The Sensitive and Neurodivergent Podcast with Julie Bjelland

Dreams are a powerful tool for deep self-knowledge and inner guidance. Why dreams matter,  the different kinds of dreams, dream interpretation, dream retention. Dr. Lourdes Viado is a Jungian psychotherapist with a private practice in Las Vegas NV, where she helps anxious, stressed out, sensitive women manage their lives without feeling like they’re drowning.   She is a Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator (MBTI) Certified Practitioner and integrates mindfulness, neuroscience, dreams, and astrology into her work with clients. She is also the host of the Women In-Depth Podcast:  Conversations about the Inner Lives of Women, which has been downloaded over 350,000x in 96 countries.www.lourdesviado.com Here's her astrology and mentorship site for the show notes:  www.reflectingsky.com From Lourdes: These are my favorite dream books and what I recommend to my clients.  If I only had these books for working w/ dreams, I'm good.  :) The Beginner's Guide to Dream Interpretation (CD only) Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. Inner Work: Using Dreams & Active Imagination for Personal Growth Robert A. JohnsonThe Book of Symbols: Reflecting on Archetypal Images by TaschenLet your Body Interpret Your Dreams Eugene T. Gendlin, Ph.D. To leave comments, share episodes, please visit www.HSPpodcast.com  To learn more about Julie Bjelland, and her HSP resources, including  a free Sensitivity Quiz, visit www.juliebjelland.com 

Loved the power of this conversation so much!  Enjoy the meditation she does at the end too!  Emotional integration ( the mindfulness of feeling) is a unique technique that everyone can learn to create a healthy and positive relationship with their emotions especially for those of us that are highly sensitive people. Lucia shares: "I would love to talk about the importance of normalizing feeling our emotions, and how to do that. For us HSP we feel so much, that it's easy to get overwhelmed and shut down. Emotional Integration and meditation have transformed the lives of many people and I would love to talk about how it offers a new tool and hope for those that need it." Luciana Garcia is an ordained Buddhist priest and emotional mastery coach, who teaches other women how to master their emotions by using the unique technique of emotional integration (the mindfulness of emotions). Using this method, she has dropped 80 lbs and overcame premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). She has a Degree in Mind/Body Transformational Psychology and is an ordained Acharya from the Mahajrya Buddhist Tradition. She has been featured in KFoxtv Channel 14 and leads the #itstimetofeel moment, where she encourages women to see their emotions as their super power to build the relationships, families, and businesses of their dreams. www.theemotionalmasterycoach.com  Find more information and explore all episodes at www.HSPpodcast.com Julie Bjelland's resources for highly sensitive people can be found at www.juliebjelland.com 

Here are the questions submitted from my Sensitive Empowerment community. What are some effective ways I can practice to try to quiet or tune out the words that others have said to me so that I can focus on taking care of myself? I often find that I am responding to what's going on outside of me, and in particular, what others are thinking about me, instead of responding to what is going on inside of me. In doing so, I lose touch with myself and don't get my needs met a lot of the time. Although EHS (electromagnetic sensitivity) has very physical symptoms, I'm wondering about the emotional connection, have you noticed these types of physical-emotional connections, and do people benefit if they are able to work through these things as well as the physical symptoms? I know many HSPs suffer from chronic illnesses, and I'm wondering if there are any particular kinds of illnesses we tend to suffer from more than others? I’m trying to figure out “healthy helping” and could use some insight on this. Most recommendations of putting your oxygen mask on first etc make sense but I think my deeply caring side struggles so much with thinking others are suffering. I think us HSPs are natural helpers and so others often come to us for support. But how to balance being there for others with our own needs for rest, self-care, etc. and not to get overwhelmed? I suffer a great deal with injustice to humanity. It paralyzes me. It could be at any level and it affects me. There are times I can't listen or read the news because it hurts so much. I know what happens out there is greater than myself and there is so much one can do, but if it wouldn't bother me so much maybe I could do things about it. That's one of my goals now that I joined this group, to focus and be creative about it. But, I would like to know if you have some suggestions to manage those strong feelings about injustice. I love to learn, I am always learning something and it is a great joy for me, but I could be in the middle of learning something (and writing at the same time) and I get so happy about what I am learning that I have to stop and process it for a while before returning to what I was learning/writing/developing ideas, etc, but in that process, I interrupt ideas and let them go, which disappoints me, need suggestions. I would like some advice on how to believe more in myself. Especially when it comes to my creative work. There always seems to be part of me that panics when I think about showing my art, my stories, etc. Where I see other writers and think "they are so much better than me", how to collect braveness in my personal creativity. For writing and painting. There I wobble so much more and find myself burying myself in anxiety, "not good enough", etc. Any suggestions? I would be really curious to hear any suggestions or ideas you may have about how to slow down to get the rest you need when life does not slow down with you. I’m wondering about how to set boundaries with friends. I really need social time but I get exhausted. I love sharing and talking with friends about our experiences and inner lives but some of my friends tell very detailed stories and I just can’t listen for that long. I know I need to say something but I’m not sure what to say or how it might look. Have a question for me? Connect to me directly in my beautiful Sensitive Empowerment community. I'm there every day offering support and we do weekly live events that support our growth and empowerment. You can also explore our incredible HSP Library of all our events!   Get the link to join the community and explore all my HSP resources, including my free Sensitivity Quiz at www.juliebjelland.com  Explore my courses for HSPs at www.HSPcourse.com

