“I’m an HSP, so both side hustles and being a company employee drain me. What should I do about money?” — An occupational therapist who has experienced depression, layoffs, and a pay-cut job change talks about how sensitive people can manage their relationship with money

*This article contains affiliate links such as Amazon Associates.🎧 This time, the topic is about real money, so I haven't created a YouTube video.

Prologue

Payday. Looking at the amount deposited into my bank account, for some reason, my heart feels heavy.

“It’s not that it’s not enough.” “But, will I be okay like this?” “I think I need a side hustle. But I’m already giving everything I have to my current job.”

——I think there are probably quite a few people who are HSP and feel this way.

I am an HSP and ISFJ in my 16th year as an occupational therapist, working at a special nursing home. So far, I have experienced a job change from a psychiatric hospital that resulted in a 500,000 yen pay cut, a layoff due to the closure of a rehabilitation department, a leave of absence due to depression, and now, I have been continuing side hustles on note, Kindle, and YouTube for two months.

My earnings from my side hustles are currentlyabout 1,000 yen.

I shared the honest numbers at the beginning. I will write the reason at the end.

Today, for HSPs who tend to be drained by money, I will honestly write about the “way of relating to money” that I have arrived at over 16 years, in a Q&A format.

Q1. Why do HSPs get drained by money? — 4 factors and the most deep-seated one

I have organized the reasons why HSPs get drained by money into 4 points from the perspective of being both an affected individual and an occupational therapist.

① Excessive simulation of future anxiety

When the HSP trait of “Depth of Processing” is combined with the uncertain topic of money, an infinite simulation begins in the brain. “What if I get sick?” “What if I lose my job?” — I imagine the future that hasn't happened yet in realistic detail.

From an OT perspective, this is a state where the cognitive energy that should be poured into “meaningful activities” in the present is constantly being stolen by defensive preparations for the future.

To be honest, this is the strongest one for me too. Even if I have a certain amount of savings, the anxiety of “I would feel safe if I could earn more” does not disappear.

② Resistance to competition and self-promotion to earn money

Earning money in a capitalist society is a task that requires comparison with others, competition, and self-aggrandizement. HSPs are conscientious and feel strong stress about pushing others down or exaggerating themselves.

Personally, I have absolutely no interest in promotion. The act of competing itself is exhausting. The mismatch between “individual values” and “social demands” drains HSPs.

③ Fatigue from comparing with others' annual income

Highly empathetic HSPs unconsciously receive hints about others' living standards and annual incomes from social media and daily conversations. Because their boundaries (psychological boundaries) are thin, they get caught up in the emotions of others' success or anxiety.

However, this doesn't really apply to me. There are environmental factors, such as having studied Adlerian psychology and being the only functional training instructor at the special nursing home, meaning there is no one within the workplace to compare myself to.

4. Guilt about the topic of money itself

Every time I have to bill or negotiate, I overthink and worry that I might make the other person feel uncomfortable. The simple task of "requesting fair compensation" is replaced by the heavy labor of "processing the other person's emotions."

This doesn't happen to me much either, but I think it applies to many sensitive people.

— So, which one is the most deep-seated?

To conclude, it is 1. Excessive simulation of future anxiety.

The reason is simple: 2, 3, and 4 arise from contact with the external environment, so they can be mitigated by keeping your distance. Not looking at social media, choosing a workplace with less competition, creating systems like automatic withdrawals that don't involve people—these can be handled through environmental adjustment (a basic OT approach).

But 1 is automatically generated from the deep processing characteristics of your own brain. Even when you are alone in a quiet room, or before you go to sleep at night, it constantly drains your energy. Furthermore, because this is the foundation, it acts as a detonator that triggers the other three in a chain reaction, leading to thoughts like "I'm anxious about the future, so I have to earn more" or "Compared to that person, I am..."

That is why the countermeasure is to **simplify "money-related tasks" to the limit and reduce the number of decisions you have to make**. I will write about this in detail in Q5 later.

Q2. A career change with a 500,000 yen salary cut — From a psychiatric hospital to a special nursing home

Seven years ago, at the age of 29, I moved from a psychiatric hospital to the special nursing home where I am now.

The reason was interpersonal relationships (I've written about the details in past articles, so I won't go into them here). At the time, I was completely worn out by human relationships. It wasn't the work itself, but the people that were draining me.

My annual income dropped by 500,000 yen.

The deciding factor was simple: the feeling that "if I stay like this, I will break." I thought I had to move while I still had some of myself left, rather than worrying about money.

When I consulted my wife, she said this to me:

"I just want you to work in a place where you can be yourself."

