by eileenburns | Aug 14, 2018 | Inner Child, Anxiety, Empath, Empowerment, Highly Sensitive Person, Spirituality
Why healing the inner child can support Highly Sensitive People and Empaths who struggle with their sensitivity.
Healing the inner child can be a very powerful way to address all sorts of forms of dis-ease, unhealthy beliefs, and conditioning. How we experience and see the world as a child often shapes how we show up as an adult. And this is no different for the highly sensitive child who can find the modern world a harsh place. Empaths and HSP’s struggle to thrive in life because in some ways they have struggled to survive their childhood.
Struggles Of The Empath And Highly Sensitive Person
No matter how healthy or unhealthy your childhood was many HSP’s and empaths struggle because of their level of sensitivity and awareness. Highly sensitive people are generally more sensitive to their own wounding and surroundings. The highly sensitive empath takes that a bit further they will feel the emotional pain of others. And some of us also take on the energetic imprint or physical pain of others.
Every HSP and Empath is unique but like everyone in life, they will feel different levels of that pain, they will also have their own personal challenges and trauma.
Inner Child Healing – The Highly Sensitive Child
The highly sensitive child/person has such heightened awareness than those around them that they can see, hear, feel, and interpret things to a greater degree than most people couldn’t imagine. The HSP child will often be viewed as too sensitive, too weak, too childlike, irrational, naive …
These natural gifts and traits often trigger fear and misunderstanding in the parents, siblings, and caregivers around them which is projected onto the child. They are often taught that who they are at a core level is flawed, bad, wrong, not enough. Told to toughen up, be brave, be bold, shut down their emotions, act differently; basically not be their sacred self.
Many highly sensitive children are highly empathic, intuitive and even psychic. This again can trigger tremendous fear in those around them which the child senses. So much so the child will shut down their natural traits, their natural state of being. That is why inner child work is highly recommended for empaths and the highly sensitive person.
Increased Empowerment From Healing The Inner Child
So many highly sensitive people including highly sensitive children often don’t know where they fit in. This can create a great degree of inner conflict especially when we are living in a very noisy, materialistic society. A culture that is often embedded with self-preservation and self-success than any on compassion and deep humanity for others around us.
Inner Child work can be extremely healing for the HSP who struggles to honour themself and their sensitivity. It is empowering for the empath or HSP who can’t say no and struggles with boundaries. For those who too easily take on other people’s drama or pain.
In my one to one sessions and inner child programs for sensitives and empaths. I address different aspects of the inner child. Working on the wounded child, abandoned child, the eternal child and the more positive aspects of the inner child. It is extremely healing and empowering to address underlying triggers where you felt traumatised, abandoned or disempowered. Those experiences where we have shut down mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
Unlock Your Gifts From Healing The Inner Child
Clients and therapists experience many benefits and insights from inner child work. Even simply listening to inner child healing guided meditations that have been created by someone qualified to do. Because so many HSP’s haven’t learned to own and harness their sensitive gifts in a positive way. You may not recognise that some of your physical symptoms are just signs your gifts are trying to show up. Or maybe you need to start owning your power, your sovereignty.
Maybe you need to say NO? Stop allowing others to take advantage, control, or impose their beliefs or wants onto you. Maybe you need to put yourself first? So many Empaths and HSP’s are overgivers, the wounded healer, victim, martyr, or rescuer.
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by eileenburns | Aug 10, 2018 | Business, Empath, Empowerment, Highly Sensitive Person
Why Highly Sensitive Coaches Struggle Financially In Their Business
One of the biggest challenges many highly sensitive coaches, therapists and healers have is they have all sorts of struggles with financial abundance. They can have all sorts of challenges in their business and their life because of this. I know being a self-employed highly sensitive empath, coach and healer for over 18 years.
Main Motivation Of The Highly Sensitive Coach
The highly sensitive person or empaths driving motivation can appear in many ways to be related to the top of maslows hierachy needs instead of the bottom. The highly sensitive coach is often not driven by the same money goals that most other coaches are. Their client, work and financial relationship is often far more complex.
What I witnessed as both a coach/trainer and client to many coaches and therapists. In-fact even as a client to many coaches and healers over a 25 year period. Was that many of the most gifted and qualified coaches/ therapists were highly empathic and HSP. They were also are the most likley to under charge in comparison to some of the most awful coaches and healers who charged premium prices.
So let’s look more deeply at why the HSP Coach tends to struggle with financial abundance
The Success Struggles Of The Highly Sensitive Coach
Highly Sensitive Coaches are motivated by self-actualization in many ways this takes dominance. They are very much more focused on the spiritual self.
Highly Empathic Coaches can be so aware or entangled up with other’s pain they just want to be of service, they forget they are actually running a business.
The Highly Sensitive And Empathic Coach is often more dominated by their altruistic traits so not driven by money or financial success.
The Highly Sensitive Coach often resists the business, marketing and technical aspect of their business. Many Empathic or HSP Coaches fear the business and marketing part of the business. This can cause them great distress and anxiety.
How You Can Start Healing Your Money And Abundance Struggles
Traditional based Meditation Techniques and grounding strategies including spending time in nature help support and heal the root chakra. It is important you address root level challenges, conditioning, and beliefs that need to be addressed.
Be More Open To Receiving
Often life’s over givers, carers, healers, therapists and empathic coaches come from such a place of lack of over-giving, they have forgotten how to receive. Don’t get caught up in how the universe gives/provides, trust, and be open to receiving the help and support in whatever shape it comes. Focus on gratitude daily this will increase your vibration.
Heal Your Wounds
If you are highly empathic or highly sensitive and affected deeply by other people’s energy. Heal your own wounds, heal your own issues by healing your inner child. Being aware of other’s pain and taking others’ pain are two very different things. Many coaches and healers can go into this type of work because of their own life challenges which are still being healed. This can take time but it is vital you address them.
Own your uniqueness, your spark of wonder, your specific gifts you are here to share with your clients. So many highly sensitive coaches doubt their own abilities, stop focusing on what everyone else is offering or charging, do your own thing. Stop giving your energy and power away.
Face Your Fears
Face and address your own sabotaging fears or sabotaging patterns of behaviour. There is no point focusing on a law of attraction mindset if you are trying to suppress or deny what needs to be addressed. What we resist persists, what we suppress will eventually come to the surface.