Discussing honoring sensitivity, LGBTQ equality, equal rights, educating ourselves about how to heal systemic racism and how we can support black, indigenous people of color  (BIPOC) So important for us to be ourselves in the world and not only accept differences but to embrace differences Let’s start celebrating the beauty of all of our differences.  Why would we want to be the same? It is in the differences that make us valuable and beautiful in the world. I share my own story of hiding who I was as I tried to be in the role of being "perfect" and lost who I was and how both my personal life and my business thrived when I stepped into my own authenticity.   Lots of work to be done for equality: we still have to consider safety and acceptance as a consideration for where we live. Our ancestors who lived in tribes honored the sensitive in the group because of our natural gifts. We were the highly valued and respected healers, guides, and leaders of the tribe because of our unique gifts. This high sensitivity trait evolved for the particular survival of the population because of our unique gifts and their importance to the world. Somewhere along the way, society got too busy and started giving us messages that who we are and how we experience the world is different and wrong in some way. I say it’s time to change that message back into a place of honoring who we are and embracing diversity in general. Why is there such a push to have everyone be the same? Differences are needed and beautiful and valuable.  With differences comes important perspective, creativity, details, and information!  It’s time to embrace and honor differences! Let’s be the change the world needs and cherish authenticity and a loving acceptance of everyone.  Let’s honor the sensitive. Let’s embrace the fluidity and spectrum of sexuality and gender.  Let’s cherish Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.  I truly believe it is HSPs that care so deeply for others that can be part of the change. Let’s open to, embrace, honor, and celebrate the superpowers of the sensitive and the beauty of diversity. Explore bios and more episodes at www.HSPpodcast.com 

HSPs typically fall into two categories when we fall out of sync with ourselves. We become either the ‘pusher’ or the ‘hider’. These two shadow sides of our character cause us to either force ourselves to try to get what we need or we go the other way and hide altogether. Neither are effective strategies to function and are a clear indicator we are out of the flow and out of sync with ourselves. Living in this way can lead to burn out, stress, and depression. Join us this week as we discuss the importance of recognizing we achieve in different ways to the 80% born without the trait. Learning to trust our feelings and intuition and be in sync with the natural flow of things can be life-changing in terms of up-leveling our self-care and learning to live in ease and alignment. Explore episodes, ask us questions, make comments, read show notes, explore our HSP resources, leave a review and share episodes to help other HSPs at HSPpodcast.com Sending love and light to you. 

Sinead shares: “Discussing my own path as an HSP and how I navigated it. I want to talk about how Tarot and archetypal work helped me understand myself and help me with my sensitivities. I would also be happy to teach the listeners a few tips on how to access their intuition quickly and with confidence.” Bio: Sinead Fine is a Natural therapist and Professional Tarot reader for over 20 years. In her early career, she had to navigate being an HSP and at the same time help assist others in their time of need. She quickly discovered that being helping her clients connect to their intuition was vital for their safety and well-being. Then an event occurred that allowed Sinead to experience first hand the wisdom of her intuition. Contact info: Sinead Fine www.tarotforwomen.com Read show notes and learn more at HSPpodcast.com

