The School of Unlearning Podcast: The Power of Emotions

I had the pleasure of joining Elisa Haggarty on The School of Unlearning Podcast a few weeks ago and am delighted to share the now live episode with you!

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If you’ve ever been told you are too sensitive or struggle to work with highly sensitive people - this podcast is for you. Kelsey and I explore the wisdom of our emotions and how we can work with them vs react blindly to them. Kelsey Fox Bennett Boyd is an Educator, Brain Gym Consultant and Author. Kelsey has been working with kids and adults, with a specialization in supporting the highly sensitive, for over a decade. In this podcast episode we introduce concepts like emotional regulation, bi-lateral stimulation and help make a case for highly sensitive people. Kelsey has written a book called, Arya & Everyone Else’s Feelings, which celebrates sensitivity and empowers readers to release the weight of other people’s feelings and feel safe and protected as they support those they care about most. Information on the kickstarter to support this invaluable book is below…

Reminders During Challenge

The past month has been a series of sicknesses and canceled plans in our house and there were times when it felt really challenging.

The full abbreviated story: My daughter got a really bad head cold that interrupted all of our sleep, then her head cold turned into an ear infection (very triggering for me because of my early childhood illness and corresponding awful earaches) and had to go on antibiotics, then my husband got sick, then my daughter got sick with Coxackievirus, then I got my period, then I got sick, then I got a call from school that my daughter tripped and bonked her tooth/gum so we took an emergency visit to the dentist for x-rays. (She’s totally okay!) In the middle of that we postponed lots of joyful plans, skipped a lot of school, and in many ways life essentially got put on hold.

In the midst of In the midst of sickness and parenting exhaustion I had all the feels:

Terror, worry, joy, bliss, acceptance, resistance, panic, frustration, disappointment and acceptance again.

Whenever we go through extended periods of challenge it’s easy to start to wonder, Will it ever end?

The following reminders have been incredibly helpful for me, and perhaps they’ll help you, too…

Expectation versus Acceptance: Pregnancy & Covid-19

About a month ago I had this entire post prepared about expectation versus acceptance - and then Covid-19 arrived to the United States and life as we knew it changed.

In my original post I talked specifically about expectation versus acceptance in my pregnancy journey.

As I moved into my second trimester I had an expectation that I would “feel better” only to be constantly hit with the reality of, “I don’t feel better,” and the following week, “Nope, not better yet!”

After a great deal of resistance I finally stopped berating myself for not meeting my expectation of wellness and fully accepted that I didn’t feel better and that was okay.

My self-acceptance was not an invitation to dwell or wallow in my awful state, but rather an invitation to stay present in my current reality and in turn, take loving actions to honor that reality and improve my state with love.

This was a big shift from what I had been doing which was running into walls of self-judgment and brute psychological force. AKA: “You will feel better because you are supposed to feel better!” Which was followed by: “What is wrong with you? Why don’t you feel better yet?”

Self-acceptance and loving action was a much kinder route as you can see.

The reason I’m giving you a shortened version of my original post is because life has changed and this lesson of expectation versus acceptance has expanded in light of our current new reality.

We live at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic here in NYC, which is a strange sensation to say the least…

Communication & Abundance: A simple tool to go from defensive to calm in challenging conversations

I was with one of my friends a few months ago and found myself in a bit of a rant. It went something like this:

If we could all just communicate - not react, judge, assume, or defend, but actually communicate authentically without charge - we would discover we have more in common than we think and have more compassion and love to share.

Communicating is the basis of abundance and creating what you desire.

Clarity, boundaries, connection, love, to be seen and understood. So much of our ability to navigate the world henges on 1) being aware of ourselves, our needs and our desires and 2) being able to communicate all of that to others.

Communication creates a foundation for successful relationships in our personal and professional lives.

And yet… it can be SO HARD to communicate.

Why?

Because we have baggage and big feels from past traumas and experiences - old messages, patterns, and belief systems - that interrupt our ability to communicate what’s actually happening in various situations in our lives…

End of Summer Anxiety? Go From Overwhelm to Action With These 3 Steps

August has a tendency to bring a wave of anxiety.

Whether you are fresh back from vacation, prepping for the upcoming school year, navigating the last of summer events or merely attempting to digest the daily news, the sensation of overwhelm is real - and can be paralyzing.

Summer is the season for vacation, a gift that we look forward to all year, which can make the transition back to daily life stressful (to say the least)…

How to let go of hope that your parent will change and care about you.

Last weekend was Mother’s Day and soon enough it will be Father’s Day also. For many these days are celebratory, but for many others they highlight challenging or nonexistent parent relationships.

Today’s Ask Kelsey Question is for those who have the latter.

It’s a big one, and the answer, or at least my answer, is not something you can do once and forever be healed.

In essence, it’s the journey we’re all on in some form:

The journey of healing from the past, becoming our own parent, rewiring old stories that no longer serve us, choosing not to be defined by the actions or perspectives of others, and choosing new ways of being that enable us to receive more love on all levels.

NBD (no big deal)…

Sometimes the Universe presses the Reset Button for you.

We had mold in our apartment.

On the walls, on the window sills, and visibly growing on some of my things (yikes!). At one point it seemed everywhere I turned there was more mold.

It was incredibly stressful and anxiety-provoking.

Simultaneously: We are blessed…

Highly Sensitive, Self-Care, TraumaKelsey Fox Bennett BoydMarch 11, 2019reset, Marie Kondo, mold, home, feng shui, intention, gift, upside, lifeComment

Healing From Anxiety: Creating lasting change (Part 2 of 2)

Healing from anxiety usually doesn’t happen overnight, but I know from my own healing journey that it is possible to create lasting change.

Whether you are experiencing intense anxiety or merely desire a life of more abundance and ease, the same practices apply.

It takes time, dedicated practice, and ever-present self-love.

Healing comes in waves so be patient with yourself.

Ask for the support you need and apply what I share in today’s Ask Kelsey - and in the links below - to make the process easier…

Healing From Anxiety: Grounding in the moment (Part 1 of 2)

In today’s Ask Kelsey I speak about what to do when your fears, worries, and concerns take over. When you’re not just a little upset, but you are starting to spiral out of control.

You may not even know why. You may just feel a sense of panic and be on high alert for anything that might bring you harm, real or imagined.

From the politics in the United States to the #MeTooMovement to our own complicated personal lives, its easy for our old patterns of fear to take over.

If you find yourself steeped in anxiety, do your best to love yourself in that state.

Your state of panic is not a call for judgment and it is not a reason to beat yourself up.

If you are humming with anxious energy, it is a call for more love. (Click to tweet.)

Watch the video to learn my top tips to find your grounding in the moment as well as find notes and additional resources below…

Welcome to the Blog

HIGHLY SENSITIVE | KIDS | PARENTING

TRAUMA | Self-Care | Community Care

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