Are you a highly sensitive college student looking for tips to cultivate more happiness? In this article, guest writer Rebekah Gamble from The Blissful Wallet shares 8 practical tips.
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Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Going to college is a daunting task for a new high school graduate or busy adult.
With the high demands of professors, bosses, and families, it is no wonder that you stumbled upon an article that will explain the 8 habits highly sensitive college students need to cultivate happiness.
Happiness is circumstantial. When things are going well we may feel happy and joyful but when things aren’t, chances are we won’t shout to the roofs how great the day was.
As an empath, entering into college means we have to pay closer attention to our body’s desires.
It’s too easy to become a full-time college student and forget about sleep, eating, showering daily, and socializing.
Even as a part-time college student, when midterms kick in, you might place your happiness on the back burner for the sake of a good grade.
And this is why it’s supercritical that you learn what habits highly sensitive college students need to cultivate happiness.
Here’s What You’ll Learn
The Best Habits To Cultivate Happiness As A Highly Sensitive College Student
When I first began college the first thing that I realized was that the habits I once had were no longer working. Overworked and sad is how I would describe myself the first few semesters of college.
Being in a room full of strangers puts you on high alert and as a highly sensitive person, it’s powerful to recognize unhealthy habits. Once you recognize the unhealthy behaviors you can cultivate happiness by adapting more useful habits.
Below you can find a working guide for replenishing your energy and becoming your best self.
#1 Prioritize Sleep
In order to cultivate happiness, you have to be rested.
Social media has this toxic environment, where hustle hard culture suggests that you are to work non-stop for hours at a time and only sleep when you are successful.
And as a result the first thing that is eliminated when workload increases, is sleep.
When you stop sleeping your memory starts to weaken, you become irritable, and productivity decreases.
This is the opposite of cultivating happiness because it leads to a decline in mental health. As a highly sensitive college student, it is in your best interest to put the computer away when you’re tired and aim for at least 7 hours of sleep at night.
Anything less than 7 hours will leave you feeling groggy.
#2 Express Gratitude In The Morning
The first thing I’ve done every single morning for months is express how grateful I am to be alive, to have a bed underneath me, and to have the opportunity to try again.
The act of cultivating happiness through gratitude will improve your mindset and build resilience against the obstacles in life.
Unexpected events will happen.
And the more you can bounce back the more happiness you will enjoy in the long term.
As a highly sensitive college student, you will encounter bad days and feel drained. When you successfully find room to be grateful this will lessen your spiritual burden.
If you find it hard to experience gratitude, try this wonderful gratitude meditation:
#3 Become More Mindful
Mindful activities for highly sensitive college students include journaling, warm baths, going for walks, and being compassionate to ourselves.
When you’re mindful and cultivating happiness, you can sit and gently remind yourself of things that make you happy or you can do your daily activities in a more conscious way.
The next time you wake up, after expressing gratitude, pay attention to your body.
How your bones might feel stiff as you get out of bed and how good a stretch feels to your entire body. The cold of the floor under your feet or your body weight pressing against your slippers.
All of it is a mindful act.
Each moment can increase your self-awareness as an empath and make you happier in college.
#4 Be Realistic With Your Thinking
Being realistic doesn’t mean you can’t dream big.
Dreaming big and believing you can help others and be there for them is what makes being a highly sensitive person in college worth it.
When we suggest being realistic it’s to say that as an empath we tend to want to save the world.
To survive in life without our energy being depleted, we have to remember that when we show up every single day we can help some people but we can not save the world.
Dream big, reach for the stars and continue to cultivate happiness through your everyday habits.
#5 Focus On Your Health
When it comes to being in your 20’s and 30’s most people will spend time researching what are the best money moves for your twenties, what I wish I knew sooner, or amongst others, what are habits I need to start today?
But the truth is that many ailments we can encounter in our old age are due to habits we implemented when we were younger.
As a highly sensitive college student remember to eat, stay hydrated, work out when you can, and fill your circle with positive energy.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical self and your future empathetic self will be grateful.
#6 Connect With Others
Build your social circle and begin to understand that it is okay to outgrow old relationships.
Continue to connect with other highly sensitive college students while in college and let your energy go toward people of value.
People who do not judge you for being an empath and needing time to rejuvenate.
You’d be surprised how common it is to have a small reliable social circle even if you attend a large college.
Trusting others to help you release the weight of the day is a definite way to cultivate happiness.
#7 Build Your Skills
Increase your resume skills, social skills, and physical skills.
Often we fall victim to comparison and FOMO (fear of missing out) and forget just how awesome we are as highly sensitive people.
Continue to find internships, work opportunities, classes you can take outside of your degree, and put yourself out there.
This comes in handy when you are tweaking your resume, looking for a job, or in need of a gentle reminder of why you are exactly where you are supposed to be.
Cultivating happiness looks like understanding that as an empath we have different needs.
We must extend the same kindness and effort toward being joyful to ourselves as we have to others.
#8 Use Free Resources
My college offers free therapy to all enrolled students, a gym that has an Olympic-sized pool, a food pantry, and amongst others a career exploration center.
Take advantage of the free resources offered by your own college, especially counseling.
As a highly sensitive college student, an unbiased perspective is refreshing. Together, you can express and begin to differentiate between your own feelings and someone else’s.
Your college can also help you to learn of affordable alternatives for when you graduate. Any day I find more ways to save money is a good day to cultivate happiness!
Some Final Remarks
You can use the tips above as a working guide for cultivating happiness as a highly sensitive person in college.
Find out what works for you, what doesn’t, and unapologetically live your life for you.
We give freely to others and now we have to learn how to refill our own cups one daily habit at a time.
Drop a comment below and let us know which habit you look forward to trying!
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