How Highly Sensitive Creatives Can Cope with Stressful Times

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated, and experiencing big feelings because of the hard times we live in, today’s video is for you.

Being highly sensitive is not just about feeling emotions deeply—it’s an entire way of processing the world. Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) tend to be more attuned to sensory information and emotions, making us more perceptive of subtle nuances in our surroundings and in others. For many of us creatives, this sensitivity is a double-edged sword. It’s what allows us to create deeply resonant art, but it also leaves us vulnerable to overstimulation and stress, especially during difficult times.

Hi my name is Carrie. Here on Artist Strong, I help self-taught artists with home studios who feel stuck with their art move from wondering what’s next to confidently expressing themselves through unique, original art. To date, thousands have joined the community.

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When stressful situations arise, the highly sensitive among us tend to feel the impact more intensely. While this heightened sensitivity brings empathy, it also means that stress can disrupt our well-being, productivity, and creativity.

Today we are going to discuss typical responses of people who identify as highly sensitive and strategies to help us use our creative strengths to our advantage during hard times.

Traits of Highly Sensitive People and Typical Responses

Some key traits of HSPs include heightened empathy, a deep appreciation for beauty, a tendency to get overstimulated, and often an aversion to conflict. During periods of stress, each of these traits can manifest in ways that challenge our ability to cope. For instance, HSPs may:

1. Easily Become Overstimulated – We take in more sensory information than others, and during high-stress moments, this overload can be even more pronounced.
2. Feel Emotions Deeply – Big feelings are a part of our daily lives, and when facing collective or personal stress, these feelings may feel almost unmanageable.
3. Need Time to Recharge – Processing and recuperating from stress can take longer because of how deeply we internalize experiences.
4. Seek Meaning and Connection – We’re wired to find purpose in life, and finding meaningful connections becomes crucial in challenging times.

Let’s explore some steps to manage these traits and find comfort even when hard times have us in fight or flight.

Step One: Control the Stimuli Coming In

One of the best ways to mitigate overstimulation is by managing what we allow into our environments. Controlling sensory input gives us a chance to focus and find calm. For some, it may mean setting boundaries with family or limiting news exposure; for others, it might look like reducing time on social media or avoiding large gatherings.

For me, this has meant actively blocking my social media and news needs and during this specific hard time for me, this won’t be just for a day, but through the weekend. Maybe longer.

Other strategies I’ve used include: wearing ear plugs, going for a walk, sitting outside, and baking. These situations are controlled and allow me to limit the stimuli bombarding me.

👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 I’m curious, how much do you adjust the stimuli in your life when you feel overstimulated? Tell me what you will try next time you need to adjust your environment in the comments below.

Taking charge of stimuli can involve intentional choices about where to work, how much to interact with others, and what kind of content we consume. Limiting these inputs helps us preserve energy for processing our emotions and creating with focus.

Step Two: Make Space for Big Emotions

As highly sensitive individuals, we tend to experience emotions intensely, and during stressful times, these feelings may build up faster than usual. This isn’t a flaw; it’s a key part of how we experience and interpret the world. However, without a space to process these emotions, they can quickly overwhelm us.

Creating a safe environment—whether physical or emotional—to express ourselves can be incredibly healing. This might mean journaling, seeking out a quiet space, or even talking to a close friend who understands.

This week I received a message from a friend who knew I would be upset. Her acknowledgement of my feelings meant the world to me. I also spent time messaging with another friend who knows how to make space for my feelings and validates me. I reach out to the people I know I can trust with my big feelings AND do my best to clearly communicate my needs so it’s easier for them to support me.

Journaling is another super important place for me to process my feelings. I’ve journaled since I was in first grade and it’s been a place to write out and acknowledge my feelings and thoughts without judgment.

In allowing ourselves to feel deeply and authentically, we affirm that our emotions are valid and natural, reducing the tension we might feel from trying to hold them in.

Step Three: Seek Community and Connection

One of the best ways to handle intense emotions is to share them with others who understand. Finding a supportive community can be a lifeline, offering a space where we feel understood without having to explain ourselves. These can be groups of like-minded creatives, empathetic friends, or even online communities that share similar values.

For HSPs, it’s easy to isolate, especially when overstimulation feels overwhelming. Yet, even introverts and HSPs benefit from community; feeling seen by others can alleviate the feeling of “too muchness” that isolation sometimes exacerbates.

This past week I attended an online meeting with SURJ, a social justice organization. Attending that meeting made me feel much less alone, as well as equipped me with ideas to help me feel agency moving forward. Over 5000 people came together, listened to artists share their music, speakers and more. 

