My Dearest Sweet Boy Chris,

I have been wanting to write you for a long time, but I didn’t have the courage or the words but I’ve decided that now is perfect because it’s Mother’s Day. There is also the feeling that because I had 9 months with you before you were born and it’s been 9 months since you had to leave, this time is feeling very sacred to me.

It has been hard for me as Mother’s Day got closer to face that for the first time since you were born I wouldn’t get a big bear hug, see your face, hear your voice or read your loving, funny, touchingly sweet cards signed BooBoo. I guess you can tell I have been feeling a bit sorry for myself.

I’ve been trying so hard to hang on and feel better, and now finally I can hear you say, “Mama, I’m all right and it’s all going to be OK.” In my still broken but healing heart I know this is my Mother’s Day gift from you. You have reminded me of all the things and times that I am so grateful for.

How can I not be grateful that you chose me to be your mom, even if it means that you would need to leave before I was ready?

How can I not be grateful that I got to experience how much I adore and love you (and always will) and how much you loved me, even if I feel so much sadness now?

How can I not be grateful that you gave me the gift of watching you grow from a little guy into the most tender, loving, amazing, kindhearted, smart, funny (next to your dad) man I’ve ever met?

How can I not be grateful that even though you were afraid to fall in love and have children, you were brave enough to open your heart when you found the right person.

How can I not be grateful that even though you were an only child (I’m so sorry that I wasn’t as brave as you because I know that hurt you) and you knew you had to leave, you brought Betsy, Will and Anna Bea into our lives.

How can I not be grateful and feel so blessed that you were born and such a big and wonderful part of my life even knowing now how things turned out?

How can I not be grateful to you my dear sweet boy Chris for the love and joy you brought me?

So this Mother’s Day and for all the rest of my days I’m going to remember your gift to me: How in the world can I not be grateful for every little thing in my life?

Hugs, smooches and sending you a heart cookie filled with all the love in the world,
Love always, Your L’il Mama

To be honest with you I have to admit that for me, 2011 was the most challenging year of my life. I knew some of what to expect and had prepared myself on how to not only survive but thrive. But just when I was feeling really good about how I was handling life, the illness and unexpected loss of my son Chris shook me to the core.

In the past I have lived with bouts of depression, eating and anxiety disorders. By finding the right people to help me, experimenting with many different ways of eating and spending lots of time relearning to hear and listen to my inner wisdom, I finally felt comfortable and strong. What had gotten me to this really good place were what are now the 7 Keys.

With the loss of my son my world turned upside down. For almost 2 weeks I couldn’t eat at all and during that time I was very present and living in the moment. I wanted to feel all the pain of losing him and receive the love that was so generously given.

But then the enormity of what had happened really settled in. Grief is not only an emotion but also a very physical experience. To deal with it’s rolling waves I have reached out to some old coping friends of mine, bingeing and sugar. These had been my favorite ways to self medicate and become numb so I wouldn’t have to feel anything. I went back to what I knew and I’ve ended up feeling not only sick but totally out of control. This is not how I want to live my life.

So now it’s a new year and I am ready to take baby steps each day to let go of what I’ve been doing to move back to being me using the 7 Keys. As part of this journey I will share with you each week what I am working on and how things are going. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find an idea here that could change your life.

Sending you lots of love,

*********************************
MY PLAN FOR JANUARY
January Key: Feed My Body
January Affirmation: “I treat my body lovingly with nourishing, delicious food.”
January Focus: Since sugar is such a trigger for me I want to crowd out sugar

Week 1 Action Step: Make soup to have on hand for meals or eating as needed.
Week 1 Musings: Making my favorite soups (Lemon Chicken Pasta, Vegetarian Split Pea, White Bean Chicken Chili) helped me be in the present and create nourishing food for myself. I felt less anxious having it on hand so it was easier to make healthier choices. I will be trying a new soup recipe next week.

Week 2 Action Step: Do a pantry and refrigerator purge looking for hidden sugars.
Week 2 Musings: I did get rid of things at home that had excess sugar in them. I also grocery shopped for lots of whole, fresh food and tried a few new recipes. By having good ingredients on hand and spending an hour prepping, it made it easier to stay away from my trigger foods. Baby steps.

Week 3 Action Step: Eat meals on a plate while sitting down instead of grazing my way through the day. My definition of sitting means at the dining table or kitchen counter – not in front of my computer or on the couch with the TV on.
Week 3 Musings: WOW, this was a big week! There was lots of heavy emotional stuff going on this week so I was concerned about whether I would be able to work this step. Well, I had forgotten just how much this change really connects me with my food. I didn’t restrict what, how much or how often I ate, but it had to be on a plate with me sitting in one of two places. So even my dark chocolate that I’d been keeping at my desk (yes it’s true!!), I would take a piece and go to the designated place and really enjoy it. It was amazing how much less I ate naturally by just being present. Also by having only one thing I was trying to work on, it really helped me be with my emotions and to not turn to sugar or bingeing to numb myself.

