The Healthy Sensitive's Podcast

10 Common HSP Myths

There are a lot of assumptions people have about what it means to be a "highly sensitive person." Even highly sensitive people, themselves, cary some of these mistaken assumptions. This episode is intended to debunk some of the common misconceptions people have about HSP and provide a bit of a reality check. 

Intuition: When Should We Trust It?

We often hear that we should "trust our instincts" or "follow our intuition." But is that always true? Are there times we should challenge our instincts? As highly sensitive people, we tend to get pretty potent "intuitive" messages from our bodies. But we are a conscientious and neurotic lot. So we also have a tendency to challenge our assumptions. How might we move in a way that both honors our intuition...but also use our natural inclination to challenge our thoughts in a way that is effective?

When Should You "Push Through" And When Should You "Pull Back?"

We are often encouraged by high-performing motivational speakers to want success as badly as we want to breathe. If we are willing to sacrifice even our sleep only THEN will we be as successful as we claim to want to be. But then...maybe not. Arriana Huffington, for example, claims she did just that only to discover the importance of rest (and sleep in particular). 

This is a hard equation to solve even for non-HSP's. But add in a sensitive nervous system and a sprinkling of introversion and you've REALLY got a complicated puzzle. 

So how can we highly sensitive people hope to grow beyond our perceived barriers WITHOUT driving ourselves into the ground (literally). In this episode, I share some of the wisdom others have compiled and even talk a bit about strategies you might put in place to grow your capacity...and keep your sanity in the process.

Building Emotional Fitness

There are some people out there who seem to have an endless capacity for bravery in their lives. How do they do it? Are they just born with it? Or can we build it? I make the argument in this episode that just as we can engage in behaviors that build our physical strength...so too can we engage in behaviors that build on our emotional resilience and capacity. And when we do that, we are able to make massive shifts in our lives. We really can do anything. 

Romance

No matter how confident we may feel about ourselves...when it comes to romance, we can all be a little bit dumb. Something about undressing (literally and metaphorically) for a partner unstitches us. This is only MORE true for highly sensitive people and introverts. So what can we do? How do develop a healthy relationship with another person...how do we go about developing a relationship with love itself?

Can We Talk About Sex?

We have some assumptions about sex and sexuality - especially as it relates to how men and women are supposed to feel about their sexuality AND how they are supposed to behave. This is particularly true for heterosexual men and women. But are those assumptions true? Is it true, for example, that women aren't actually that interested in sex? For those women who ARE interested...are all those women hyper-extrovert sexual butterflies? I'd argue that the answer is no. And I want to break apart some of these assumptions and start a larger conversation about why women (and introverted women in particular) might have a more challenging time advocating for their sexual preferences. 

The Value of Thickening our Highly Sensitive Skin

Highly sensitive people are often dubbed "thin-skinned" by those with a slightly rougher hide. We are told we need to toughen up. For a long time, I have resisted (and many of those I know who are highly sensitive tend to resist this idea as well). But are we maybe missing an opportunity? Is there, perhaps, something to be gained by getting a thicker skin?

The Right Kind of Problems

We often lament about the challenges in our lives. But it might be worth stopping to consider the possibility that a good life doesn't come without problems. Rather, a good life simply means having the right kind of problems

Can You Be TOO Adaptable?

An instructor I was observing while leading a class gave the group a quote: "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." It made me think about how I, myself, tend to be really adaptable. I find that most highly sensitive people are. It's probably something we picked up while trying to blend into a not-so-sensitive world. It's a muscle I'm proud to have developed. BUT - when is "adaptable" simply "weak-minded" Is that even a thing?

10 Powerful Take-Aways from Susan Cain's Book "Quiet"

A few years ago, Susan Cain wrote a book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking." She researched not only what it means to be an introvert, but also what it means to be a highly sensitive person, and a sensation seeker. She covers how all these things speak to each other, and how we might better create systems to honor the gifts that each has to offer. In this podcast, we'll review some of the biggest take-aways from her book and how these ideas might inform the way we live if we want to thrive.