In this episode, we cover five activities HSP's can use to befriend their sensitivity (all inspired by Elaine Aron's Highly Sensitive Person Workbook). Identify negative labels you have either told yourself or heard others say to you. Create a rebuttal to each one. Leverage your sensitivity as a strength by leaning into a sensory exercise. Identify…

In this episode of The Healthy Sensitive, Leah navigates the poignant journey of grief and loss, drawing from her personal experiences. Following the loss of her cherished cat Sasha, Leah offers an exploration into the process of grieving, examining the varied forms and stages of grief as described by experts like Brené Brown and David Kessler. Del…

In this episode of The Healthy Sensitive, Leah Burkhart delves deep into the intriguing relationship between high sensitivity and workaholism. Primarily focusing on highly sensitive people, she sheds light on their profound depth of processing, which often leads to extended work hours, perfectionism, and excessive preparation for tasks. This life-a…

In this episode of the Healthy Sensitive, Leah explores the profound impact of purpose on motivation and resilience. The discussion offers an extensive study on how appreciating your unique purpose can elevate your motivation, direct your life towards your goals, and enhance your stress tolerance. Leah elucidates the intriguing relationship between…

Our latest episode of The Healthy Sensitive takes you on a journey to discover your purpose. We help you comprehend the legacy you wish to leave behind by identifying problems you enjoy solving and people you love helping. Through an 'expansion and experimentation' mindset, we explore realms you are eager to delve into and learn from. Join us in th…

Welcome back to the Healthy Sensitive podcast where we navigate high sensitivity and everything that comes along with it. This episode explores the host's journey with her own high sensitivity, her bouts with creative seasons, her struggles with consistency, and her passion for sharing informative content. She reflects on her many roles, from a cli…

In today's episode, I'll talk about: The Types of Imposter Syndrome: The Perfectionist: This person sets extremely high standards for themselves and feels like any mistake is a sign of failure. The Expert: This individual believes they need to know everything before taking on a task and fears being exposed for not knowing something. The Soloist: Th…

In this episode, we talk about: What boundaries are Types of boundaries Why boundaries are important to highly sensitive people in particular Why they are important to our health How to build boundaries How to communicate our boundaries with others (without being a jerk)By Leah Burkhart

Jules De Vitto, MAEd, MSc is a Certified Transpersonal Coach and Educator based in London. She helps those who identify with the traits of high sensitivity to navigate emotional overwhelm, step into their authentic power and align with their true purpose in life. In our conversation, we talk about: - Jules' journey to becoming a transpersonal coach…

In today's episode, I discuss: The current risks I am taking on How we define risk Intuition vs. Impulse Highly Sensitive People and Risk HSP's and an inverted pyramid of needs Culture and risk What is worth doing even if we fail? Being creative with how we build our lives Trickster vs. Martyr How to create an ecosystem that supports a healthy resp…

Perfectionism. It seems like something we should strive for. Right? No. Perfectionism is toxic. It decreases our creative potential. It demolishes our ability to connect with other people. It also (unfortunately) is really common amongst highly sensitive people. In today's episode, we will discuss: - Definition of perfectionism - How perfectionism …

Lisa is a pharmacist as well as a certified mindfulness teacher. She has authored two books: “Grounded in Chaos - Leaning into adversity and learning joy” and 7 Mindful Questions: Stop wasting time. Redirect your mind. Focus on what matters.” In our conversation, we touch on a number of things. We talk about her personal and professional journey. W…

in today’s episode, I had the privilege of speaking with a long-time podcaster, musician, and coach who also works with highly sensitive people. His name is Andy Mort. He has been a host of the podcast “The Gentle Rebel” for a number of years. He has a plethora of resources dedicated to highly sensitive people…and in particular…highly sensitive cre…

Megan Murk is one of those individuals who is irritatingly good at just about whatever she tries. The worst part is that she is also incredibly likable. She is both knowledgeable and wise. She's confident and humble. It's part of why she continues to be an effective leader. She has taken that energy and applied it to helping mold the field of healt…

In this episode, I had the privilege of interviewing Andrea Shoun. Andrea is a health educator, author, and network marketing team leader. She is also...quite simply...a phenomenal person. Anyone who meets her walks away feeling better than when they arrived. Anyone who has the privilege of working with her (as I do in multiple capacities) finds th…