Week 4 Action Step: Taking Week 3 a step further and removing other distractions while eating. No reading or watching TV.
Week 4 Musings: I thought this step would be easy but it was really a challenge! I hadn’t realized how much I’d fallen back into the eating/multi-tasking habit. It was hard to just sit and eat but I was able to do it.

At the end of the first month I feel so much better, am eating mindfully and having wonderful foods that really nourish me and my body. My daily processed sugar consumption is down to a half serving of dark chocolate and a whole food ball that has raw honey, eaten at the table, on a plate, with no distractions and they total 2 1/2 teaspoons of sugar. And if you don’t know my story, I was someone who at times binged on nothing but chocolate (and not dark) for days at a time just trying to make it through the day. And there’s something else. An added benefit of living my steps is my weight is down 5%. All this and without going on a diet! This is just me creating how I want to live my life. So in a few days it’s a new month and I will be continuing my Feed Your Body changes and start adding another Key.

MY PLAN FOR FEBRUARY
February Key: Love Moving
February Affirmation: “I love how I feel when I move my body.”
February Focus: Get back into a regular physical activity routine and have fun doing it!

Week 1 Action Step: Wear my pedometer and average a minimum of 6000 steps a day.
Week 1 Musings: Since I hadn’t been active for a while, it was interesting to see just how many steps I would get through normal activity. It was shockingly LOW with 2500 steps pretty typical. When I lived in a 2 story house with my office upstairs it was not uncommon for me to get 10000 steps without having to do much else. Well in the small 1 floor apartment I really had to step (!) it up to get to 6000. The weather has been cold and rainy so I needed to walk inside and when I walked in the apartment, I did intervals of 100 steps fast, 300 steps normal paced. By doing this I was able to average 6400 steps a day for the week. And something has happened over the last 5 weeks – I’m sleeping again! I’m getting 7 hours or more a night consistently with the change in food and starting to be more active. WooHoo!

Week 2 Action Step: I will keep increasing my steps by 500 a per week until I reach 10000 a day. In the meantime I also want to add some stretching exercises 3 days this week to help me be more flexible.
Week 2 Musings: Well adding 500 steps was not a problem and it’s now feeling just part of my day again to be walking. However I kept procrastinating about stretching. I finally made a decision over the weekend to use a Qi Gong tape that has several stretching programs for morning and before bed. I started with the easy AM routine on Saturday and Sunday. Not sure what my hesitation was but this tape feels right for me. Here is the information about it: Lee Holden’s 7 Minutes of Magic AM & PM Routines.

Week 3 Action Step: I will increase my steps to 7000 a day and do the 7 minute stretch daily.
Week 3 Musings: There were lots of distractions, mainly good ones, that made this week more challenging for me to meet my goals. I found myself several time having to walk right before I went to bed to get my steps in. The week ended  with six good days of walking and stretching and on the 7th day I realized that rest was what I really needed. It felt good to honor and give my body what it was asking for.

Week 4 Action Step: I’ve decided that I’m not going to up the number of steps this week. Instead I want to use that time to add some weight exercises to go along with my stretching. I’ve never had much upper body strength and tend to ignore it that area, so I feel it’s time to exercise all my body.
Week 4 Musings: Well, I think I’ve reached the point in this journey where in the past I would be throwing in the towel.

It wasn’t a bad week at all, but it brought out in me the old conversation of wanting to be perfect. In the past when I would go on a diet or was making a life change, I jumped in the pool with both feet. I was either in or out, a 100% perfect or 100% out of control.

I thought this issue had been put to bed, but this week there came that familiar tap on my shoulder reminding me “Well, no surprise here. You didn’t do exactly what you said so you might as well just eat all you want, not exercise, blah, blah, blah…”.  Listening to this voice in the past led me to yo-yo dieting, 50 pound weight swings and a binge eating disorder. This voice wants to keep me feeling small and unsure of myself.

But there is a difference this time. I told the voice that what it’s saying is not true and it needs to go take a nap. I have crowded out sugar, added activity back into my day and lost weight over the last 2 months. I know I am on track, feeling better and doing well. I know that continuing to take small steps is building a stronger foundation for me to live on. I am listening to myself and asking my body what it needs and  I will keep putting one foot in front of the other to live my best life every day.

MY PLAN FOR MARCH
March Key: Feed My Soul
March Affirmation: “I surround myself with people, places and things that make my heart sing.”
March Focus: I want to make time for things I used to enjoy but stopped doing and be open to discovering some new ideas.

Week 1 Action Step: Start the spring  21 day Chopra Mind/Body Meditation Challenge
Week 1 Musings: This was the week that I realized the changes I’ve made since the first of the year have settled back into my daily life. I didn’t have to push myself and it was no longer a struggle to live much healthier. It was also a week where I felt so grateful that I hadn’t given up the week before. This week’s action step gave me back something that I have enjoyed doing over the last 4 years but had given up. It felt really good to reconnect to my meditation practice.