Own Your Coaching Business
Start owning you are a business service, address any issues you have around this. At least 90% of the coaches and therapists I work with struggle for many years because they view themself as for example lightworkers who are helping people so they shouldn’t need to advertise. Sadly so many of them rarely show up and never survive, stuck in the sand believing they are doing such great work that everyone should find them. If you charge you are in business.
Get Connected
When you get connected with spirit, god, and your essence. You live each day with a bigger sense of confidence, calm, and trust. You get out of your fearful sabotaging head and into a state of being. And how can you do that, well with the right type of meditation. The type of meditation or technique that helps you access that sense of presence, stillness, and inner wisdom at almost the switch of a button. When we can bring in a state of peace, stillness, and connectedness to our moment to moment life. Our fearful sabotaging mind starts to fall away.
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by eileenburns | Jul 28, 2018 | Empath, Empowerment, Highly Sensitive Person, Spirituality
Having The Strength To Let Go And Let God
Do you have the ability to trust and surrender, to let go and let god?
The ability to let go of control in difficult situations?
Or do you have that constant need to control or fix everything?
Why True Empowerment Involves An Element Of Letting Go
You know one of the things I learned along my own journey is that to become truly empowered we need to let go and let god. It took me a long time to realise this and like most of us, I have to be reminded. The ego fools us into believing that we must do this, need to that as if we are supposed to control everything. As if the world, the universe is this terrible place that doesn’t provide, nurture, or support us.
Most of us hold deeply ingrained beliefs that imply we are the only ones who can and must make it all happen. And that you have to do this or that to be enough or to be this worthy person. These perceptions completely separate us from universal laws and god.
It’s sad how much-distorted perceptions we all carry from ancestral, cultural, religious, and society’s conditioning. And how these conscious and unconscious distortions can shape or destroy our life. What we believe or don’t believe about ourselves can create a great illusion and delusion lol.
How To Let Go And Let God Be The Caretaker
Some of the biggest distorted perceptions many empaths and highly sensitive people hold is that their role is to constantly support, fix, heal, or put others’ needs first. This is evident in the way you may absorb and or interact with other people’s energy or pain. It is so easy to over-identify with the healer or carer role on an unconscious and conscious level. When we believe we have to or should control or fix every situation. When the reality is so far from the truth.
We all have areas of life where we think we try to control situations. Maybe it’s your family, your relationship, your colleagues or staff, career, someone’s health, and wellbeing…
We soon learn when it’s much wiser to let go and let god, let things unfold, let god be the caretaker of the situation.
Top Tips To Let Go And Let God
STOP And Check In With Yourself; Notice when you are in a constant state of fear, resistance when you want to control everything?
Cultivate A Sense Of Trust; when you learn how to trust there is a bigger picture, bigger plan it is much easier to let go when it is the right or healthier thing to do. You will also get a deeper sense of when it is appropriate to take action.
Acceptance In The Present Moment; when you learn how to practice acceptance of each present moment, you learn how to surrender in that specific moment. Please understand acceptance does not mean you are lying down or giving up on a situation. You are just surrendering to that moment, to make room for God to come in and either give you guidance for action or guidance for patience.
The Power Of Letting Go And Letting God
I spent a large part of my twenties housebound and at times bedbound. Oh how hard I tried to get better, a woman on a mission to fix, overcome, and try to control, every aspect of my health.
I meditated at least 20 minutes twice a day
I visualized myself healing every morning and the night going to bed.
I even followed a no sugar, no gluten, no dairy diet for many years.
I did all sorts of affirmations, gratitude, mindset, and law of attraction courses.
I spend many thousands of pounds on so many forms of healing therapies.
I got all sorts of tests and nutritional support
But you know what the biggest healing breakthroughs were only when I started to let go and just be. Because the harder I tried to heal myself the more symptoms and further problems I created. I began to realise that fighting against dis-ease is not always the best way to heal. In many ways your fighting with your body.
The Distress Of Denial And Resistance
I remember one particular day I was so frustrated my body wouldn’t do what I wanted it to do. I had been training to be a singer before I got really ill, and was fighting so hard to get back to doing what I loved. And it just wasn’t happening I could hardly walk never mind anything else.
My mum I think saw my frustration and said to me “Be still and know that I am god”. In a way, these were not the words I wanted to hear but something made me STOP.
When I look back it breaks my heart in some ways I was trying so so hard to fix, heal, myself. I was carrying so much shame that I wasn’t better, I wasn’t healed. I was a trained healer, I had studied so much, tried so much and I still wasn’t fixed. I felt so much guilt that there was something wrong or bad about me. I just wanted to live that normal life like my friends, my siblings, I suppose there was an element of why me? But the main problem I was unconsciously fighting, resisting, trying to survive never mind thrive.
The Healing Power As You Let Go And Let God
And the truth was, IT WAS only those times when I let go and let god. Those times when I stopped trying so hard and gave up that need to control. I started to get stronger and stronger. Because I wasn’t resisting what my body was trying to tell me
Now I have to say I was a bit impatient in my healing journey and it wasn’t plain sailing after that. Because it takes tremendous courage to truly surrender. I did get some of my health back but I was just so desperate to get some of my life back. The only way I knew how was to became self-employed. Despite still needing to sleep/rest up to 14 hours a day just to function, serious mobility, and stamina issues. I just wanted to feel valued, feel worthy, have a purpose, and not depend on the lowest of state benefits.
In many ways, my business gave me so much, it was highly empowering. But underneath like most of us, I hadn’t healed within, where it truly mattered. That place where all disease, unhappiness, addictions, stress, and anxiety resides. Like most of us, I wanted a role, an identity to mold myself into and control. Anything but this distorted perception of myself as a disabled weak fragile woman with no value. But despite being a stress therapist, I attracted very extreme business challenges. And had an unhealthy need to fight for my businesses at almost any cost because I over-identified with it.
In many ways, my business was my baby, my relationship, and a replacement for all those things I also loved that I could no longer do.
When Your Forced To STOP, Let Go And Let God Into Your Life
It was often only when I was forced to STOP. That I had to let go and let god that I was reminded how powerful letting go is. And believe me, you would have thought I would have learned. I have received so many huge signs, particularly around my health; threatened eye loss, suspected cancer scares, surviving life-threatening sepsis and so much more. I seem to be a slow learner or very very stubborn lol.