Plenty of people have heard about post traumatic stress disorder. But did you know that stress is not the only possible side-effect of adversity and trauma? It turns out that some (roughly 50 - 70 percent of people, in fact) go through trauma and walk away from it stronger than before. There are a couple of questions I had. First...do we have to ex…

Highly sensitive people are often more deeply affected by adversity. They feel all the feels...so it's natural they would feel pain more acutely. BUT - highly sensitive people tend to also be more creative and more resilient than the average person. They are able to take difficult circumstances and create something beautiful from the ashes. In this…

With the aftermath of the D.C. riots, many of us are left scared, angry and eager for someone to take some accountability. In today's episode, I wanted to do a deep dive into a few areas so as to provide some context for what is currently happening and what it means for us all. I do a brief overview of the U.S. government and how it is structured. …

In my last episode, I talked about the importance of having a "something larger" to appeal to during difficult times. After my podcast, my boyfriend asked "but how does one go about finding their "something larger?" I promised I would think on it. A few days later, I facilitated a workshop on "navigating burnout" for HSP's. After the workshop, some…

These are strange times (understatement of the century). And many of us are feeling the strain not just of isolation or fatigue....but also the strain of feeling empty. Of feeling like the wells we are used to drawing water from are dry or blocked off. During times like these, one thing that keeps popping up in the research as being important for o…

Denmark is, apparently, one of the happiest countries in the world. What are they getting right that we could learn from? What are some of the criticisms that come up as a rebuttal? And regardless of where you live or your policy preferences or lifestyle preferences...what do YOU think a meaningful looks like? Is it more important to strive for hap…

Everyone I know is saying basically the same thing: I'm tired. Not just that...but everyone I know is telling me that everyone they know is running on fumes. From loneliness. From not enough time alone. From too much stimulation. From boredom. We are all losing it (and all secretly wondering what it is, exactly, that we lost). In this episode, I'll…

We are living in really contentious times right now. There is a pandemic, an election, ecological disruptions, and civil unrest. It's tempting to spend the bulk of our time to talking about what we are against. But in this episode, I want to move away from that. I talk about why only speaking to what we are against isn't effective, and I talk about…

Hope is the sense that we are moving toward something better. It is the belief or expectation that things will get better if only we can hang on.... But when the world feels like it's falling apart...it can be challenging to stay hopeful. It might even feel like a superfluous luxury for children. In this podcast, I talk about the importance of havi…

We often talk about the idea of responsibility. We need to take "personal responsibility" for our lives and improve them on our own. The thing is, though...that sort of assumes we have free will. Research on how our systems work indicates we might not actually have free will. If that is the case...can we really be held responsible for our actions? …

Highly sensitive people have a tendency to be adaptable. Copacetic. Harmonious. Why? Because we hate conflict. Duh. But sometimes, in life, we really need to be able to stand firm and be clear about what our needs are. This podcast is about identifying what our non-negotiable are and finding ways to articulate them effectively.…

Highly sensitive people and introverts tend to like harmony. Calm. Pleasant and low-stimulus environments. Friction and conflict? No thanks. But might there be value in being willing to stand firm and endure the discomfort of friction? Is it possible that friction is a necessary ingredient for a meaningful life? For meaningful relationships? In thi…

Honesty is the best policy. That's what we are told. Except...is it? People who are honest appear to have better relationships and better health outcomes. But are there occasions when honesty is not the best policy? Should we all just be saying what we think at all times? Unfiltered? In this episode, we'll cover the benefits of being honest...with …

Many highly sensitive people I have met have said they are extremely uncomfortable with angry (uncomfortable when others express it and even more uncomfortable expressing it themselves). I find that intriguing. So when I recently experienced an episode of anger, I thought it a perfect opportunity to explore it. Anger, it turns out, is extremely use…

With a world trying to acclimate to a new normal with Covid, economic concerns, and in the case of the United States...an election...it's tempting to keep hitting the "refresh" button on our news feed. But to what degree is that helpful? Is it better to just avoid the news altogether? Or is there a sweet spot we can reach where we are informed enou…

Did you know that the trait "sensory processing sensitivity" is found in both women AND men? Not just that...it's found in equal numbers. Sensitivity is not linked with our sex. I talk a lot about the challenge of being a highly sensitive person, but I thought it might be useful to highlight this fact (that it's not correlated with either sex). I t…

