Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES): "That dysfunction can give us the message that I am not okay." Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist and speaker. This audio is from her video interview for the Anxiety Super Conference. She comments about some early experiences: "Because of that household dysfunction, our brains do a co…

Dr. Cheryl Arutt is a trauma-informed Clinical & Forensic Psychologist, Certified EMDR therapist, and specializes in trauma recovery and creative artist issues. “Many people in my practice are actors and performers and people who have a platform.” She finds, “A lot of times people will think that when they achieve a certain level of success, they’l…

"Sensitive people are more prone to stress because we are picking up so much more information from the internal and external environment." Dr. Natasha Fallahi, a mind-body health expert, functional medicine practitioner, known as “The Sensitive Doctor,” says trauma arises from overwhelm in situations when we can’t fully process and integrate our ex…

Transpersonal Coach and Trainer Jules De Vitto, MAEd, MSc, comments "Although there may be some similarities between the sensory processing challenges experienced by highly sensitive individuals [HSPs] and those with autism, there are some key differences between the two conditions. She finds, "despite the overlap, ASD and HSP can be distinguished …

“I always felt awkward and shy.” Steven Spielberg “I wouldn’t say I have much of an outgoing personality." Idris Elba “I’m very sensitive in real life.” Jessica Chastain Listen to comments by artists, psychologists and others about high sensitivity, as well as introversion and shyness. These are separate experiences that share some qualities, and c…

"It is hard to change that feeling flawed piece...it's so seeped into your bones." Julie Bjelland “Trauma results in this belief that we are different, that we’re not enough, that there’s something about us that pushes people away or that we’re too much for other people." Trauma healing specialist Aimie Apigian, MD continues: “And so if they were t…

"It is hard to change that feeling flawed piece...it's so seeped into your bones because it's your inner child. It's stuff that you learned with a child's brain." ⏩ From Episode 195 Feeling Flawed of the HSP and Neurodivergent Podcast. From the original Show Notes: "In this conversation, Julie Bjelland and Willow McIntosh discuss the importance of …

“I’ve taken off two months, three months at a time, and, by the end, I get really squirrelly. My night life, my dream life, gets extremely populated and crazed. It’s as though something in there is running all the time. And if it doesn’t get an outlet on the page, it comes out in the dreams.” Stephen King "The thoughts are unstoppable - but so is t…

"Have you heard the statistic that neurodiverse employees are 90 to 140% more productive than non-neurodiverse? Isn't that amazing?" Therapist Julie Bjelland, LMFT from "Episode 192- Embracing Neurodiversity with Julie and Willow" of her HSP and Neurodivergent Podcast. (Follow link to her site & find her Downloadable Guide for Organizations and Ind…

A number of wearable devices can help improve our physical and emotional health. In this audio, several people talk about the Apollo Neuro device, starting with Psychotherapist Julie Bjelland. She comments that highly sensitive people have a "unique and deep sensitivity to our surroundings and emotions, which grants us numerous strengths, including…

Therapist Julie Bjelland says "the reason we call it hidden is because many of the things that we experience as autistic women are in fact things that are internal, that are not actually seen by other people. "So I want to share some of those things. One of the things is this high intelligence and diverse interests. It's almost like having a superc…

The first part of this episode is an excerpt from a Neurocuriosity Club Podcast episode: Megan Griffith asks her guest Jennifer Harvey Sallin "What do we need to know as gifted adults trying to navigate the world? I know there's not one piece of advice that's going to be a one size fits all." Jennifer Harvey Sallin, Founding Director at InterGifted…

"I do think that [my novel's heroine] Stella, deals with a lot of insecurity about herself because she's on the spectrum. And that's also something that I personally live with." Author Helen Hoang "Growing up in the 1990s...I operated on a different wavelength: I gravitated towards philosophy and books that dissected the meaning of life. I was extr…

"Autism informs everything that I do - it's you know my processing unit so it's how the information goes in and out. So it's always informed me. Since being diagnosed, it's helped me understand that I'm not a rubbish person - I just think about things differently." Hannah Gadsby "Autism doesn't define me." Kayla Cromer "In the 60s doctors recommend…

"To get out of our heads and into our bodies a little more...I think gifted humans, neurodivergent humans and humans impacted by trauma...really have a hard time doing that." Christine Fonseca is "a licensed educational psychologist, critically acclaimed author, and a nationally recognized speaker on topics related to educational psychology, mental…