You know, when we let go and let god and just be, it is not just deeply healing or spiritual. But it can be life-transforming and magical. In these moments, so much shifted in my life in such a deeper and profound way. We don’t have to do it all alone, we don’t have to live our lives in a specific way. We are supported, we are being guided, but are we listening, or maybe more importantly are we trusting?
Are You Ready To Live A More Empowered Life?
Are You Ready To Live More Of A Purposeful Life
by eileenburns | Jul 14, 2018 | Highly Sensitive Person, Empath, Empowerment, Spirituality
What Is Your Souls Essence And How Do You Nurture It?
I believe our Souls Essence is our purest essence, who we are at a core level. Not the stories we tell ourselves or who the world tells us we are. But that aspect of us that naturally shines through when we are allowed to be free to be our self.
When we remove the distracting material things of this world, we get to the course of one’s soul. Our soul’s essence is that mixture of beautiful gifts and traits we are here to share in the world. But sadly most of us have such a distorted perception of ourselves and our purpose. We often can’t see or recognise our soul’s essence never mind shine our soul’s essence.
Why Don’t I Recognise My Souls Essence?
If you are a highly sensitive person or empath who is highly intuitive, psychic, or clairvoyant in any way. You maybe have been traumatised into believing your unique soul’s essence is weak, bad, evil, scary, stressful, or even exhausting from childhood. Because often highly sensitive children are often viewed as weak, vulnerable, overdramatic, immature, dysfunctional by those around them. And often grow up believing this about themself. Never mind a highly psychic sensitive child who is often viewed as crazy, mentally unwell, weird, having a vivid imagination, or simply dishonest.
Parents and siblings of an HSP can struggle to understand their highly sensitives traits and gifts. This fear or negativity around the HSP’s soul essence can trigger a lot of conflicts not just around the empath or HSP but within them. And as we know inner conflict is one of the biggest ways we all disempower ourselves and create dis-ease or dis-harmony within the psyche. So in many ways, we try to dampen down or cut off that connection to our unique essence because of our own fear.
I know how much I feared my own psychic and intuitive gifts in my life, particularly as a teenager. Although I naturally used many of my empathic and intuitive gifts in my healing and therapeutic work. I was terrified of some of the psychic gifts I appeared to have from a young age especially when I was brought up in a religion that viewed many of these abilities as wrong. This can be hugely disempowering and disabling. But thankfully I have started to recognize how much they are just part of my unique soul’s essence, part of what I am here to do.
But even if you are not an HSP or empath most people struggle to recognize their soul’s essence because most people today are so disconnected from their true self. They are so caught up with material and egoic distractions of the noisy mind they are not tapping into what is already there.
How Can I Build A Strong Connection With My Souls Essence?
Meditate: One of the simplest ways you can start building a more natural connection with your Souls Essence is through meditation. Particularly more traditional style meditations than guided meditations especially to begin with. Because this initially helps us loosen our attachment to the ego to our over-dependence on the rational or logical mind. If you are an HSP or empath who has spent most of their lives in conflict with their psychic and intuitive gifts and sensitivities, your inner conflict will always want to depend on the rational logical mind. Traditional based meditation techniques help you spend time quiet time in the stillness with the self, your self. So you naturally build up a much stronger connection without expectation or without your imagination getting too carried away which can sometimes happen in guided meditations.
Get Grounded: The highly sensitive person often struggles to make a strong trustworthy connection with the soul and their inner compass because they are so ungrounded. Empaths particularly are deeply affected by the energy, the emotions, and the world around them. So it is important that you ground regularly, as you can read in Why Highly Sensitive People Need To Ground More As you will learn grounding doesn’t have to be all new age happy hippie stuff.
Patience: I believe one of the biggest mistakes many students make when they are trying to build up a bigger connection to their soul’s essence, souls’ purpose, intuitive or psychic gifts. Is impatience because they want to run before they can walk. They go to meditation or a psychic class just seeking answers, guidance, increased abilities. Instead of simply nurturing a relationship with the self or their soul’s essence first. So they do not build up a strong foundation or strong connection, rather a shoddy one that is based on only what they can seem to get in a superficial egoic way. I will give you an example, I began studying Reiki 26 years ago and things have changed so dramatically in so many ways. Even the word Reiki Master/ Teacher now is a very loose term because most teachers today certainly haven’t spent decades mastering their reiki practice on a day to day basis. In-fact today many go on to Master/Teacher level in a few years with often very few client’s experiences under their belt. And often attracts students who simply want to be more psychic or just looking for a certificate in some sort of type of holistic fast track training. Very few people are willing to truly master anything, they are too busy looking at the next distraction or next external thing to feed the ego.
Positive Intention: With a positive intention in life you create a much more positive vibration in your energy field. That does not mean you do not deny what emotions want to come up and flow out for healing. Emotions are simple energy in motion, we just need to allow them to flow but the biggest challenge most of us have is we either want to deny or block the feeling out of fear. Or we focus on the story we believe triggered the emotion. And we ruminate that story over and over in our heads. Positive Intention opens you up to allowing magic, synchronicities, spiritual guidance into your life. It is one of the reasons I prefer intentions rather than goals, goals can be too linear specific, and egoic. They don’t allow room for all the magical possibilities around us we couldn’t possibly imagine could happen.
Trust: Like everything in life a strong connection with a strong foundation is only built up over time, with integrity, authenticity, and trust. You have to build up trust with your soul’s essence. And believe me, if you take the time to do it right, your connection will become so much more powerful and unshakeable.
When you meditate, get grounded, send out a more positive intent with patience and trust you are less likely to waste so much time and energy running around in circles with your ego. Distracting yourself with all sorts of things, ideas, courses or things that never fulfill your passion, purpose, or inner being. You are more open to and likely to start naturally flowing with life’s synchronicities, life’s magic.
Learn the essential skills every empath an HSP needs that will help you nurture a deeper connection with your Soul’s Essence? Start to truly know how to love and care for you, become more empowered with your soul’s greatest gifts.
by eileenburns | Jul 2, 2018 | Highly Sensitive Person, Anxiety, Grounding, Stress
How Can You Reduce Reduce Stress As A Highly Sensitive Person
The Highly Sensitive Person is so much more sensitive to external and internal stimuli they need to be more pro-active to reduce stress levels. Anxiety and stress are high in our western busy and over-stimulated way of life. But that doesn’t mean just because you are a highly sensitive person or highly empathic that you need to suffer from chronic anxiety or chronic stress.