With those words, my decision was solidified.

— Now, seven years later, how do I evaluate this decision?

I can state with certainty that it was the right answer. Although my annual income dropped by 500,000 yen, I gained peace of mind, a workplace where I can continue for the next 16 years, and the margin to write on note and Kindle. Money decreased, but "I remained myself".

This was the biggest deal of my life.

Q3. The layoff experience — Closure of the rehabilitation department

In my 7th year as an OT, the rehabilitation department itself was closed, and everyone lost their jobs.

Since it was an organizational dissolution rather than an individual layoff, the mental blow was surprisingly small. In fact, I received a slightly larger severance package, so there was no financial loss.

It was shortly after I got married. I told my wife honestly and looked for the next opportunity. My next job was at a psychiatric hospital. Here, my annual income actuallyincreased by about 1 million yen.

In other words—

When I was 29, I joined a psychiatric hospital and my annual income went up by 1 million yen, and then at 36, I moved to a special nursing home and it went down by 500,000 yen. If you subtract it, it's a plus, but what I learned was that "annual income fluctuations and mental fulfillment are two different things".

I am clearly more fulfilled in my time at the special nursing home, where I took a 500,000 yen pay cut, than in my time at the psychiatric hospital, where I earned 1 million yen more.

There are things that get worn down more than money. There are things that accumulate more than money. It was these two job changes that taught me that through personal experience.

Q4. Experience with side hustles — Tried 4, kept 3

I have tried 4 side hustles so far.

note — Ongoing, over 60 posts with daily updates. Kindle Publishing — First book published, planning the second. YouTube — Continuing video distribution. Etsy — Handmade platform.Didn't suit me.

The reason I quit Etsy is clear: itwasn't fun. For an HSP, "continuing work that isn't fun" is more draining than you can imagine. Before even considering whether it's profitable or not, that time becomes painful.

Conversely, the reason note, Kindle, and YouTube have continued is because Ioriginally like writing and communicating.

Honestly, selling is no longer my primary goal. It feels like an extension of a hobby where I occasionally earn some revenue. I'm thinking about the second Kindle book soon, and I have other vague ideas as well.

I think the conflict between "posting to earn money" and "posting what you want to convey" is a path every HSP creator goes through. The answer I arrived at was the simple order of: **"Write what you want to convey. The money might follow later."**

Q5. How I have come to terms with financial anxiety

I will write down 5 concrete things I have done.

1. Thorough review of fixed costs

This is the first and most powerful step. Check communication costs, insurance, and subscriptions—everything. Once you systematize it, the number of decisions you make each month decreases, which reduces the burden on an HSP's brain.

2. Do not create debt

I bought two cars, both with cash in full. The psychological burden of loan repayments is too heavy for an HSP. I still have 35 years left on my home loan (I'm in my 6th year now), but I've accepted that this is a long-term battle.

3. The dual approach of savings + investment

In this day and age, bank savings alone will lose out to inflation. I use a combination of steady monthly installments and lump-sum investments.

4. Cultivating stock-type income sources

This was my direct motivation for starting Note, Kindle, and YouTube. It wasn't to make a lot of money right away, but rather to create a state where what my past self wrote quietly generates income 5 or 10 years from now.

5. Learning to be content from end-of-life care

While attending to the final moments of over 100 people at a special nursing home, I realized that I almost never heard anyone say, 'I would have been happy if I had that.' This lowers the ceiling of my anxiety.

However, I will be honest here. It is true that creating a stock-type income source was my initial motivation, but as I continued, my motivation changed. If reading about my experiences can make even one person's heart feel a little lighter—that is what I find most gratifying. That is why I still write most of my articles for free.

Q6. The relationship between 'money and happiness' as seen by a special nursing home OT

Having worked at a special nursing home for a long time, the residents before they pass away almost never talk about money.

There is the background that many have advanced dementia. But even setting that aside, people are not bound by money when they pass away.

At least, as far as I see those who pass away peacefully from old age, what they are holding onto at the end is not money, but memories of their family, the joy of having met someone, or stories about their favorite foods.

This has definitely lowered the 'ceiling' of my view on money.

Anxiety is limitless if you look up. But when you calculate backward from the goal of your life, the amount of money you 'truly' need might be less than you think.

The time I spend at the special nursing home is also my own personal occupational therapy for adjusting my sense of distance from money.

Q7. Honest advice for HSPs who find 'both side hustles and being a company employee draining'

Finally, I will write about the reality honestly.