Reiki, a form of energy healing which originated in Japan about 100 years ago, allows recipients to drop into a place of deep healing and relaxation. HSPs can benefit from energy work especially, as they are more likely than others to pick up energy around them and might need help with releasing it. During my sessions with clients, I incorporate visualizations and techniques for grounding and moving energy, which can be so helpful for HSPs! Emily shares..."I would love for them to hear about the healing and grounding that Reiki can offer. It can be a great self-healing tool too!" Emily Souder is a licensed therapist, intuitive guide, and Reiki master practitioner in Maryland. She has written multiple books, most recently having released Sparks: Inspiration for Extinguishing the Power of Fear and Igniting Amusement, Knowing, and Trust. Emily is often found exploring the outdoors as she homeschools her two children, knowing that she is learning as much as, if not more than, they are. www.nestingspacellc.com Read all the show notes and explore bios at www.HSPpodcast.com.

At some point in the highly sensitive person's life, someone said they were "too sensitive." It makes you doubt yourself and ignore your needs. How to use journaling to honor your sensitive needs and set boundaries. Especially with people who don't honor your boundaries. Mai Oliphant helps people use journaling for healing and growth. Download free journal prompts: https://www.shapemailife.com/ Check out her daily journal prompts on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/shapemailife/ The HSP Podcast with Julie Bjelland www.HSPpodcast.com

Sometimes as highly sensitive people we can become very depleted and overwhelmed. I hope listening to this meditation can help you recover and restore. Check out all the meditations at HSPpodcast.com

My Sensitive Empowerment Community has become a beautiful, supportive,  loving family of HSPs from all over the world.  We share our experiences, connect, make friends, and support each other daily. I also offer weekly live events. I'm sharing the audio from one of our events in hopes it helps you too.  This was our 57th event and all previous events have been recorded and are available to all members. Get the link to join our loving HSP family at www.juliebjelland.com  Here are some of the questions we covered in today's event.  I would like to understand more about being HSP and being empathic.  Are they one in the same or are there differences between the two?    I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to handle the fear of "disappointing/hurting" someone when you say no or need to correct them on something? I’m wondering how many HSP’s also struggle with addiction in some sort of way. Any tips or support would be appreciated. Are there any major efforts out there to educate parents, doctors, teachers, human resources, and the general public about the trait of HSP's and what to look for? What a positive game-changer it could be for so many HSP's if this trait was common knowledge. I'm curious if there is a link between being HSP and being introverted? Where I am, things are opening up and I'm expected to soon work in the office. How can we manage the fear of venturing out when it seems much safer and calmer at home, especially if it does not seem necessary?  One of my biggest struggles with being an HSP is how to communicate effectively when I am in a heated situation, for example, when someone is angry or screaming. I tend to freeze and lose my ability to speak and then feel irate later. I want to be able to address the situation calmly and in my power but am often so flooded with strong emotion I can not speak. I have the same question, except I don't freeze, I fight. And can't stop until everything I have ever thought comes out. When a fight starts, how can we calm down sooner?  How to deal with when I just am doing nothing but tears start to fall uncontrollably. for example, over the weekend I saw protestors holding signs to support police officers and I felt this tingling sensation and an overwhelming of hotness and tears starting to form (is this “flooding”?) but I was able to hold them back by taking deep breaths and not focusing or looking at the people (I was in the car with my family). Any thoughts on this would be helpful. Thanks. When talking to a spouse about HSP, what do you think are the top 2-3 things to focus on in discussion?  I'd like to avoid making him feel like he needs to change. I think he is feeling criticized when I explain my needs. It's such a huge concept, being HSP, so I would love to know a couple of big things to focus on and a couple of big things to avoid (like common mistakes)? Hoping this makes sense. I just don't know where to start, but I think he is willing to listen. Julie Bjelland is a sensitivity expert, psychotherapist, and author. Her online courses developed for HSPs and her Sensitive Empowerment community have helped thousands of highly sensitive people (HSPs) around the world reduce their challenges, access their gifts, and discover their significant value to truly thrive in the world. Known for her ability to teach people tools that work quickly, Julie is on a mission to empower sensitive people to live their best lives. For more HSP resources and to take Julie’s free Sensitivity Quiz, visit JulieBjelland.com