The Gentle Power of Highly Sensitive People

If you're reading this a part of you may know that you could be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Nearly 20% of the population IS highly sensitive and out of that 20%, half are men.
Many of the "symptoms" of HSP show up as anxiety, depression, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and many more physical manifestations when the HSP doesn't know their "weakness" is actually their POWER.
What I mean is this: if you can feel energy, if you can sense emotions, if you can embody pain, then you can also use these gifts to heal yourself and those around you. It begins with acknowledging and accepting all the years you felt different, isolated, or like an over-thinker. When deep down you know you're different than those around you, it can bring a lot of pain. Pain trying to change yourself to fit in, pain from those around you telling you how you "should" behave, and pain when you take on others emotions as your own.
However, how to heal this part of yourself is to accept it, nurture it and learn to protect this beautiful gift of yours.
Many of my clients are HSP and we work together to find an energy protecting ritual that resonates with them. Each HSP is unique and that is the beauty of it all! We also work together to make small steps towards a self-care plan that suits the individual needs of each person.
For example, some feel the weight of the world in their heart so much so it physically feels like they're short of breath when they tap into this. I suggest limiting what social media is consumed, what tv is watched and what is read. Maybe now isn't the best time to tap into the news? For some, when they go out in public they feel physically drained, pain radiates through their body and they need to retreat for a while. For these people we work on limiting their time in big groups, we look at who they spend their time with, and we see where their energy might be leaking and /or being a magnet for others energy.
A great question I get my clients to ask themselves: "Is this _________ (sadness, physical pain, turmoil, anger etc...) mine?" Many times it is not.
When we tap into the more spiritual side of things HSP's have also been called Empath's, Intuitive's or Light Workers. If any of these words resonate with you, I encourage you to do a bit a research and see if you find your tribe.
For those who are hearing this term for the first time, or perhaps think that you know someone who might be an HSP, I encourage you to watch this TedTalk by Elena Herdieckerhoff:
If this is something that clicks for you, but you feel like you could use some help with coping tools and techniques, lets chat a bit further. I resonate with this message because I, myself, hold a lot of these traits. You are not alone, you are not TOO emotional, you are not TOO sensitive, you are not TOO soft, you are not TOO much. You have a gift that some do not understand.
Let's get you understanding yourself, so that you can help others understand you too!