And both online and in person opportunities for connection are important.

Since moving to Texas I’ve experienced a slew of rejections for my art. Arranging to meet up, in person, with some local artists once a month has helped me maintain perspective on my applications, my goals for my art, as well as all the good things I am managing to do. I wouldn’t have those conversations (or realizations) without our monthly meetup.

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Step Four: Create Art Without Pressure

Art is one of the most powerful ways highly sensitive creatives can process emotions, especially during tough times. The act of creating can shift us away from analyzing or internalizing stress and instead bring us into a state of flow. When we create, we are essentially giving ourselves permission to express freely and authentically.

However, during stressful times, it’s essential not to put pressure on ourselves to produce something “perfect” or to master a new skill. This is a time for playful, familiar creativity. Stick to materials and styles that feel comforting. For instance, if you love working with colored pencils, don’t feel like you have to switch to oils just because they’re challenging. Create for joy, not for perfection.

For me this can look like coloring with my daughter, or working on a commission where the composition was already planned out, allowing me to focus solely on the creative process. Embroidery is one medium for me I can always find comfort in because a lot of it is about execution once you have a design.

Step Five: Give Yourself Time to Recharge

Highly sensitive people often need more time to recover from stress, and this is something to embrace rather than resist. Pushing yourself to keep up with typical timelines and productivity levels can lead to burnout. Instead, give yourself the grace to heal at your own pace.

Our culture wants everything done and dusted, like yesterday. And we can treat stress, grief and anger much in the same way. But healing takes time.

Recharging looks different for everyone, so it’s essential to recognize what helps you personally. Maybe it’s taking a walk, reading a comforting book, or sitting quietly in nature. Allowing yourself time to rest without guilt helps you return to your creative practice when you’re truly ready.

Without fail, when I try to push through with a website problem or a tech issue for my students, everything goes wrong. But if I go for a walk, or even sleep on it, usually the next day I return with fresh eyes and an easy solution.

We don’t have to push through and make everything hard. In fact, sometimes, we do this and overlook the skills we have as artists (I have a video about that here and linked below).

While I don’t encourage you to take on big new art projects when you’re super stressed, I do think a little bit of low pressure art most days will help you return to your work when you’re ready. 

If you’re friend was experiencing the stress and distress you’re feeling, how would you comfort them? What would you do or say?

Don’t you also deserve the same kind of grace?

Recap: Tips for Highly Sensitive Creatives During Stressful Times

To summarize, here are some coping mechanisms for highly sensitive creatives navigating high-stress periods:

1. Control the Stimuli – Limit what you expose yourself to; create a soothing environment.
2. Allow Space for Emotions – Embrace your feelings without judgment.
3. Find Supportive Communities – Seek out people who understand and can offer empathy.
4. Engage in Familiar, Fun Art-Making – Use art as a release, not as a new challenge.
5. Prioritize Rest and Recharge – Honor the time you need to process and rejuvenate.

As you go through these steps, remember that your sensitivity is a strength. It’s part of what makes your work so impactful and heartfelt. By honoring this aspect of yourself, you’re not only improving your well-being—you’re also nurturing the very source of your creativity.

In my 20s, I found out some pretty bad headaches were actually a cyst pushing on my optic nerve. It required a high risk brain surgery to fix the problem. I had two weeks from my diagnosis to my surgery. I limited my stimuli by hanging out in my sister’s basement, and I painted without pressure.

That artwork was literally without a plan. I created the compositions as I went along. And that very work also went on to win me a money prize and go on a two year gallery tour of the US. I would have never made that art without that high stress moment. It is a physical product of me coping with life. It also helped me see my art with a fresh perspective.

Art offers us a profound way to create meaning, especially when faced with difficult emotions. The very act of making is transformative—through it, we can transmute feelings of fear, sadness, or frustration into something tangible. Remember, too, that art changes lives, including our own. 

It is a way to reflect the world back to ourselves and to others, allowing us to share our unique perspectives and insights. Creating art in response to challenging times is, in itself, an act of resilience and quiet rebellion. 

When words fall short, let your art be the vessel through which you process and interpret these moments. If you need a way to make sense of what you’re experiencing, trust that making art is enough. It is both a release and a source of meaning.

I have several articles about acts of quiet activism I’ll be sure to link either here or in the description below.

As always, thank you for watching. If you enjoyed today’s video please like and subscribe to Artist Strong so you never miss an episode. I am so thankful for your presence and contribution.

Remember: proudly call yourself an artist.

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