Episode 63: Self-Compassion: This One Skill Can Transform Your Life With Julie and Willow

Show Notes

HSPs are some of the kindest, most compassionate people in the world, toward others, and yet It’s common for HSPs to have a lot of negative self-talk and lack healthy self-compassion. This can be particularly damaging during times of high stress when we need to be a compassionate, caring friend to support ourselves through intense emotions.  We will talk about how this brain-training skill development of self-compassion can improve every aspect of our life and even help us through a global crisis. We need this skill now more than ever. 

Self-Compassion decreases cortisol (stress hormone) and increases the release of oxytocin (creating a calming effect). Self-criticism, common in HSPs triggers the amygdala’s fight/flight response sending out an alarm bell system: releasing the stress hormone cortisol, adrenaline (racing heart) and increased blood pressure fight/flight response designed to protect us from physically threatening situations response also gets activated with emotional attacks (even from when we are emotionally hard or unkind to ourselves 

We already have more activation in our fight/flight so have a stronger need to counter this alarm bell response. Research shows us self-compassion actually decreases our cortisol levels and can deactivate the stress response and activate a calming response We can even change our body chemistry, recover more quickly from emotional wounding, improve health both short term and long term. 

Warm, loving physical touch can release the feel-good hormones (oxytocin), reduces cortisol (stress), and blood pressure. (Self-hug, loving gestures (lotion lovingly applied to your body), hand on chest sending loving energy to your heart) 

Learn about research from Kristin Neff showing that self-compassion is one of the key features of improving mental health and what life looks like without self-compassion and what improves when we have it. 

Julie and Willow share our journey of developing self-compassion and how it transformed our life. 

Practice the self-compassion technique with us! 

Please share this episode and review our podcast which helps more HSPs find our episodes.  

Check out Julie's HSP blog showing the video of her teaching the 3-step self-compassion technique: https://www.juliebjelland.com/hsp-blog/a-self-compassion-technique-for-hsps 

Explore all our podcast episodes and learn about Julie and Willow at HSPpodcast.com 

For information about Julie's Sensitivity Quiz, books and courses visit: juliebjelland.com

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About the Hosts

Julie Bjelland is a sensitivity expert, licensed psychotherapist, and author of several books, and teaches the online course Brain Training for the Highly Sensitive Person, Techniques to Reduce Anxiety and Overwhelming Emotions, highly recommended by psychologists Tara Brach Ph.D., and Rick Hanson Ph.D. Julie’s brain training program has helped highly sensitive people (HSPs) around the world reduce their challenges, access their gifts, and discover their resiliency, inner strength, and significant value. Julie serves as the sensitivity expert for Dr. Hanson’s online program and is a member of the faculty of The Shift Network. Known for her ability to give people a sense of true support, Julie is featured on national media regularly and on a mission to empower sensitive people to live their best lives.

Highly sensitive people thrive quickly with the right tools and I have loved helping highly sensitive people (HSPs) around the world reduce anxiety and thrive to their fullest potential. The techniques I have developed come from years of working with highly sensitive people all over the world and have been extremely successful for the clients and students I work with. Our life gets a lot better and so does the life of those around us when we are thriving and your sensitive self is beautiful and valuable. We need you in the world. ~Julie

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Willow McIntosh is the founder of Inluminance and leader of the High Sensory Intelligence movement. Unique circumstances during Willow’s childhood lead to the burying of his authentic self and complete misalignment to the work he was destined for. He began to carve his own path into understanding how people with sensory processing sensitivity can learn to use their genetic traits to their advantage. As an adult this lead to a lifelong enquiry and practise into learning powerful energetic alignment techniques to re-engage with the authentic self. Willow believes that all people with the trait have the ability to tap into a unique skill that draws on a deeper sensory perception. Founded in their own life experience and self development they have the capacity to facilitate great transformation and development in others. Willow is on a mission to awaken us to the responsibility we have to utilise the abilities it affords in business, governments and leadership. Having successfully facilitated the development of seven figure businesses Willow’s practise has taken him all over the world. Speaking internationally, training in a broad range of fields and facilitating others for more than twenty years. Willow now specialises in facilitating people with the trait to activate them into service in alignment with their gifts and purpose and to support them to take their own businesses to the next level towards automation and leadership.

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Listen Now

HSPs are some of the kindest, most compassionate people in the world, toward others, and yet It's common for HSPs to have a lot of negative self-talk and lack healthy self-compassion. This can be particularly damaging during times of high stress when we need to be a compassionate, caring friend to support ourselves through intense emotions.

Resources & Links Mentioned in Episode

• Take the sensitivity survey: sensitivityquiz.com

• Sensitive Empowerment community: sensitive-empowerment.com

• Julie’s HSP Resources: juliebjelland.com

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