"Growing up in the 1990s, I was different from other girls, but I certainly never considered I had autism." Zhara Astra continues, "Sure, I operated on a different wavelength: I gravitated towards philosophy and books that dissected the meaning of life. I was extremely literal, and had a fascination with math and numbers, as is common in autism. Bu…

"I was also aware that I was not really allowed to be so gifted, that I threatened their self concepts. Which is to say that I wasn’t really encouraged or allowed to be my full self, but I was rather being asked to act as a kind of instrument or one dimensional trophy for other people. "And I found that it’s really hard to live inside such suffocat…

"Have you ever frozen up in the face of what should otherwise be a nonthreatening situation?" That is one way to define the trauma response of freeze. In the first section of this podcast episode, Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD comments "when we bring in the right kinds of support, the right kinds of energy, I have seen the time needed for the freeze respon…

Probably all of us don't like certain kinds or levels of emotion, and want to get away from them, sometimes in self-destructive ways. In this episode, several psychologists and others talk about what emotions are. "As an actor I have a tendency to skitter along the top of emotional things. I'm Lutheran, I don't like being emotional." William H. Mac…

Self-acceptance, self-compassion, self-regard, healthy self-esteem... how do these impact us, including being creative? In this episode, a number of artists and psychologists talk about their perspectives and some of the research. The thumbnail image is actor Michelle Rodriguez, who said, “I don’t think it’s narcissistic at all to love yourself and…

"What is the definition of the Shadow? Why is it so important to understand your Shadow’s contents?" This audio is from a free series by Sounds True, from video 1: The Sacred Path of the Shadow with Caroline Myss.

Melissa Schwartz interviews Julie Bjelland, LMFT. Learn more about the program in article The Empaths, Sensitives and Intuitives Summit.

This audio is from the much longer video conversation in a Summit - learn more in article The Empaths, Sensitives and Intuitives Summit.

See more in article The Empaths, Sensitives and Intuitives Summit.

“Anxiety or high stress is actually pretty common for highly sensitive people. Much of it has to do with an overloaded sensitive nervous system.” Learn more in article How Highly Sensitive People can deal with anxiety – a free Masterclass.

"Sensory overload is when our senses take in more information than our brain can keep up with processing." Sensitivity therapist and author Julie Bjelland adds that as highly sensitive people, "We take in more data than the majority." Hear full podcast, see videos, and read about what causes overload and suggestions for managing it, in How to Live …

This Conference hosted by Julie Skolnick is an online event with recordings of presentations by 16+ experts on being a gifted and twice exceptional adult. Learn more in article "How To Thrive More as a Gifted Adult - the Let’s Talk 2e Adult Conference" https://highability.org/7639/

“Highly Sensitive People have particular brain differences that make us more susceptible to high stress, overwhelm and even anxiety." Sensitivity expert and author Julie Bjelland, LMFT adds, “Thankfully there is a way to train your HSP brain so you can live your fullest life.” See more in article How Can Brain Training Help Highly Sensitive People …

“If it doesn’t scare the crap out of you, then you’re not doing the right thing.” Sandra Bullock. / “I was a very anxious kid in many ways. I had a lot of fears." Hugh Jackman “Anxiety or high stress is actually pretty common for highly sensitive people. Much of it has to do with an overloaded sensitive nervous system.” Psychotherapist Julie Bjella…

Clinical psychologist Cheryl Arutt specializes in creative artist issues and trauma recovery. This is an excerpt from our longer interview on topics including high sensitivity, regulating disruptive feelings, destructiveness vs creativity, pain and creativity, being unconventional vs rebellion against the self, the fight-or-flight response, and oth…

Marisa Peer talks about what kinds of experiences and thinking impact our self esteem. our sense of being worthy and lovable. She talks about some people including Diana (a nurse), Marilyn Monroe and others. See videos and more in article Self Esteem and Self Confidence and Creative People thecreativemind.net/1941/…

Sensitivity expert Julie Bjelland on why we are more vulnerable to anxiety as highly sensitive people: "Imagine there is a motor inside you. Most people whose motor is too fast experience feelings of anxiety." See much more in article (with link to her free Masterclass on anxiety) - "How to Relieve Stress and Anxiety When You’re a Highly Sensitive …

"Emotions are not built into your brain at birth. They are just built...you have more control over them than you might imagine." Professor of psychology Lisa Feldman Barrett. See more in my article "Are emotions hardwired and just triggered? No - our brains build them" thecreativemind.net/7321/

"When the emotional brain is activated, the cognitive brain kind of goes to sleep." Julie Bjelland, LMFT explains more in article "How Can Brain Training Help Highly Sensitive People Thrive?" http://highlysensitive.org/12159/