8 Self-Care Tips for INFJs Who Feel Overwhelmed

posted on : October 4, 2018 posted by : Naomi 0 Comment

Have you ever found yourself experiencing burn-out? I’m a mother, wife, therapist, an INFJ, and a straight-up perfectionist through and through. Each week I attempt to do all of the things, all the time, all at once. By the end of the week — sometimes even by the end of the day — my energy is completely drained and as a result, I don’t show up as my best self.

Recently, I’ve been practicing mindfulness and being aware of my energy levels and emotions throughout the day. I’m also practicing the act of doing things with intention so that I can better create the atmosphere and energy that I want to be present in.

Here are 8 self-care tips for INFJs that have helped me to reset when I’m faced with burn-out or feeling overwhelmed.

Self-Care Tips for INFJs

1. Engage Your Senses

There are several ways to engage your senses with feeling overwhelmed:

- Practice aromatherapy: Try lighting candles, using a diffuser, or taking a hike in nature (YES — taking in mother nature is therapeutic in itself). Since Extraverted Sensing (Se) is in the inferior position in the INFJ function stack, it’s important to engage with it in a relaxing and playful way.
- Take a warm shower or bath: Water is healing and downright relaxing!
- Listen to music: Allow yourself to feel ALL of the emotions circulating beneath the iceberg. Put your feelings into words, sit back, relax, and listen.
- Opt outside: Go for a walk, swim in the ocean, or sit on a beach. Create your calm.

2. Laugh

Incorporate some comedy into your life. Whether it’s watching a funny movie, TV show, or YouTube video, laughing can make your day feel less heavy — at least for a moment. Revel in your laughter. Center yourself around funny people if you need to. My husband is an ENFP and is constantly making me laugh (what a bonus)!

3. Clean Your Space

To suggest cleaning may sound counter-intuitive to the INFJ (since it deals with the mundane, small, but quite necessary details of daily life). However, clear outer space makes room for clearer inner space and clarity.

4. Create a Calm Environment

As a highly sensitive person (HSP), sometimes I need to turn everything down a notch in terms of the sensory information that I’m receiving. Turn down some lights, sit in a cool room, or open some windows and let the fresh air or natural light in. Practice the pause. Spend a moment listening to the wind rustling the leaves on the trees.

5. Watch Mindless TV Shows

Mindless television is my mental escape from listening to the constant questions, conversations, and dialogue that goes on in my brain, 24/7. I’m a sucker for reality TV, but there are other genres of shows and movies that you can watch without having to use too much “mental power.”

6. Experience Quiet Mornings

Spend some time alone in the morning. In today’s world, we barely have time to get a full 8 hours of sleep, let alone have any time to ourselves. However, I promise that it’s possible to build in time for yourself — even if it’s just 15 minutes. Give yourself time to get into your flow-state, read (this time is when I get lost in reading the introvert, INFJ and MBTI blogs I follow). I also use my quiet mornings to meditate.

7. Do Frequent Energy Check-Ins

Monitor how you feel and how your body is physically reacting to things. Often times, INFJs aren’t even aware of how overwhelmed we are until the hot water is boiling outside the pot.

8. Learn to Say ‘No’

Prioritizing what is most vital to you, taking care of those things, and building in time for self-care is so therapeutic. INFJs take on so much for everyone else and by the time we’re ready to take care of ourselves we feel deflated. Remember, you can’t show up as your best self or help anyone if you aren’t left with any energy to care for you!

I hope that you found these self-care tips for INFJs useful and that you can keep them in your tool bag. What do you do to reset and/or practice better self-care? How do you stay motivated to do so? Share your tips in the comments!

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About The Author

Naomi

I am an INFJ mother, wife, writer, speech-language pathologist, and a highly-sensitive person (HSP). I have a love for learning about MBTI, mindfulness, and overall wellness. I found out that I was an INFJ a few years ago and it has completely changed up my world. My mission is to provide high-quality resources and a safe space to connect with fellow INFJs, introverts, and anyone else who is interested (extroverts, sensors, and thinkers included!). I talk about content revolving around topics such as mindfulness, MBTI, and experiences, tips, and tidbits from my own personal healing journey, my personal experience of being an INFJ, an introvert, and a highly-sensitive person (HSP).

More than anything, I would like to be a reminder to at least one person that there are other people just like you out here in the world, who can relate and share in the experiences and the feelings you have as an INFJ. We have a need to feel understood and have a sense of community around you to support you. I am a part of your INFJ community and I am here to affirm you, your experiences, and your journey.