Transcript Episode 1
Welcome to Sensitive with an Edge for highly sensitive people who embrace their intensity, uniqueness, and value in this world. Join us on the exploration of relationships,
complex trauma recovery, non -conventional mindsets, neurodiversity, and themes that involve healing, growth, and empowerment. Hi,
I'm Chris Lyon. thanks for being here. Welcome to Sensitive with an Edge, the podcast that understands why you are overwhelmed. Okay,
so a little background on me. I've been practicing for nearly 24 years in the healing field as an intuitive personal and relationship coach, an author and board certified hypnotist,
certified in applied neuroscience, but I'm also highly sensitive. And I'm definitely trauma experienced, as well as trauma aware. And I understand the intensity and the depth of our high sensitivity.
I get that along with all of the colors of neurodiversity involved. I share in this podcast from my personal and professional experience. And we'll get to the edge part a bit later.
Now, I do wanna say that if you may not be highly sensitive, then sensitive people and loved ones of highly sensitive people, you are welcome here too.
And chances are, whoever's listening to this, you are either a highly sensitive person or you love someone who is. We take questions here, so I'd like to start out with one of the most common questions I get.
How do I know if I'm a highly sensitive person? The truth is, is that that's completely up to you to determine for yourself. If a therapist or coach says to you,
you are a highly sensitive person. That's not real cool. But if a therapist or coach says to you, you know, you may want to look into highly sensitive people and see if you relate.
That's super helpful for a lot of people. lot of people. That being said, if you think you may be an HSP, you probably are one. So there's a test you can take by Dr.
Elaine Aaron, and you can Google it. You can also find it at the bottom of my home page at coachlion .com. That's coachlyon .com. Now, let me go into a little bit of the basics of what this is,
because a lot of people don't understand. They think, well, you know, I have ADHD. That means that I'm a highly sensitive person, or I get my feelings hurt a lot. That means I'm a highly sensitive person,
I'm depressed a lot. That means I'm a highly sensitive person." Well, it could be, but not necessarily. According to the research that's been done, high sensitivity seems to be a genetic trait,
and it's a difference of the central nervous system. Now, the term was... coined by Dr. Elaine Aaron in the nineties based on her book the highly sensitive person.
And since then she's written more books and she and others have done much more research on this. This is known to be a neurodivergent trade that can be clinically referred to by some as sensory processing sensitivity or SPS for short.
Now we'll be unpacking high sensitivity in future episodes. episodes, but here are some basic descriptors that you may resonate with. See what you think of this for yourself. Many people with high sensitivity find that they have central nervous system differences,
such as deeper or increased sensitivity to physical, emotional, or social stimuli. HSP's taken increased levels of sensory input at once,
and they can experience stress or overwhelm from that. Here's an analogy for you, it's one of my favorites. Consider a small PVC pipe, keep that in your mind. Consider that non -highly sensitive people are taking in all their information in whatever environment they're in from that PVC pipe,
something that size, right? Now imagine a pipe the size of an extra large lampshade, and imagine that highly sensitive people are taking in information from them. from their environment through that.
Can you imagine how over -stimulating and overwhelming, even tiring, that that can be? Yeah, think about how much of that you can notice or all that you can feel from all of that incoming information.
Do you have a lot of empathy? This default of pervasive understanding of others in one that you can actually feel it sometimes. Research suggests that HSPs may have more active mirror neurons,
which can explain the high levels of empathy. They tend to have this heightened emotional awareness leading them to be aware and responsive to emotions and moods of others.
So HSPs are also deeply impacted by hurt and anxiety. violence that they see in the world. They are also deeply moved by art, music, and beauty.
And we'll go more into those details in the future. I'm going to underline that this is not a mental disorder and it's not something that gets diagnosed. This is a trait that exists to varying degrees from person to person.
Some HSPs find that they're more physically sensitive in ways, and some are more emotionally sensitive in other ways. Now, I've spoken to tens of thousands of HSPs over the years,
and I'm going to share with you what my number one recommendation has been to my clients. First, I've seen how highly sensitive people can struggle if they're trying to manage their lives as if they're non -highly sensitive people,
and they do this in large part because from the very beginning, they were taught to do that. Most of us were. Oh, and how hard we've tried to live our lives as non -highly sensitive people.
