t be HSPs either. Overall, though, like empaths, like intuitives, we all share in the experience while also having a unique perspective based on our own path.

Tracy’s Total Wellness is a Brave Space for HSPs to Connect

Check out my Journeys page for more about my programs where we as Empaths, Intuitives, and Highly Sensitive People can connect and support each other.