Chronic Stress As A Highly Sensitive Person
Chronic stress is triggered by our fears, it is our reaction to the world around us, the way we psychologically and physiologically respond to situations, people, and the things around us. The biggest cause of stress today is our mental thoughts; our conditioning, what we attach and give power to.
But external stimuli such as environmental noise, information overload can certainly play their part so can environmental and internal toxins. But the way we view the world, situations, very much represents how we show up in the world. If you are an HSP, a highly sensitive person who views the world as a highly harsh, uncaring, and dangerous place. You will show up in the world as a very fearful, highly anxious, sensitive soul. Who struggles to survive never mind find their way in the world.
The highly sensitive person or highly empathic person has tremendous gifts to share with the world. They have tremendous compassion and huge insight into those around them. Because they are highly intuitive and highly sensitive to the energy and emotions of the people and situations around them. But this also makes them more vulnerable to other’s anxiety and stress, to mass consciousness, and to many other things that most people can comprehend.
Some famous people who have been regarded as HSP a highly sensitive person include Albert Einstein, Carl Jung, Diana- The Princess Of Wales, Judy Garlan, Mother Theresa. You can learn more about a highly sensitive person’s traits here.
5 Simple Ways A HSP- A Highly Sensitive Person Can Reduce Stress Daily
Assertiveness- learn how to say NO, one of the biggest challenges many HSP’s and particular empaths have a challenge with. Is the ability to say NO. Empaths feel others’ pain and fears so deeply they often struggle to identify their own needs. So struggle to set healthy boundaries.
Be Yourself – trying to fit in, comparing yourself to other’s, judging yourself on other’s ideas of what you should and shouldn’t be like. Is a huge source of distress. You are more than enough, even in within your vulnerability, your physical, emotional, and even mental sensitivity, you are enough. You are unique, special, wonderful and here to be you.
Grounded – become more grounded physically, mentally, and emotionally get out of your head, and get connected to your body and the earth around and underneath you. I find the essential oil blend On Guard a great aid. When you are more grounded your energetic field is much stronger so you are naturally more boundaried to other people’s negativity and emotions.
Be In The Moment– learn how to be more present, more in the moment, take each step, each day as it comes, let go of yesterday’s and tomorrow’s, see below as meditation and mindfulness can help. You tend to be more grounded and find it easier to naturally assert your own needs when you live in the moment.
Meditate – meditation is a powerful way to connect with the self, that space where stillness and calm resides, where wisdom, true insight and guidance evolves from. Meditation helps quieten the mind and helps develop a powerful connection with our inner wisdom.
Unplug- a highly sensitive person or highly empathic person usually needs to unplug and switch off more frequently than other’s do. HSP’s tend to have sensory processing issues which affects the autonomic nervous system. So the slightest over stimulation can trigger the “fight or flight” stress response. Leaving the HSP highly wired, anxious, stressed, and exhausted.
Cushioning – is a stress management strategy that helps cushion you from the impact of a stressor or stressors. It involves using any practical, therapeutic, or strategical strategy that will help you reduce stress and become more resilient to the stressors of everyday life. It can involve taking action, managing or reducing the stressor in question but also includes an aspect of balance into your life. It involves having a more healthier approach to your everyday life, so you are generally more stress-resilient. I have extreme noise sensitivity which is exacerbated by medical challenges so I use earplugs when required. I plan out all activities, visitors, and overstimulation with plenty of quiet time. For many sensitives, this is a key part of remaining healthy, calm, confident, and strong.
No matter how long you have suffered chronic anxiety or chronic stress due to your hypersensitivity. You don’t just have to live with it, your life as an HSP doesn’t have to be stressful. I was a highly anxious, stressed out teenager, who suffered chronic unworthiness, who tried to relentlessly to deny and resist my empathic traits and highly sensitive traits. I started to suffer extreme health challenges including burn-out from the age of 19. And spent a large part of my twenties extremely ill, exhausted, and isolated. Out of this experience, I became a meditation teacher, healer, coach, and stress management expert. I have helped many people including many highly sensitive people and highly sensitive children move from a highly anxious state of being to a more calm confident way of being.
I realise how challenging life may feel at the moment. But believe me your life as a highly sensitive person can be far richer, peaceful, lighter, and FREE.
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by eileenburns | Jun 27, 2018 | Anxiety, Aromatherapy, Highly Sensitive Person, Stress
Noise Sensitivity –The Challenges of Living With Hyperacusis
When most people talk about noise sensitivity they often think of simply an annoyance to specific noises. But noise sensitivity can be an extremely painful and a huge disabling challenge for many sufferers. I know as I began suffering from a severe form of hyperacusis over the last three years, which has made me mostly housebound.
As someone who is highly empathic and sensitive, I have slight noise sensitivity as long as I can remember. I always had challenges sleeping with even the slightest noise around me. But this started to become a much bigger problem when it developed into a painful and debilitating severe form of hyperacusis. Specific frequencies began to trigger extreme pain in my right ear, major balance issue and a complex movement disorder including non-epileptic seizures that leaves me with no control over my body.
My noise sensitivity issues appear to be caused by at least 30 years of bacterial/viral implications. But the cause is not clear with a complex medical history; M.E./CFS, suspected untreated chronic lyme at 14 years of age, head and face trauma, a rare cranial condition and survivor of sepsis. Although according to Anthony Williams book the Medical Medium Many of these neurotoxicity symptoms are simply the fourth stage of very a rare form of Epstein Barr Virus. But I am unsure if I will ever know for sure.
However the reality is noise sensitivity seems to be triggered by a variety of causes, diseases, accidents, trauma and stressors. Sound intolerance also appears to be a common problem in those who are highly sensitive or have sensory processing disorders. Many clinicians used to assume noise sensitivity has a purely psychological basis. But more research and evidence is demonstrating many of the physiological causes behind various types of noise sensitivity.
Noise sensitivity challenges are very common for those with sensory processing challenges on the Autism/Asperger Spectrum. Which can seriously impact their quality of daily living, education and their careers.
