The Sensitive and Neurodivergent Podcast with Julie Bjelland

I love spending time with my Sensitive Empowerment Community where members are dedicated to their growth and empowerment.  It's such a beautiful space to be. We do live weekly events together and I invite you to join us! You can find all the resources I offer HSPs, including a link to join my community at JulieBjelland.com

How we overcome the inner battles we face and what fuels our strength to show up in our own unique way. We can remember and honor the Black leaders before us and we can also honor the new and upcoming leaders during Black History Month.  Black HSP's can struggle more than others with the inner dialogue of who we should be in the world and deeply feel the turmoil and injustice in the world.  Both of our generation and generations before us.   We all want to find our own path and can be faced with family or authorities telling us who we should be, cannot be or will never be.   I want to have a conversation with other Black HSP's who struggle with choosing to become the leader they are meant to be or settling into the identity that others put upon you.  We are all whole and complete as we are and have the power to heal old wounds and beliefs to become the leader we were meant to be within and without. Holistic Health Practitioner and Health Strategy Coach LMT, CES, FMS Bio: Michael is on a mission to teach the world that we are all capable of intrinsic healing and transformation both mentally and physically. If we start with foundational health, we can build upon this foundation to create the empowered life we want to live. Michael overcame, healed, and transformed from having Tourette syndrome, severe asthma, ADHD, obesity, and an eating addiction and now helps others embody health to become empowered to live a life of joy, peace and success. He is a US Marine, a Holistic Health Practitioner, and Health Strategy Coach. https://michaelacoles.com/ Michael also did a previous event with us Tapping into your Guidance System to Take Aligned Action

Unique challenges and benefits of being a highly sensitive person when it comes to sex and sexuality. Additional information on relationship styles, sexual identity, and sexual preferences. Sarah shares,  "It is ok to be the HSP you are with the sexual preferences that you have!" Some of what we discussed during this episode: High Sensation Seeking HSPs Tantra Sex Importance of self-compassion, self-acceptance, and self-love development  Advocating for your needs and communicating about your needs Living authentically sexually Coming out later, I share my story Polyamory The spectrum of Sexuality and Gender  Tips for tired moms We shared our stories of evolving sexually And more! Sarah is a licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in Minneapolis Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Psychology, Relationship Studies, and Communication and obtained a Masters degree at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California. She has been in the mental health field since 2001 and feels passionate about accepting and being with clients as they are while serving as a support person to help them navigate their highly sensitive trait, relationships, and sexuality. Sarah is also an HSP and when she isn't in the therapy office you may find her at an alternative healing or dance class, spending alone time in nature, or taking an afternoon to let her creativity fly! SarahMathewsLMFT.com Discussed in Episode: Conscious Girlfriend: Resource for Women Coming Out Later  Join further discussions and live events in our Sensitive Empowerment Community Julie Bjelland is a Psychotherapist, host of The HSP Podcast, and Founder of the Sensitive Empowerment Community, whose mission is to create a paradigm shift where sensitivity is embraced, valued, and honored. Get a free guide to calm your brain, a letter to give your medical and mental health practitioners about high sensitivity, and take the Sensitivity Quiz at JulieBjelland.com ❤️🌈❤️ (she/her)

HSPs are often rated as some of the best employees in businesses and organizations. With the way we work undergoing so many changes around the world, a wonderful opportunity emerges to bring new awareness to the workplace. The way things are at the moment our needs can often be left unmet as we try to fit into environments and schedules that are not suited to us. We have a chance to consider new ways that best support HSP productivity and present them to our managers in readiness for the return to work. Or as managers and business owners to address the needs of our HSP employees. Join us this week as we focus on the ways in which we can improve our work lives. To become more aligned to our needs as employees and self-employed business owners. Please share these episodes to help other HSPs. Leave comments or voicemails, and explore all episodes at HSPpodcast.com. Learn how to join the Sensitive Empowerment Community and explore more resources for HSPs at JulieBjelland.com

