I have done and do the same thing, leave the door unlocked I mean, the downside of living alone, and it doesn;t hlp your state of mind when you are already not feeling well.
I have also have felt/feel this way, and considering I work with a lot of people every day, especially this time of year when all the students assignments are due, it can sometimes be pretty intense, but I have also felt that by helping the people at work has been beneficial too, as it takes me out of my head and helps focus on something/someone else. I have never really felt stressed by other peoples stress, but lately I can definitely be affected! And, I can totally relate to only going out when absolutely necessary, I hate the shops and all the energy that flows around, so I try to go to smaller shopping centres to buy what I need. Having said that, it can be a trap! I have definitely felt that by avoiding going out increases my anxiety about going out, so I try to balance it as best I can.
There is a qigong movement that helps, similar to Lauras bubble/shield in her meditations (which I also do) but a physical movement, still, with the hyperkinetic sensate of the wave growing every day I guess these things are to be expected?
Those of us who are more sensitive might need to find more creative ways to deal with the extra energy coming in? Suggestions welcome! I use pipe breathing, Lauras meditations, Qigong, daily walks in the park, kinesiology, flower essences and recently I've been using Louise Hay's affirmations. I have found that by replacing as many negative thoughts with positive affirmations quietens my very active mind, I use them almost like mantras, just simple stuff like I am safe, I am healthy I am loved.
One thing that's helped me is doing the grounding meditations as described by Francesca McCartney.
Grounding
I'm currently taking an intuitive medicine course(am a quarter of the way through) and one thing that I keep noticing is how powerful grounding is for daily life. And it's something that not many people know or use. The very first thing we are taught is to ground properly and frequently, and the...
cassiopaea.org
The C's gave their assent to it:
Q: (Zar) I noticed how reiki doesn't emphasize/practice grounding, so I'm wondering if a deeper grounding practice should be utilized during reiki? And would daily grounding be beneficial for some/most people?
A: Yes to all.
I bought her two books and some audio meditations that came along with it. It's good material IMO, quite comprehensive and with a lot of footnotes for her sources. I've found it helps with daily stresses and establishing/maintaining boundaries, as well as any extra energy coming in. It takes practice, like most things, but you can learn to just send any excess energy down and into the earth.