Noise sensitivity is something that is certainly misunderstood and misdiagnosed by many medical practitioners. Especially as there is so many different classifications and causes of sound sensitivity.
Here Are Some Of The Different Types Of Noise Sensitivity
Hyperacusis – is usually linked with amplified sensitivity or auditory increase in the central auditory system which is the hearing pathways of the brain. A “collapsed tolerance to normal environmental sound” The Hyperacusis Network. It is suggested that unexpected exposure to deafening noise can sometimes trigger hyperacusis. But there are some medical conditions associated with hyperacusis which include Bell’s palsy, Lyme disease, migraine, post head injury syndrome and William’s syndrome. Also many people with hyperacusis have tinnitus and many with tinnitus have hyperacusis.
There are two forms of hyperacusis; cochlear hyperacusis and vestibular hyperacusis
Cochlear Hyperacusis; annoyance, distress, ear pain and to very quiet or high-pitched sounds.
Vestibular Hyperacusis; balance, postural control and vertigo problems, nausea, fatigue. Known sometimes as Audiogenic Seizure Disorder and Tullio’s syndrome
Hypersensitive Hearing – where someone is born with a hyper sensitivity to frequencies above 70 decibels normally viewed as problematic frequencies. This is common in the autism spectrum.
Misophonia – is when someone hates a particular sound but it is not collapsed tolerance to sound. Usually there is an atypical limbic and autonomic nervous system response ( fight or flight response) which is related to the auditory system. Examples are repetitive sounds, consonants, sniffing, lip smacking which can often trigger emotional rage.
Phonophobia – is a sub-category of misophonia where one suffers anxiety/fear of events related to their noise sensitivity. Which triggers isolation in the outside world.
Recruitment – is when there is an increased perception of noise sensitivity when someone is suffering from a type of hearing loss where they cannot hear certain pitches but can hear others. Which is perceived as too quiet to dramatically loud.
Treatments And Support For Noise Sensitivity Issues
Ear Plugs or Ear Phones: For most types of noise sensitivity challenges recommendations are that ear plugs should not be relied on for day to day living. As there is suggestions that in the long run this may reduce tolerance to every day sounds. But it certainly would depend on the type and degree of noise sensitivity. I personally do not use ear plugs in my home doing most tasks. But because my noise sensitivity triggers severe balance challenges and a violent movement disorder. I choose to use ear phones outside otherwise I have very limited control over my bodily movements.
Noise Cancellation Ear Phones: Some people find noise cancellation useful, I find for long car drives they can cancel out and reduce some noise and can help reduce general over stimulation.
Pink Noise Devices: For some types of noise sensitivity pink noise devices are used as a form of sound therapy.
Meditation– helps you access that inner calm, peace inside despite what is happening around you. It helps you become more mentally, emotionally and physically resilient. Meditation has helped keep me so mentally strong over the last 25 years. It has helped me find my own equivalent to a power nap, when I can’t sleep due to noise issues.
Craniosacral Therapy – can be helpful where there has been noise sensitivity after trauma to the head and neck. Also bowen and osteopathy is useful for again alignment issues due to trauma.
Healthier Thinking – it is important with any condition or life challenge that a person has the ability to look at their life challenges and focus on what they can do, rather than what we feel disabled by.
Stress Management – generally reducing and manging your anxiety and stress can seriously help reduce any hyper sensitivity to external stimuli. And can be a great cushion at helping you remain as emotionally, mentally and physically strong against noise stressors.
CBD Oil: Cannabis derived oil and paste is used by many who’s noise sensitivity appears to be related to their medical conditions. It is widely uses by lymes and now more popular in ME/CFS sufferers.Many people with noise sensitivity issues including those with sensory processing issues seem to be benefiting from CBD or marijuana in some component.
On Guard Blend: Another product that I have found helpful in my building my sound tolerance is the essential oil blend by doTERRA . These are highly vibrational essential oils which appear to strengthen our energetic boundaries, boost the immune system and protect our body against viruses and microbes.
These are just some of the ways you can help manage your noise sensitivity issues. If like me travelling in a car is a huge problem because you can actually feel a lot of vibrations through the nerves of your body. I find sitting and placing my feet on memory foam cushions and a duvet helps to cushion me from the impact. Some cars are more better than others in relation to the seat and height design
I am fortunate enough to start seeing slowly but surely a reduction in the severity of my symptoms. Having lived with chronic health challenges that have disabled me in various ways for many years. I choose to focus daily on my abilities, strengths and gifts. I am very fortunate to be able to do my work online. Although it can have its challenges.
But when we focus on the things we can change and accept those we can’t. We come from a much stronger, calm and happier place. Noise sensitivity can be extremely challenging, it needs more research/awareness especially on the actual conditions that cause it.But meanwhile the healthiest thing you can do is look after your own health and wellbeing, especially your anxiety and stress levels. As anxiety and stress will certainly make you more hyper-sensitive .
If you are looking for help and support in managing your sensitivity challenges. I share lots of tips and resources in my free facebookcommunity Soul Care For Sensitives
by eileenburns | Jun 17, 2018 | Highly Sensitive Person, Anxiety, Aromatherapy, Empath, Grounding, Stress
Essential Oils For Empaths And Highly Sensitive People
The many benefits of essential oils for empaths, highly sensitive people and healers. As a qualified aromatherapist for many years in many ways I take for granted how versatile essential oils. As I have used essential oils for nearly 30 years to support my own physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Essential Oils For Health And Healthy Boundaries
There are so many essential oils to choose from today, it is important you choose the right essential oil that is therapeutically safe and right for you. Many people assume all essential oils are completely safe because they are natural but like every herb or essence each has unique properties.
Some essential oils have analgesic or anti-inflammatory properties, some like peppermint which is used in mainstream medicine can be a digest aid. Some essential oils like tea-tree and thyme have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. But pure essential oils don’t just support us physically, but mentally and emotionally. Essential oils like Clary Sage and Geranium are used to help balance hormonal imbalances in females. Some are safe when your pregnant some are not, some are unsafe if you suffer from epilepsy, some essential oils should never be used on children or infants.