1. If you are drained by being a company employee, you should stop your side hustle

Side hustles are tough. If someone who is already at their limit as a company employee tries to take one on, their work will consume even their days off, leaving no time for recovery. HSPs are a temperament that requires more 'space for recovery' than others. First, it is a priority to organize your main job's work style and environment.

2. If you choose Note, pick a genre with little competition

Honestly, there is a lot of competition for HSP-related articles. If you search, you'll see popular articles with "over 400 likes" lined up, and there's a high chance you'll feel down by comparison. Even though you are an HSP, fighting in the HSP genre is both your area of expertise and the place where you are most vulnerable.

I think it suits HSPs to steadily build trust by combining something you are good at with a genre that has less competition.

3. Beware of the trap of "how-to" content

I often see "how-to" articles about "achieving 0 to 1 from almost zero followers," but frankly, they have zero credibility to me. However, the structure where anxious HSPs end up buying those things and feeling down again is what I see, and that is what worries me the most.

4. Increase followers within a reasonable range

If you have an article with 0 followers and 0 likes, and an article with 1000 followers and 100 likes, which one would you read if the titles were the same? — It's overwhelmingly the latter, right? That's why you should be somewhat conscious of followers.

Specifically, I recommend connecting loosely by using users who write "Follow-back 100" on note as an entry point. You can do the same thing on external social media like Threads, but Threads has a fast flow of information and many notifications, making it an environment that easily drains HSPs. Within note, the context is shared among fellow "writers," so it's much easier to connect.

However, you shouldn't expect likes from people who do "Follow-back 100." People who do "Follow-back 100" already have many followers, and a huge amount of new posts flow in every day. They don't have the time to look.

Therefore, go and give likes yourself. This isn't fawning; it's courtesy. Some people will return the favor, and it's fine if they don't. Also, this is based on experience, but paid articles tend to get fewer likes, so be cautious when deciding to put things behind a paywall.

5. Don't compare yourself to others; believe in yourself and keep building

This is ultimately the most important thing.

— Here, I will write one thing honestly.

I myself realized as soon as I started writing that the HSP genre is highly competitive. There are many popular articles with "over 400 likes." Honestly, there are moments when I feel like I'm going to get depressed by comparing myself to them.

Even so, there is only one reason why I continue to write HSP articles.

It's because I believe there is meaning in what I say.

My actual experience of being tossed around by sensitivity for over 15 years as an HSP. My perspective as a mental health professional with a national qualification as an occupational therapist. What I learned from the more than 100 people I cared for at a special nursing home. — I feel there are things that can only be written from the place where these three things overlap.

Writing this might make people think, "They're full of themselves and it's unpleasant." But rather than confidence, this is a reason to keep going. Even if the number of likes is small or the growth of followers is slow, if you can articulate the "meaning of you writing it" yourself, you can keep going.

Conversely, I don't think I could continue in a genre where I don't have this.

So, if you are trying to share something, please ask yourself this first.

"What is the meaning of me writing about this theme?"

Once you can put that answer into words, the number of competitors and the lack of 'likes' will become nothing more than minor noise.

—And, the realistic numbers.

I started my side hustle two months ago. My YouTube channel isn't monetized yet, and between my note, Kindle, and affiliate earnings, my total income so far is about 1,000 yen.

It might look like a pathetic number. But this is the honest truth. I wrote this because I don't want you to be deceived by clickbait articles.

Even so, I am continuing. There are two reasons.

One is that I believe in the 'stock' I'm building for 5 or 10 years from now. The other is that if your heart feels even a little lighter after reading this—that is my greatest reward right now.

Epilogue

Money is important. But wearing yourself out for the sake of money is putting the cart before the horse.

For you, as an HSP, there is a 'proper distance' to keep with money. Don't chase it too hard, don't pretend it doesn't exist, just quietly build it up at your own pace.

Anxiety about the future will never disappear. But by organizing your fixed costs, avoiding debt, saving steadily, and working in a place where you don't get drained—just doing this will significantly lower the temperature of your anxiety.

Finally, I write this while remembering the expressions of the more than 100 people I have cared for until their final moments at a special nursing home.

People do not talk about money at the end of their lives.

Just remembering that fact might help you relax your shoulders a little bit today.

Author Profile

16th year as an Occupational Therapist | Works at a special nursing home with unit care | Former Dementia Care Instructor | HSP/ISFJ | Lives with wife and daughter | Experienced a job change with a 500,000 yen pay cut and a layoff | Currently sharing 'How overly sensitive people live and manage money' on note.

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#HSP #SensitivePerson #Money #SideHustle #JobChange #OccupationalTherapist #WayOfLife

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