Understanding the Polyvagal Theory of stress and how stress impacts your biology as an HSP. We'll dig into the concept of nervous system regulation and how HSPs can use it to turn their sensitivity into a superpower.  Here are some questions answered in this event: 1. What is Polyvagal Theory and how might it help HSPs to understand it? 2. How might regulating the nervous system lower the challenges of sensitivity? 3. How can HSPs leverage Polyvagal Theory to enable their unique creative genius to thrive? Also we had some discussion on the marginalized experience of the LGBTQ community and the black community and how those communities experience the impact of the lack of safety are also important to understand when we work toward moving humanity forward. Sukie shares..."I would like to help HSPs understand that they are not broken or damaged and empower them with tools they can use to thrive as an HSP in a chaotic world that doesn't always value the inherent skills and abilities that we bring to the table. One of my favorite quotes ever is "It's not a measure of health to be well adjusted in a profoundly sick society." I firmly believe that it is by empowering each person to live from their own place of truth rather than conform to a contrived cultural norm that we will ultimately heal as a society." Sukie Baxter is the founder of Whole Body Revolution where she helps ambitious high performers and creative geniuses to activate their full human potential and achieve an extraordinary physical and mental edge. Sukie has over fifteen years of experience in private practice as a manual therapist and is the author of Perfect Posture for Life. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Chopra.com and Practical Horseman. Subscribe to Sukie's YouTube channel for weekly videos featuring body-mind healing to rewire your nervous system for greater health, happiness, and success. www.wholebodyrevolution.com Previous Events with Sukie Event 2. Caring for Your Highly Sensitive Body: Avoiding Pain, Tension And Stress When The World Is Too Much with Sukie Baxter Podcast Episode 56: How To Deal With Anxiety While Navigating Chaos And Uncertainty with Sukie Baxter Julie Bjelland is a Psychotherapist, host of The HSP Podcast, and Founder of the Sensitive Empowerment Community, whose mission is to create a paradigm shift where sensitivity is embraced, valued and honored. Get a free guide to calm your brain, a letter to give your medical and mental health practitioners about high sensitivity, take the Sensitivity Quiz, explore courses for HSPs and join my Sensitive Empowerment Community at JulieBjelland.com ❤️🌈❤️ (she/her)

I’ve noticed that so often something gets in the way of HSPs believing and accessing Confidence. Many of us have received messages our whole life that something is wrong with us for being so sensitive. Or maybe we have been so overwhelmed by the challenges of our sensitive nervous system that we are in survival mode, instead of truly living our life with purpose. Not having confidence can show up in the following ways not exploring your needs not advocating for your needs saying yes when you want to say no not moving forward if something isn’t perfect or being stuck in fear  of failure not doing something you want because you are pleasing others instead not believing you are worthy or good enough not living a life that honors and aligns with your values not starting or growing the business your calling wants of you All of this means your light won’t shine on others.  Let’s have a discussion about confidence. What is stopping you from what you want? What would you need to do to find it and let go of what’s holding you back from accessing the most beautiful parts of yourself and your inner gifts? I’ve been hearing a lot of HSPs be held back from the worry of judgment from others or being different or listening to others' expectations of you, or even self-judgment and fear of failure. Why is that? What would it take for you to let go of that? Worrying about what people think of us can zap our energy, taking away precious energy that could be used for creativity, growing, and embracing our life. Can we instead live in a space that honors our needs in the world? Can we stop thinking we need to fit in and be perfect and embrace our uniqueness? Can we commit to a more conscious way of living? Can we stay aware of which tools we need to use and develop to get out of survival mode and thrive? Can we practice self-compassion when we don’t get it all right? What could happen if you just decided to love and honor your sensitivity and embrace your uniqueness and do that thing you really want to do even if it’s not perfect. What could happen if you believe in your value? Please share these episodes to help other HSPs. Leave comments or voicemails, and explore all episodes at HSPpodcast.com. Learn how to join the Sensitive Empowerment Community: https://www.juliebjelland.com/sensitive-empowerment-community "The material that you both shared in this gem-packed presentation took me to my Growth Journal where I wrote as fast as I could, filling 5 big pages trying to capture your keen insights." "I too was taking notes like crazy during the podcast, and I'm planning on listening all the way through again this evening. Just "simple" nuggets like Julie's, "I am confident BECAUSE I have tools, self-compassion..." and Jenni's "Feeling like you belong gives you confidence".... have given me so much to reflect upon. It was truly a powerful discussion and so affirming! Thank you again, Julie and Willow!" "Oh my goodness! This all confirmed my own thoughts, feelings, experiences, and healing process. Such validation that I am indeed on the right track with how to be of highest service. I am indeed listening to that deep intuition AND embracing my unique abilities as a coach and especially as a hypnotherapist to help others to do the same! Bravo Julie Bjelland and Willow McIntosh for another uplifting event."