Quality Essential Oils For Empaths And Highly Sensitive People
If you are using essential oils therapuetically you also want to choose a high grade quality pure essential oil especially if your are highly sensitive and/or empathic. Highly Sensitive People tend to be not just sensitive emotionally and mentally but physically to both allopathic and natural medicine. Empaths often struggle with grounding and often have a much porous energetic field. So it is important if you are an aromatherapist to choose quality essential oils for empaths and highly sensitive people.
As someone with chronic health challenges I have used essential oils for approx 30 years. In many ways I found essential oils a great replacement for so many things normally in one’s medicine cabinet.
In-fact recently as someone who became completely housebound due to extreme noise, vibration and light sensitivity which would trigger seizures. I was looking for anything to support me after Neurologists told me nothing could be done and any medication would cause further complications.
But when I started to use Doterra’s high vibrational essential oils. I couldn’t believe how much physically stronger and boundaried I started to feel.
Those of us who are more sensitive and or empathic tend have a more sensitive central nervous system. And are energetically more vulnerable to environmental stressors- EMF’s, noise, light, other people’s emotions and physical pain.
Essentails Oils For Empaths With A Sensitive Central Nervous System
As someone who has had rare neurological complications from suspected bacterial and viral complications for approx 30 years. I have used a wide range of high quality essential oils and blends. One that has been really supporting me energetically and as a support to my immune system has been the On Guard Blend. Which instantly made me feel more energetically stronger and protected.
So What Are The Perfect Essential Oils For Empaths And HSP’s?
Balance – The Ultimate Grounding Blend– A blend of Spruce, Ho Wood, Frankincense, Blue Tansy, and Blue Chamomile with Fractionated Coconut Oil. Empath’s and hsp struggle to feel grounded. This can be added directly to the skin or added to a diffuser for car, home, office. Frankincense is deeply grounding and Spruce was used by the Native Americans fo various spiritual and medicinal purposes ( spruce tree regarded as sacred)
Frankincense – is deeply relaxing, calming very popular to assist meditation, deeply grounding. Also helpful in supporting healthy cellular function and great rejuvenetaor for the skin.
Melaleuca (Tea Tree) – is an extremely versatile oil for your home first aid kit. It is also anti-viral, anti-bacterial oil, that supports immune system. It is also useful at creating stronger boundaries
On Guard – Can help support your immune system. Can help strengthen your energetic field to create stronger resilience, stronger boundaries. Helpful to protect against environmental threats. Safe for use on countertops, as a non-toxic cleaner, or to purify the air though diffusion
Oregano –Very powerful for boundaries can help stop parasitic energy. Can assist with healthy digestion and supports healthy respiratory function. May help support a healthy immune system. Useful as a powerful cleansing and purifying agent.
Patchouli Essential Oil – Provides a grounding, balancing effect on emotions • Promotes a smooth, glowing complexion • Add to your daily moisturizer to help reduce the appearance of blemishes.
Purify –Protects against environmental threats such as EMF’s and toxins. Can help clear the air and negative, stagnant energy in your home.
Sandalwood – another favourite of mine, deeply grounding, great for the skin. For those of us who tend to avoid or reject our masculine energy. This can be a great balancer, it can also be useful as a soothing rub on the chest or neck with chest and throat infections.
Serenity Restful Blend – can be a useful aid for those struggling with anxiety, stress, over thinking. It also can help you connect more with the self, connect with your own inner calm. So great aid for those of you who struggle to meditate, be still.
Whisper Blend For Women – a gorgeous blend of jasmine and ylang ylang ( I adore ylang ylang) pathchouli, vanilla, cinnamon and cocoa. Useful to support any unresolved issues you may have with your femininity, mother, grandmother or other close women figure in your life. Useful at helping ease unreleased anger.
Wild Orange – one of doterra’s most popular oils, this has a gorgeous sweet scent. It is uplifting, energising and stimulating. Helpful when your feeling flat from other’s negative emotions.
Ylang Ylang – I have always been a huge fan of ylang ylang which is known by some as the oil of the Inner Child. As an aromatherapist I would recommend to clients who suffered nightmares. I find it helps support you have a much more soothing sleep often with sweet dreams. It is also a reputed aphrodisiac.
Would LOVE To Learn More?
by eileenburns | Jun 2, 2018 | Highly Sensitive Person, Anxiety, Empath, Grounding, Stress
So why does the Highly Sensitive Empath Need To Ground More? How is grounding so soothing and important for HSP’s?
As a Highly Sensitive Empath, it took me many years to realise how ungrounded I was. Despite being a healer for 30 years, I didn’t start to fully appreciate the true level of grounding and why I struggled with it till my 40’s.
Now, grounding may sound like a lot of new-age hippy nonsense. But the reality is grounding and earthing is part of our innate nature. We are humans whose natural habitat is the earth. And part of being physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually balanced involves being connected to our nature, our natural surroundings, and to the earth.
What are Grounding And Earthing?
Basically grounding and earth involves different acts or habits that will naturally help you “ground” or reconnect you to the earth and nature. Grounding is actually something we would naturally do years ago. But sadly a lot of modern life especially city and town living has played a large part in disconnecting us from something that at a core level is innate.
The Highly Sensitive Empath In The Modern Environment
The truth is we all need to ground more especially when we are surrounded by technology, metal, concrete, toxic, plastic, and mand made fabrics. When we are exposed daily to high amounts of Electro-Magnetic Frequencies which contain damaging free radicals and positive electrons. Instead of natural fresh air, bright v.itamin boosting sunlight
But for the Highly Sensitive Empath, the modern environment and way of life can be extremely harsh. Many HSP’s and most empaths are so sensitive to their surroundings, the energy of others and to the external world, they are often not fully grounded in their body.
I know as an Empath and Highly Sensitive Person I was very different from my 8 siblings. Very sensitive to all sorts of things from a young age that dramatically increased at certain stages in my life. My heightened awareness of other people’s needs and emotions, even trauma made me more out of my energy field in some ways than in.
Even though I do work online I find too much EMF exposure can play havoc with my central nervous system at times. And find too much noise and busyness extremely physically and mentally exhausting. You just need to look at a child with sensory processing issues to see how much they are challenged by our chaotic toxic crazy life. A reason why we should be teaching children to ground more.
