Boundaries vs. Limits Last time, we looked at boundaries—how we all have them because boundaries basically mark where you end and I begin. When a person has rigid boundaries, they can be perceived as being closed tightly, inflexible, impermeable. You can’t “get in.” Someone with rigid boundaries may have a mindset that can’t be changed—no […]
As part of my Somatic Experiencing training, I had to complete a certain number of personal SE sessions and consultations to make sure I was learning SE both from my own inside out and the outside in with my client work. Enter Dorothy One of those personal sessions was with a Training Assistant who could […]
This is one of my favorite tricks to get some rest in a packed day when I am wiped! I use this particularly when I have back-to-back clients and only have that shorter-than-10-minute break in between sessions. Really good to allow some clearing of one person’s energy before you are exposed to the next… You […]
The days are rushing by, and here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are moving towards that shortest day, the Winter Solstice. And of course, with multiple holidays upon us, those days do indeed feel shorter. For me, I am in major extroversion-period: social engagements almost every night, racing to see all my clients and get […]
Stress is just a part of life. However, whether it be distress or eustress (the good stuff), our nervous systems can get overloaded by too much of…anything (with eustress, think big birthday party for a 3-year-old)! As empaths and highly sensitive people, we are also highly susceptible to becoming “infected” by the stress we sense […]
The volunteer in the homeless shelter, seeing the parents battling their own demons brought on by years of poverty, lack of safety, racism and other forms of oppression, and the tremendous lack of resources to help their children escape this curse… The teacher, knowing how many kids in that classroom come from households where there […]
Can you relate to this? Scenario 1 You work intensely with people all day. It is 6:00 (of course you don’t get out right at 5!) and you have got to hit the road home. But a neighbor/co-worker needs a ride home today with you. So you don’t even get that alone time before you […]
A therapist (we’ll call her Lucretia) who uses her empathic skills a lot in her work complains of being tired all of the time. She says, “The world wears me down.” She notes her existential dilemma—feeling she doesn’t always fit in the world, not feeling understood, questioning if this work is right for her. Yet […]
I frequently ask folks who identify as Empaths and Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) about what has been really hard for them in the last month. Here’s an issue I hear a lot, and my thoughts in response. THE PROBLEM: With the rancor occurring in our political systems (and not just in the U.S.), many of […]
We are always dealing with others’ “stuff”! Their fears, their irritability or anger, their pain. A Somatic Experiencing colleague of mine and an empath to the ninth degree, Sara Vatore, shared a tip she used to deal with someone’s negative energy recently. She imagined all of the angst and drama and other difficult energy spewing […]