As many of us didn’t receive the right training we needed as children in order to really understand our trait as HSPs, we can often take for granted the gifts it gives us. This can mean that we tend to focus on the challenges rather than the advantages. Since the trait enables us to process sensory data more deeply the way this actualizes as higher sensory abilities can be very rewarding. Whilst we may be aware of these abilities to an extent we often gloss over them in the way they were when we were children. In reality, these abilities are deeply aligned with our gifts, what’s most important to us and what makes us great at what we do. When we find the right language to share them it’s much easier to bring them into service for our benefit and the benefit of others. Join us this week as we continue the conversation about learning to normalize the high sensory abilities we are born with and how to bring them into conscious ownership. HSPs are more intuitive, empathic, creative, and have extra special abilities. Recognize your value and embrace and honor your gifts!  Give this Letter to your Medical and Mental Health Practitioners about the trait Please share and review this Podcast to help other HSPs. We love hearing from you and you can learn more about us at HSPpodcast.com Explore all resources for HSPs at JulieBjelland.com

Roger has a heart-centered holistic approach to recovery that I think is incredibly valuable and that HSPs will appreciate.  He shares 4 Keys to resilient recovery in this episode. Uncovering the big guideposts of knowledge and action that help support a person who desires serenity and growth while abstaining from mind altering substances. Roger L'Hereault - Addiction Recovery Educator and founder of Courage Recovery, a self-help digital course provider -Addiction recovery professional since 2002 -Has taught clients ages 12 to 88 how to adapt and thrive in their recovery from mind-altering substances www.Courage-Recovery.com Join Julie's Sensitive Empowerment Community and see all the resources offered for HSPs, including a free Sensitivity Quiz, a guide to calm your brain, and a letter to give medical and mental health therapists about high sensitivity at JulieBjelland.com

Answering live HSPquestions! Some of the Questions Covered... Why is it easier to relax when I'm in my own space and on my own? How can we understand where we end and the cultural expectations begin? Do I want something or does society tell me that I should want something? Can you talk about the HSP experience of shyness or introverts and social interactions? Can you explain more about how proprioceptors calm you? Do the self-care routines you talk about work for chronic stress recovery as well as just daily maintenance, or is there more you need to do to heal your nervous system if you've been under chronic stress for a long time (several years)? Do you believe that HSPs tend to be more co-dependent than others to moderate stress? Do you find a correlation between PTSD & HSP whereby a person born as an HSP suffers traumatic events and copes/or not with them differently than the other 80%? You've mentioned that HSPs should ideally get a minimum of 2 hours of daily processing time plus one day off per week. Can you please talk about what kinds of activities would be considered "processing" activities? I’m wondering as in your podcast some time ago, you talked about the effect inner work has had on your wellbeing. Could you talk about what kind of inner work you have been through? You talked about how HSPs can often be in a hypervigilant place on a daily basis... I wonder if you can speak to what the origins of this is, how do we become aware and once we become aware what are some ways to manage that hypervigilant state? Join us for our next live event in the Sensitive Empowerment Community!  Learn more   Share comments, explore all the episodes and even leave me voice messages at HSPpodcast.com Get the free letter to give your Dr and Therapist to educate them about high sensitivity so they can better understand you. How to sleep better, plus my favorite weighted blanket

Honoring our rhythm is such an important part of our balance and wellness as highly sensitive people and Empaths. We don’t need to change who we are we just need to change our environment and how we take care of ourselves. Just like how we would create conditions for the orchid flower to bloom Brilliantly so must we create conditions for us to bloom Brilliantly. Give yourself more downtime and alone time to process and rest and restore. Give yourself slower mornings and check in throughout the day about how you’re doing and what you need. Give yourself daily nature time and grounding and meditation. To comment on episodes, leave me a voicemail, and explore all the episodes visit www.HSPpodcast.com Take the free Sensitivity Quiz and get the free guide that teaches a calming technique visit www.JulieBjelland.com