Why Highly Sensitive Empaths Are More Easily Stimulated And Uncentred
The highly sensitive person especially those that are empathic are already more hypersensitive to everything around them. They often struggle with too much sensory processing, get easily overstimulated, and can pick up and be more sensitive to the energy and frequencies around them. Many find the harsher energies and reality of modern-day living quite frantic and some overwhelming and traumatic. This is especially evident in many children who have serious sensory processing issues with autism. This busy crazy chaotic life is often too overwhelming for the physical, mental, and emotional body. And often in these experiences, the body want’s to like climb out of the energetic body, which leaves them ungrounded. Many HSP’s suffer from chronic anxiety and stress.
The Highly Sensitive Empath And Burn Out
In-fact many highly empathic Hsp’s end up with some sort of burn-out, Adrenal Fatigue, or other chronic health challenges. The Highly Sensitive Person who is ungrounded is more likely to suffer from exhaustion especially Adrenal Fatigue or other chronic health challenges. I myself was diagnosed with severe M.E. in my early twenties, a time in my life when this debilitating fatigue and exhaustion left me predominately housebound and bedbound for about 7 years.
Now years later my diagnosis would be not just M.E. but a whole long list of other complex medical challenges including a high probability of late-stage Lyme.
But the reality is many Empaths and HSP’s are so finely tuned to their environment they are high-wired to function at a completely different level as other people, In many ways, their central nervous system is working so much harder. They are far more vulnerable to exhaustion, fatigue, dis-ease especially for the empath with boundary issues. If you are a bit of an unruly empath you will constantly be picking up and even taking on the emotional and physical wounding of others.
So How Can A Highly Sensitive Empath Ground More
- Get outside more especially in nature, the countryside, forest, park even walking in some grass
- Get barefoot as much as you can, get those shoes, boots even slippers off
- Become more body aware, feel into your physical body, feel into your feet. Tai chi and Qi Gong exercises can be a great way to become fully in the body and become more grounded. They can also be extremely useful at helping empaths dispel negative energy they tend to absorb or take on.
- Reduce time spent online, on your computer, phone. Consider switching off your internet hub when sleeping to reduce EMF exposure. And spend more time on self care and self love.
- Bring more plants into your surrounding, your office, your home, your garden, things like cacti and other EMF reducing plants. These are great to sit next to your computer to help reduce EMF exposure
- Use grounding devices and grounding support aids, I use an electric bed to keep slightly upright in bed which is certainly not ideal. So I use a crystal grounding mat in my bed and grounding crystals under my bed.
- Reduce stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, alcohol, nicotine these play havoc with your central nervous system and impact your ability to feel more balanced and grounded.
- Use grounding essential oils like frankincense, sandalwood, vetivert, doterra has an amazing grounding oil Balance as well as more a protection oil – On Guard ideal for HSP’s. (Contact me directly if you would like to learn more.)
- Learn to be in the moment, being in the moment encourages you to be more physically in and aware of your physical body. This is especially important for people with any sort of physical trauma to their body, car accident, traumatic operation, long-term physical violence. The last place people with those sorts of issues want to be is in their body because of the pain or shock but this causes huge emotional disharmony in the mental, emotional, and energetic body.
- Learn To Meditate; meditation not only helps us be in the moment, feel calmer, but can help us feel more grounded especially if it is more proper traditional meditation rather than more guided meditations that are actually more guided visualisations where the person is in their head or heart, often out of their physical body.
As someone who has had extreme challenges around being grounded and fully in my body. I have spent nearly 30 years looking for answers and help to many of my challenges. I found that many of the grounding techniques that as I was taught as a healer just didn’t work for me. So as I started to study this topic a lot more deeply working with many top healers around the world. I quickly realised that grounding has to be the or at least one of the first skills Empaths need to master. Especially today when we are so disconnected from nature and balance. That is why I created Grounding Tools for Empaths– a grounding toolkit for empaths and highly sensitive people. Powerful yet simple and easy grounding tools, techniques, and even products that will help you feel more grounded and balanced on a daily basis.
Would You Love Some Support With Your Empathic Challenges? Eileen offers both coaching and healing sessions for the Empathic Female Entrepreneur. Book Your Free Discovery Session Today to see how I can help.
by eileenburns | May 31, 2018 | Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes, Parenting, Uncategorized
Tackling textures and smells – Healthier Eating For The Sensitive Child
by Neil Welsh Nutrition.
Feeding kids is difficult at the best of times and can have implications for the physical and mental health of everyone involved. It is stressful for kids who have sensitivities to food and can limit the range of food that are readily available to them from which they can meet their nutritional needs. As for parents and carers, it impacts us too. The greatest impact on adults tends to be psychological in the form stress and anxiety in feeding a sensitive child. But the impact can also be physical. Kids who have difficulties when it comes to feeding can have a huge impact on the adults in their lives. The narrowing down of a child’s food choices will often narrow down an adult’s food options too with many foods not being served as they are on the “do not like” list, and many of those foods being the healthier options which may be less palatable to a child. In addition to food options being narrowed time is a huge issue. Sensitive kids will often require more time to eat, or try to eat. Many parents find themselves cooking twice, one meal for their sensitive child and then another for the rest of the family. This additional time in the kitchen adds up to hundreds of hours that could be put to use in other ways.
So what can parents do to help a child who is sensitive to textures and smells and improve everyone’s lives?
- Don’t ignore it. The head in the sand approach is not your best option here but many parents do this hoping that it will be a phase which a child will grow out of. It may well be a phase but kids have lots of phases; tantrums, hitting, getting out of bed in the middle of the night and we would not just let them carry on these phases without some intervention. Food aversion is no different. Even if it were just a phase, it may unnecessarily carry on for years. There are ways to approach the problem which can be stress free for all involved and drastically improve the situation.
- Talk about it. Many parents are concerned that talking about it with their kids may make it worse and reinforce it. It wont. As long as you are compassionate and empathetic then it should be fine. Let your child know that you understand and that you want to try and help. Tell them that you are on the same team and that you understand that things have been hard but you are going to try some new approaches. Now, let’s not be naïve here. There is a good chance that a child may be less than enthusiastic about this and that is fine. But warning them about a change and letting them feel part of the decision can be empowering and help improve the situation. This conversation is important.