We all seem to be in agreement in this country that what we need is to stop pointing fingers and start being willing to have hard conversations and compromise. But...are we willing to walk our talk? Highly sensitive people often struggle with this very thing - the willingness to be assertive and have difficult conversations. In this episode, I'll d…

As we close the month of May (Mental Health Awareness Month) It feels fitting to do a summary of strategies (evidence based, of course) that are known to help foster contentment (irrespective of what may be going on around us). In this episode, I cover specific, actionable steps we can all take to cultivate our best selves.…

When I say I work with "highly sensitive people" I often get one of two responses. I either get "oooohhh...that's super cool! You mean those super special people that are unique and awesome?" OR I get "Eewwwwwe. That sounds gross. Is it contagious?" My aim with this podcast is to simply create a conversation about what it is to have a more vigilant…

Highly sensitive people, contrary to what others might think, tend to be extremely productive. They are creative, intuitive, and capable homo-sapiens, I can assure you. The catch is that they really need to find systems for organizing themselves and their time that honors their specific needs and temperament. In this episode, I'll cover a wide vari…

What makes a country...GREAT. In looking at this pandemic meets economic question mark, I've definitely been preoccupied with that idea. It's easy for some of us to look to countries like China and say "daaaang. They really know how to pandemic. Why can't we do that?!?" But does that mean China is the best country in general? I would argue not...bu…

There is no doubt that we are in uncertain times right now...but the thing is - WE ALWAYS WERE. It's just that now it is being presented to us directly. So how can we navigate these times effectively (not just surviving it, but being a part of the solution). And beyond that, how can we carry the lessons we learn from this experience into the future…

I'm sure everyone is feeling saturated with information about the coronavirus. But is anyone talking about the impact all this is having on us in our everyday lives? In this episode, I'll discuss a bit of information regarding the virus, and why everyone is so worried about it (but also trying not to incite any panic around it). I'll spend an even …

By Leah Burkhart

By Leah Burkhart

If you want to run a marathon, you can't do it by sprinting all 26.2 miles of it. You need to know how to pace yourself. You need to know when you can push, and when you need to dial back. You need to know when you have to stop at the rest table and get a sip of water, and when you can push past them and get to the next rest stop. It turns out the …

By Leah Burkhart

I'm all about supporting my fellow HSP's and Introverts who want to live BIG...live their BEST lives (the trick being finding a way to do it that doesn't drive your health to the pavement). But there is one complication that needs discussion: failure. As in...what if I put myself out there and fail? Avoiding failure doesn't really seem like a viabl…

Resolutions. Goals. Achievements. Dreams. It's lovely to talk about them and imagine what it might be like to bring them to life. But what does it really take to make it happen? And what if you work and toil only to discover that the goals you put in motion don't manifest the way you thought they would? Or what if they don't provide the joy you tho…

It's not only a new year, but a whole new decade...not to mention an election year. It seems like a great opportunity to try new challenges. There is just one problem...did you know that 80 percent of people who have New Years fail to maintain them by February of that same year? Sooo...what is that other 20 percent doing differently? How might you …

By Leah Burkhart

Everywhere you turn, now, people are talking about "loneliness." Not only is it a problem...apparently it's a full blown epidemic! In this episode I'll talk in more detail about what loneliness actually is. I'll discuss how it relates to our health and longevity. I'll talk about how this relates to HSP's in particular. Finally, I'll talk about some…

You've probably heard it at least once: "You're too sensitive." Can one actually be too sensitive? In this episode, I discuss some of the shadow traits of many people with sensory processing sensitivity. I talk about why those traits are so common with HSP's and what we can do to offset some of those less desirable characteristics and make improvem…

We all know the story. In our brains, we are constantly fighting between our emotions and our rationality. It's why we find instant gratification so alluring (our emotional brain is trying to win out). It's why we are enamored with characters like Spock (he's beaten out his emotions). But what if we are wrong? What if everything we thought was true…

Who are you? That's a question that has been plaguing philosophers for years (and one that still pulls at us even now). In this episode, I talk about the kinds of labels we use to describe ourselves (gender, race, class). I invite listeners to gently challenge the idea that any label can fully encapsulate what it means to be you. This is even true …