The Healthy Sensitive's Podcast

HSP’s and Perfectionism (Breaking the Perfectionism-Adrenal Fatigue- Depression Triangle)

Perfectionism. It seems like something we should strive for. Right? No. Perfectionism is toxic. It decreases our creative potential. It demolishes our ability to connect with other people. It also (unfortunately) is really common amongst highly  sensitive people. In today's episode, we will discuss: 

- Definition of perfectionism 

- How perfectionism is different from health striving

- Tools for curbing and managing perfectionism which includes:

• Cultivating authenticity
• Identifying your "something larger" 
• Prioritizing pleasure
• Leveraging our relationships
• Creativity 
• Nourishment
• Growth
• Exercise
• Rest

Seven Mindful Questions - Interview with Lisa Nezneski

Lisa is a pharmacist as well as a certified mindfulness teacher. She has authored two books: “Grounded in Chaos - Leaning into adversity and learning joy” and 7 Mindful Questions: Stop wasting time. Redirect your mind. Focus on what matters.” 

In our conversation, we touch on a number of things. 

We talk about her personal and professional journey. 

We discuss the value of integrating tools from western modern medicine along with traditional modalities and mindfulness practices. 

We talk about the importance of living in alignment with our values. 

We, of course, spend a good deal of time covering her newest book: Seven mindful questions.   

And more...

Lisa has GENEROUSLY offered some complimentary resources for listeners of the Healthy Sensitive Podcast. You can find the link for that, below.

https://www.lisanezneski.com/bonus-meditations-for-the-healthy-sensitive-podcast

Bonus Meditations for the Healthy Sensitive Podcast

 

You can also find Lisa at her main website: www.lisanezneski.com 

 

Interview with Andy Mort on The Gentle Rebel

in today’s episode, I had the privilege of speaking with a long-time podcaster, musician, and coach who also works with highly sensitive people.

His name is Andy Mort. He has been a host of the podcast “The Gentle Rebel” for a number of years. He has a plethora of resources dedicated to highly sensitive people…and in particular…highly sensitive creatives.

You can download his podcast (again…the Gentle Rebel) anywhere you access your podcasts. You can also find him at his website www.andymort.com .

In our conversation, we covered a number of topics.

• We talked about the challenges and celebrations of entrepreneurship (especially for HSP entrepreneurs).
• We talked about the difference of work-life balance vs. work-life integration (or disintegration…more on that in the show).
• We talk about the delicate balance that comes with marketing in a way that produces results…but ALSO is in alignment with our values.
• Creating sustainable workflows when we are our own boss.
• Self-care for highly sensitive entrepreneurs
• And a number of other topics.

Interview with Megan Murk (A Leader in the Health Coaching Space)

Megan Murk is one of those individuals who is irritatingly good at just about whatever she tries. The worst part is that she is also incredibly likable. She is both knowledgeable and wise. She's confident and humble. It's part of why she continues to be an effective leader. She has taken that energy and applied it to helping mold the field of health and wellness coaching. Her hope is to help provide more legitimacy in the coaching space and help others who are interested in becoming coaches to have a reliable standard we can all follow. Where she excels, in particular, is in the emotional health and wellness space. In our discussion, we cover:

• What coaching is
• How coaching has evolved over time
• What the difference between coaching and therapy is
• How health coaches can effectively move in the emotional health space
• How coaches can go about getting certified by bodies that differentiate them.

Taking the Leap and Building Purposeful Work as an HSP

In this episode, I had the privilege of interviewing Andrea Shoun. Andrea is a health educator, author, and network marketing team leader. She is also...quite simply...a phenomenal person. Anyone who meets her walks away feeling better than when they arrived. Anyone who has the privilege of working with her (as I do in multiple capacities) finds themselves feeling like they aren't at work, but are in the sandbox building sand castles. But like...really pretty sand castles. Andrea will share with us how she has built a professional life that allows her to balance her creative cravings, her entrepreneurial side, and the part of her that appreciates stability and routine. She shows us that you can be a sensitive person AND have rewarding work (and that we actually NEED to in order to thrive). She walks her talks, and is willing to take risks (hence the title...taking the Leap). Enjoy!

Post Traumatic Growth

Plenty of people have heard about post traumatic stress disorder. But did you know that stress is not the only possible side-effect of adversity and trauma? It turns out that some (roughly 50 - 70 percent of people, in fact) go through trauma and walk away from it stronger than before. 

There are a couple of questions I had. First...do we have to experience trauma to gleam these benefits? Could we, for example, create a deliberate exercise to help us grow and increase our capacity even if we haven't endured a horrific event? Second - let's say I have endured a traumatic event...are there TOOLS I can use to optimize my chance of growing (rather than forever being a victim of the whims of my stress)? What are those tools? 

These are the elements I cover in today's podcast. 

Embracing Your Inner Trickster: Reframing Adversity

Highly sensitive people are often more deeply affected by adversity. They feel all the feels...so it's natural they would feel pain more acutely. BUT - highly sensitive people tend to also be more creative and more resilient than the average person. They are able to take difficult circumstances and create something beautiful from the ashes.

In this episode, I'm not going to talk about stress management. Instead, I'm going to talk about how to reframe adversity so that you have an entirely different relationship with it. In honor of April Fool's Day, I am centering the conversation on how to cultivate your inner trickster. Your inner fool. Your inner beginner. 

Patriotism, Nationalism and Bias

With the aftermath of the D.C. riots, many of us are left scared, angry and eager for someone to take some accountability. In today's episode, I wanted to do a deep dive into a few areas so as to provide some context for what is currently happening and what it means for us all. 

I do a brief overview of the U.S. government and how it is structured. I talk about the concept of patriotism and how that differs from nationalism. I talk about the options those in our legislative branch of government are mulling over (and why the so-called "mulling" and pondering of next steps is as murky as it is). I also cover the concept of bias. When talking about bias, I talk about how social media plays a part, and how our own psychology plays a part. Why is it that we can spot bias in everyone else...except for ourselves? Where does that whole double-standard approach come from? Finally, I talk about the importance of looking hard at our own selves before pointing fingers at others. 

Finding Your Purpose in Dark Times

In my last episode, I talked about the importance of having a "something larger" to appeal to during difficult times. After my podcast, my boyfriend asked "but how does one go about finding their "something larger?" I promised I would think on it. A few days later, I facilitated a workshop on "navigating burnout" for HSP's. After the workshop, someone asked..."yeah...but what if I have been DOING all those things you said are good for me, and I'm STILL burned out?" I realized that while each question was asked in a separate context (and were seemingly unrelated) they were really two sides of the same coin. When we are burned out and cannot go further, that is when we need our something larger. But that same burnout will make finding our "something larger" all the more challenging (if we don't already have an idea in mind). In this episode, I cover what burnout is, and the common tools used to help ease our suffering around it. I talk about the importance of having, in particular, a "something larger"...and then I discuss the kinds of questions that might help us to find what our "something larger" is when we don't currently have on in place (or at least don't think that we do). 

Something Larger

These are strange times (understatement of the century). And many of us are feeling the strain not just of isolation or fatigue....but also the strain of feeling empty. Of feeling like the wells we are used to drawing water from are dry or blocked off. During times like these, one thing that keeps popping up in the research as being important for our wellbeing is a sense that we are connected to something larger than ourselves. In this episode I talk about faith (and the lack of it). I talk about the challenge of discerning what our "something larger" is in a world of so much cynicism. And I ask the question to each of you...what is YOUR something larger that keeps you sane during times that feel overwhelming?