- This sounds easy but in reality it is quite difficult. Feeding professionals state that it can take up to 20 exposures for new tastes and textures to be accepted. If you were to serve a child the same problem food once a week that would mean that you would need more than 4 months of serving a food that your child does not like to see a progression from resistance to just licking. It’s a long time but the speed of acceptance does increase over time. Start with tricky foods just on the plate. Encourage a child to taste, they don’t have to eat it. There is a huge difference between eating and tasting to a child. Start with a sniff, go on to a lick, then a chew (followed by a spit) and hope for a swallow.
- Get the environment right. Little details can add up to have big impacts. Getting a child ready to eat in plenty of time makes a big difference. Coming straight from playing to sitting down to eat can quickly result in “I don’t like it”, when what they really mean is “I want to go back and play”. Get kids in the kitchen. Get them helping to cook and lay the table… and clearing up afterwards. If they are old enough to operate an ipad then they are old enough to put plates in a dishwasher! Serve food in portions that are age appropriate, cut up tricky foods into bite size pieces, serve food family style so kids can help themselves and don’t always leave it until dinner to try to expose kids to difficult food (kids will be tired at the end of the day and it can make the job more difficult).
- Keep calm and carry on. Know that this is a slow process and accept this. Do not stress if you don’t see results this week, or next week but keep going. Keep exposing and keep talking.
Over time the situation should begin to improve. If there is no improvement then professional assessment may be required but at least you will know that you have taken steps to address the issue before moving on to this step.
For more information about getting kids to eat the healthy food that you want to eat go to www.neilwelshnutrition.com
by eileenburns | May 26, 2018 | Highly Sensitive Person, Anxiety, Empath, Stress
9 Traits Of A Highly Sensitive Person
Are You A Highly Sensitive Person?
More and more people are starting to realise they are a highly sensitive person. According to various research 15-20% of the population are a highly sensitive person. Dr Elaine Aaron a HSP Expert, states that a lot more people think they are highly sensitive when they are not. Now more and more studies are demonstrating being highly sensitive which is also known as hypersensitivity is not a dis-order or a weakness. Highly sensitive people are not emotionally unstable or emotionally immature.
In-fact an FMRI study of the Highly Sensitive Brain demonstrated sensory processing sensitivity and response to others’ emotions. The highly sensitive person is shown to be physiologically affected by others moods and the environment that surrounds them.
An explanation why many HSP’s struggle with the harsh energy of modern day living. Especially sensory processing; for example noise and busyness. Which can lead to an increased risk of highly sensitive people suffering from chronic anxiety, stress and some other health related issues.
The Gifts And Challenges Of A Highly Sensitive Person
Being a highly sensitive person has tremendous gifts and challenges. In many ways being highly sensitive is a powerful needed trait in society. Especially when so many people are so disconnected from their emotions, their pain, their fear, their compassion. A highly sensitive person usually has much greater compassion, wisdom and awareness of the outer and inner world of those around them.
Probably the reason many HSP’s are the Drs, nurses, healers, therapists, counsellors, carers, nursery nurses…
But also the reason why many in these careers suffer from burn out and other chronic health challenges like CFS or depression. As they often have many challenges around grounding and having healthy boundaries.
Common Traits Of A Highly Sensitive Person
Here are some of the more common and easy to wide range of traits of a HSP
Highly Caring And Compassionate – you can often recognise a HSP as they care for others very deeply. They are extremely compassionate it simply oozes out of them. And very giving to the extent they often put them self last. Self care is often last on their list.
Highly Intuitive And Psychic – highly sensitive people tend to be highly intuitive and at least a bit psychic. Though many block their psychic abilities from a young age because of others perceptions and their own fear. But they have a strong inner knowing, especially about people they meet and those around them.
Highly Empathic -a highly sensitive person is usually highly empathic, easily affected by other people’s emotional and mental pain, fear or negativity
Struggle With Violence And Strong Negativity – hypersensitivity usually comes with a strong aversion to negative or violent media such as the news and tv.
Highly Emotional – a highly sensitive person tends to appear more emotional, they cry more easily especially to situations, things and events not affected by others.
Highly Spiritual – they are usually naturally attracted to various aspects of spirituality.
Struggle To Function in Busy Environments – many HSP’s struggle to function or work in busy environments like call centres, busy office, factory even at school, college. So they need to take time out away from their desk or work environment to become re-focused and re-energised.
Need More Time Out- a highly sensitive person tends to need more time out and time away from others. They need more time to unplug, switch off, relax, even sleep. As being a HSP means you tend to have a lot more sensory processing over load.
Many HSP’s Freeze Or Shutdown– Due to the degree of their sensitivity many HSP’s can become very shut off emotionally especially those that are empaths. Often life, their surroundings can feel quite traumatic so they become quite shut off emotionally. Most are very ungrounded and not fully in their body in an energetic way. Many suffer from chronic anxiety and stress even if they are unaware of it.
So How Can A Highly Sensitive Person
Become More Resilient To Modern Day Living?
One of the big challenges a HSP has is balancing the scales of their gifts with the harsher energies of modern day living. So it is important a highly sensitive person learns effective anxiety and stress management skills.
They also need to learn how to ground and set healthy boundaries. Because HSP’s are often more in their heart and head than the rest of their body. Their energy fields tends to be a lot more scattered and porous so they are easy target to the energies around them.
I know as a HSP how important it is to become more resilient to modern day life. One of the most powerful things I started to study over 25 years ago was meditation. Meditation is one of the most powerful skills everyone should learn especially someone who takes on other’s emotional thoughts, feelings and physical symptoms.
Meditation with daily practice can give us instant access to inner stillness, inner peace. It can helps us become more centred within in our own space. Rather than expanded out into everyone else’s energetic field. You can start learning how to meditate more easily today
Inner Child Therapy and Healing is extremely helpful for most HSP’s and Empaths because it can help not just heal old trauma, but unhealthy beliefs or distortions that have arisen from their gifts. Unhealthy views or fears that have arisen because of other people’s views of their sensitivity. As well as unhealthy patterns that are keeping their level of sensitivity to an unhealthy degree.
As a highly sensitive empath who has been studying in the holistic and spiritual field for over 28 years. I was very fortunate to learn many strategies to help me remain more mentally and emotionally resilient to life’s stressors.
And the reason why I help support and empower people like you today! Are you struggling with your sensitivity? Need more help to turn your sensitivity into your biggest super power?
