How to Keep Overwhelm at Bay
Episode 1 season 5: Martina Williams on IFS for HSPs
Navigating overstimulating environments can be a challenge for highly sensitive people. In this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman, host Elizabeth Cush talks with Martina Williams about coping strategies to manage your nervous system and walk comfortably in the world.
“If you end up being in a really highly stimulating environment, make sure that you create space for quiet so you can begin to down-regulate”
Show Notes:
If you’re a highly sensitive person, you may have grown up feeling different. You may have been told that you’re too “too.” You may have had experiences or feelings that it didn’t feel safe to talk about. Maybe that’s still the case. The truth is, you’re not too much, your feelings are legitimate, and there are many other women like you. And here’s some really good news: Highly sensitive people can learn a lot from each other. In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a mid-life women’s life coach, welcomes Martina Williams, a trauma recovery therapist and a coach who works with the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. They talk about what it’s like going through life as a highly sensitive person, share their experiences with using IFS to understand their reactions and increase their self-compassion, and offer tips for how introverts can avoid overwhelm and live with greater ease and comfort.
Listen and learn:
Whether highly sensitive people are more likely to be introverts or extroverts
Why you might not be the only one in your family who is highly sensitive
The connection between sensitivity and intuition—and why HSPs don’t easily trust their intuition
What happens when a highly sensitive person’s feelings aren’t validated and which parts get activated
Which managers commonly show up in highly sensitive people
Why you can’t just stop being highly sensitive
Why self-regulation often doesn’t come naturally to highly sensitive people
Tips for avoiding overwhelm even in overstimulating environments
How the iChill app can help you learn to track your nervous system, body sensations, and emotions and recognize which parts get activated in different situations
Learn more:
Suggest topics for Biz’s podcast and newsletter
See how to review the podcast
Get your free copy of Navigating Friendship in Mid-Life: A Guide to Build New & Deeper Connections as a Highly Sensitive Woman
Guided meditations on Insight Timer
Other episodes you might enjoy
Awaken Your Wise Woman Episode 4-20: Biz Cush/Overwhelmed and Highly Sensitive
Awaken Your Wise Woman Episode 3-15: Biz Cush/Highly Sensitive People
Woman Worriers Episode 26: April Snow/How Highly Sensitive People Can Manage Anxiety
Woman Worries Episode 128: April Snow/How Highly Sensitive People Can Find Their Voice
Woman Worriers Episode 150: Patricia Young/Could I Be Highly Sensitive and Extroverted, Too?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
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