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“If you're always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” Maya Angelou
Am I a highly sensitive person, neurodivergent or do I have trauma symptoms? (Or am I the secret fourth category…)
If you’re anything like me, the question you might be asking yourself, friends or doctors right now might be ‘what’s wrong with me…?’. Perhaps you’re currently trying to understand yourself better, your series of symptoms or the intensity of your experience.
Considering this when learning ‘the labels’ or categorisations can be empowering as they can help you make sense of yourself as well as your reality. It also enables you to know what you are seeking help with, you can find your specialist or develop a support system to manage those needs.
So I'm going to make this very simple for you and start with the answer to the question posed in the title, which is you could be experiencing all three - you might be a highly sensitive person, who is neurodiverse, dealing with trauma symptoms (you may also be the secret 4th category…). I know I was.
My Highly Sensitive Journey
Learning about my highly sensitive nature has been a life's journey for me - although I only learned about the term at 28 years old! It has impacted every area of my life including my mental and emotional wellbeing, my relationships, my personal interests and the work I do. I wanted to share my story with you in case it gives you some insights into your own journey as a highly sensitive person (HSP).
Why I love my Moonbird and Breathwork as a Highly Sensitive Person - A Review
When Stefanie from Moonbird, reached out and asked me if I would be interested in being an ambassador for Moonbird, I was very excited. Not only had I recently put one on my Wish List, but for the past two weeks I had been hearing my spirit guide team whispering, okay shouting, daily ‘breath!…breath!’. I thought - I am breathing! But I was obviously missing the point. I felt so knocked over the head with the message that I had booked a breathwork session with a coach. So when she emailed, I smiled as it felt like a perfect synchronicity and I thought okay universe, I am listening!
Practising boundaries for surviving Christmas for Highly Sensitive People
The festive season is an idealised time of year culturally and in the media, however the reality for many of us is it can be a challenging time of year due to loneliness or family dynamics.
There can be a lot of pressure during the festive season for everyone to be ‘happy and having a magical time’ or create further strain on relationships that are already difficult. As highly sensitive people who are very aware of group dynamics, this can feel deeply uncomfortable and create anxiety. So in this blog, we will address how you could approach it differently to support, not only your wellbeing, but that of others...
Staying Resourced as a Highly Sensitive Parent during School Breaks
At the end of the summer holidays I decided to reflect back on the nearly 8 week period of intensive childcare (mostly solo) to ask myself, what did I do that worked and what could I do in the future as a highly sensitive person (HSP) to help me cope better? Here are some of my thoughts.
How to stop taking on your teen’s emotions as a Highly Sensitive Parent
When most parents say, “I feel bad about what my teenager is going through’, they mean that they have empathy and compassion. There is a sense of care for their child’s experience.
But when a Highly Sensitive parent says that phrase, they mean that they FEEL their child’s feelings. They’re actually experiencing emotions, physical symptoms and energies that are not their own. Read more…
8 Books that marked turning points in my perspective as an Intuitive Empath
Like many other people, there have been significant points on my healing journey where I encountered a theory or method which had an impact on my perspective or understanding of my experience. They also influenced my approach to life as well as my healing practice as an Intuitive Empath. I want to share my journey of understanding with you, in case it gives you a springboard to jump from in your own learning and self discovery.
Five ‘Shadow Sides’ of being an Empath
There is a shadow side that can be unknowingly present beneath the empathic traits of highly sensitive people that might be easy to ignore or go unnoticed. But unless we acknowledge the grey areas or intentions behind typical Empath traits and how our make up as a highly sensitive person impacts our relationships or how we experience the world, we can’t heal the related wounds or work with those behaviours and that’s where the true growth takes place.
Fifteen Signs you're an Empath
Ever wondered if you're an Empath? Maybe it's a term you’ve heard of recently and you're thinking… is that me? Well this article is going to help you decide.
Eight Reasons Empaths can have late blooming careers
What is it about our journey as Empaths that may cause limitations on the way and make some of us late bloomers in our careers? If you are highly sensitive and experience a frustrated sentiment of not having fulfilled your potential yet, then read on to reflect on why this might be…
Five Challenges of Motherhood as an Empath
Motherhood is a demanding and transformative journey for most but as an Empath some of these challenges may feel amplified due to your highly sensitive nature. Alongside that, our unhelpful tendencies as an empath can rear up clashing with the requirements of our role as a Mother. Here are a few issues you might encounter: 1 Isolation due to overwhelm. 2 Low tolerance of intensity. 3 Lack of space, time and energy. 4 Parenting triggering unhealed wounds. 5 New role revealing family dynamics. Read more…
Six Overwhelm Triggers for Highly Sensitive People
For sensitive souls, feeling overwhelmed can be a continual or reoccurring problem. One of the drawbacks of the blessing of being highly sensitive is that the world can feel intense and overwhelming at times, even in ‘mundane’ situations when those around you are just fine.
The beauty however is that once we start to understand and acknowledge our sensitive nature we can begin to make shifts that support and nourish us more deeply rather than deplete us. So here are some classic overwhelm trigger's for Empaths and what you can do in response to support yourself.