How restful are your weekends?Do you wake up on Saturday mornings planning to do your chores and errands first to get them over with, and then, before you know it, you get to Sunday and you realize you never stopped doing tasks? On Sunday night, you feel tense about starting a new week because you had zero time to rest and recharge. I have been there. Then, learning about Human Design, I discovered that the body’s most powerful energy motor, the Sacral Center, turns on in respo...

Are you happy at work?Work has always felt like an important part of who I am. But, I’ve also felt like a mismatch for the world of work in terms of how it left me depleted. Perhaps you’ve felt this way too? If you’re an empathetic person, the work that expands your energy may also contract and drain your energy.Even work environments that say self-care is important for employees, have workplace norms that make it more difficult to get what you need. Knowing that, in this episo...

I will confess that there are certain terms that come from the therapy world that lead me to feel a bit put off. Boundaries. Enmeshment. Codependent to name a few. You may know that I am a former therapist. And because of that, you may think that, at some point, I had an affinity for these terms. But, I know firsthand, as someone who needed to learn better boundaries in my life, that there’s a certain level of shame that goes with discovering you resonate with these terms. What...

As highly sensitive people, we push ourselves hard to…Show up for other people even if we’re worn out.Be good partners, parents, employees, daughters and sons.Get things done even when we really need to restGet out of our comfort zones to try new things.We’re super conscientious, wanting to give our best to everyone and everything. To not let people down, even if it means sacrificing ourselves. Exhaustion and burnout are signs something needs to give. The messages about needing to h...

One of the traits of being an HSP is being empathetic. And it’s always struck me that empathy shows up differently in different people. And in varying degrees. My way of experiencing empathy may feel different than yours.When I discovered Human Design, I finally had a framework for understanding how we empathically experience other people. I knew the information I’m sharing in this podcast episode could lead to profound self-understanding for HSPs and empaths. When you know and understan...

At Happy Highly Sensitive Life, you’ve seen me cover living as an HSP from a lot of different angles. As a multi-passionate person, I'm always following my intuition to discover and explore from a variety of perspectives. If you’re wondering what’s on the horizon for Happy Highly Sensitive Life in 2022, this space will be evolving to explore living as an HSP through the lens of Human Design. You may be wondering why Human Design is relevant for HSPs. I know you come here for i...

I used to lose myself in my relationships.When I was in my 20s. I’d become quiet and censor myself around other people. I held back from saying what I thought. I tried to blend in and become a matching replica of the people around me because I felt different - like an old soul. At some point, I noticed I was shrinking down. And holding back from being my true self. Once I noticed it, I set out to live with greater congruence and authenticity. And since then, year after year, there’s...

If you’re a highly sensitive person, then you know that socializing isn’t always an easy-breezy low-stress thing.Because you’re a deep processor, when you’re in a group social setting, there’s a lot to tune into that can feel chaotic and overstimulating. Especially if you're in a new environment around new people. Moving into a new social situation, going to holiday gatherings, parties, or weddings, requires a survival plan going in. When I am going to a get-together, I approach soc...

Call it analysis paralysis, avoiding, resisting, or procrastinating. As a highly sensitive person, I’ve done my fair share of putting off doing things that disrupt my inner serenity. At that moment, overthinking feels like a way to outsmart risk. HSPs have what researchers call a “pause and check” response. We stop and observe a situation before diving in. It’s part of our innate survival response. And since the trait of high sensitivity shows up in over 100 species, you can even s...

If you’re an HSP, an empath or someone who loves an HSP or empath, and you’re looking to understand your relationship better, this episode is for you and your partner.For the very first time, my spouse, Adam, is joining me on the show! During the pandemic, I unexpectedly discovered that he is an empath who strongly feels the emotions of other people. We talk about how I made this discovery and how it gives Adam many strengths and also contributes to perfectionism and people-pleasing tha...

My first radical act of listening to my body came in grade school. I pretended to be sick so I could stay home from school for the day. Now looking back on it, I can see I was a wiped out HSP who needed a break. The world said I needed to go, but I knew I needed to stop. As adults, our work, school and family obligations are a lot more complicated and you may feel like the idea of taking a day off because you’re wiped out is just as bold as playing hooky as a 7-year-old. There’...

As HSPs, we are big-hearted people. For many of us, our parents, family, teachers and coaches didn’t know what to make of our strong feeling nature. To get by, I learned to push down my emotions. Bypassing my feelings worked until I entered a more complicated phase of life and had to deal with roommates, serious relationships and a full-time job. I was often a big jumble of emotions, not sure how I felt. And when I knew what I felt, I didn’t know if I had a right to say it. Worried ...

As an HSP, you may find that you experience physiological changes when you’re in intense situations. You have a job interview, a serious doctor’s appointment or an unexpected problem to deal with. And your heart pounds, your stomach churns, your underarms start to sweat, the blood rushes to your cheeks, your knees go weak, and you can’t think straight. Later, you try to piece together what happened by thinking about it over and over again. Your mind spins out of control, even keeping you...

There have been times in my life that I’ve felt different, like I didn’t fit in and I wasn’t sure why. Until I learned about the trait of high sensitivity, I just chalked it up to being an introvert in an extroverted world. I didn’t know that my sensitivity was impacting how I was experiencing my life. And so in this episode, I talk about what high sensitivity is, and how it shows up in real life. I deeply believe that when you’re aware of how sensitivity impacts you, you can give...

In this first episode of the Happy Highly Sensitive Life podcast, I share my experience of growing up, navigating quarter-life, and adulting as a highly sensitive person. If you’re feeling lost or confused about the direction of your life, this episode will leave you feeling seen and more hopeful for the future.What you will learn in this episode:How I ended up getting a tattoo in college (and why I regret it)The fantasy I had about how I could escape from adulting in the midst of my qua...