So this recommendation is actually a two -parter. Number one, stop trying to manage your life as a non -highly sensitive person. That's pretty logical,
right? That makes sense. People do it, they don't realize they're doing it. doing it, right? It's an unconscious thing for a lot of people. What I do recommend is just start managing your life as a highly sensitive person and get really good at it.
And that may not be so easy at first because the mind loves the familiar. So there's probably some repetitive rewiring that needs to happen. And then it comes more naturally.
And it's a lot easier to do. do. In fact, managing your life as a highly sensitive person is a game changer. The crux of this involves a different approach to your awareness,
to your self -care, and also how you process external and internal energy. The other part of this is your relationship with your emotions,
which informs the beliefs and narratives of how you see yourself in your life. I'll be much more clear about this in future podcast episodes, but for a moment, I'd like to talk about the edge.
What about the edge? That's an integral part of this podcast. Despite the stigmas that too many people have about HSPs, and even HSPs have them,
we are intense people. Yes. Yes, you are intense. Now, besides having this rich deep inner world that HSPs get to experience,
there's this intensity that they can feel internally. There are all kinds of ways that they can express this externally. Then there is a subset of HSPs that are actually high sensation seeking.
That's a completely different topic. Some of us are highly intuitive with a knowing that seems to puzzle or intrigue other people. Some of us are passionate creatives who see things through a whole different lens.
Some HSPs are their own brand of insightful leaders. And some of us are compulsive and willful. Many of us have a strong sense of fairness. And some even take that intensity into what some people are still calling alternative lifestyles.
And we cannot leave out the transcendent experience that some HSPs have when they're out in nature. That all being said, we're recognizing and honoring whatever comprises that edge part of you with this podcast.
Thank you for watching this podcast. So instead of focusing on the disadvantages of being highly sensitive and what other people may have said are weaknesses or laziness or being preoccupied with a mindset of victimhood,
we are literally decimating the stigmas that have been placed upon high sensitivity. Whether the origins came from just not understanding or they came from a place of feeling shame because they felt the same types of sensitivity.
Those are wrong, and we can relearn the truth about ourselves as highly sensitive people. I'm gonna share with you a preview of some of the topics that we'll be covering in future episodes,
whether it's by myself or with a guest. The stigmas of sensitivity and the shame that comes with it. Also, be talking about my story and what I do. do to manage my life as a highly sensitive person.
Also, what my clients do to help them live their best lives. Relationships for highly sensitive people. That's a huge topic so important to so many of us.
You may be surprised hearing about the reasons why highly sensitive people are resilient. We'll also be covering the challenges, the strengths, and more details of high society.
sensitivity, of course. We've definitely got to talk about how big of a trap comparing yourself to others really is. Of course, we'll be talking about all the different flavors of intensity for HSPs,
complex trauma recovery for the highly sensitive person. That's huge. Make sure you catch the upcoming episodes. Besides the relatable topics,
we'll have listener questions. special HSP guests, giveaways, and special offers. If you have a question you'd like to submit for the podcast, you can send it in at the podcast page on coachlion .com.
Also, if you're a professional and would like to be a guest, contact us there as well. I encourage you to check out my helpful resources listed here, and we appreciate you so much for listening.
listening to our debut episode. As a loyal listener, you can support us by sharing the link to this podcast with some of your friends or on your social media and follow and interact on our social media accounts so you can see more content in the links that are listed.
We'll catch you next time on Sensitive with an Edge. Sensitive with an Edge is a podcast podcast created by Chris M. Lyon for highly sensitive people seeking relatable and practical insights.
While the content is designed to be informative and supportive, it is not intended as medical or clinical advice. Listeners are encouraged to determine their own sensitivity level and consult with a healthcare professional if needed.
Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are based on the knowledge and experience of the host and the guests. and do not necessarily reflect those of any affiliated organizations or other individuals.