Week 2 Action Step: Select some new music and audio classes to add to my playlist to get ready for vacation.
Week 2 Musings: This was a fun week. I really liked spending time listening to different things to see what new favs I could find. I added some new music (Adele) and a group of 28 day meditations to my iPad. I also added in some audio books and a new game so that I’ll have many options when I’m flying or waiting in the airport.

Week 3 Action Step: This is truly going to be a Feed My Soul week. It is spring break week for the grandkids and several family outings are planned. We lost our almost 14 year old standard poodle last year and have been missing having a pup around.  Today we are getting our 4 year old rescued dog Frankie and will be surprising the kids with our new family member. This will be a week of soul feeding in a big way!!
Week 3 Musings: What a jammed packed week! Lots of adventures with Frankie and a ladies trip to Dallas were so much fun! I did find that two days I wasn’t doing some of my early steps. I was eating things I don’t ordinarily eat, food wasn’t always on a plate, the TV was on and I knew that I wasn’t paying attention to what I was eating  at all. This is how I get when I’m feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

Week 4 Action Step: Spend time thinking and writing about how far I’ve come in 3 months and my next priorities.
Week 4 Musings: I’ve been thinking a lot about how far I’ve come in the last 3 months. Many of the steps I’ve implemented are working well for me. I’ve lost just under 10% of my body weight and feeling more at ease in my body. I’m feeling lighter not only in my body but also in my spirit.

Week 5 Action Step: This week I am visiting a dear friend in New Orleans that will be full of soul nourishment!
Week 5 Musings: What an amazing week!! It was so good to see my friend Paula and visit her new hometown. Her love of NOLA was contagious and I got to see places that many people don’t get to visit or even know are there. We both love fresh, local, amazing tasting food and we enjoyed it all week! It was soul feeding time ~ WOW!! I feel refreshed and energized!

MY PLAN FOR APRIL
April Key: Keep Dreaming!
April Affirmation: “I still myself inside so that I can hear what my heart is yearning for”
April Focus: Setting aside quiet time to reflect and reconnect with what I want my life to look like. WooHoo!!

Week 1 Action Plan: Make appointments with myself for 5 days this week to take 15 minutes to be still and see what shows up.
Week 1 Musings: Well this was interesting and I’m wondering if I can be totally truthful with you…again. I am back for a time in the valley of deep grief. Just when it seems that I’m in a better place, there are triggers, memories or anniversaries of events that catch me by surprise and the feelings of loss just wash over me. Not what I expected but it’s where I am right now.

Week 2 Action Plan: It’s very clear that I need to treat myself to some extra TLC. And for me this week that means not pushing myself to move forward. It’s important to be present and let what comes up have a voice.
Week 2 Musings: This has been a week of me getting back to basics being grateful for all that is good in my life. I’ve found that when all seems lost I’m seeing life through very dark glasses and by consciously looking for what’s good I can raise my mood. Right now this is all I can manage and even though it seems like such a small thing it makes a huge difference in how I feel.

Week 3 Action Plan: I was thinking that I’d made a mistake making this month about dreaming because I seem to be so stuck. But I realized the focus to reflect and reconnect is perfect and by being honest with where I am now, it will clear the way for me to dream about where I want to go. I will continue to work on raising my emotional level using the processes in one of my favorite books, Abraham Hicks Ask And It Is Given.
Week 3 Musings: This week I used a saying from Ask And It Is Given that was “Right now I am going to find the best-feeling thought that I can. I am going to reach for more relief, more relief, more relief.” In the book they talk about wherever you are emotionally, it’s impossible to make a huge jump in how you feel all at once. So I can’t expect to move from grief to even hopefulness in a week. One thing I did was decide to not attend my parent grief support group because I wanted to spend time with my husband just doing normal things. As helpful and encouraging as the group has been, it can also be very draining. I hoped that I would feel a little better staying home and I did. More baby steps….

Week 4 Action Plan: It’s important to continue on the path of quiet time to reflect and reconnect with myself. I’m not  putting any restrictions on how it will show up this week for me. I will practice patience (not my strong suit!) and openness and see what happens.
Week 4 Musings: Things have been very much about just making it through each day, week and month. I’ve had more feelings of sadness recently and I think it’s because it’s almost Mother’s Day. I’ve been remembering that we didn’t celebrate last year because of Chris’s illness and he went back into the hospital the day after. I don’t go looking for things to feel badly about and I am filled with gratitude about so many things. It just seems there is a part of me that is unconsciously keeping track. Even feeling this way, this week I finally started to be open to looking forward in my life.

MY PLAN FOR MAY
May Key: Treat Myself With TLC
May Affirmation: “I am worthy of and deserve being treated to loving care and kindness.”
May Focus: Make it a priority to practice mindful self care.

Week 1 Action Plan: When I’m feeling drawn to food to cope, I will do self care instead.
Week 1 Musings: What was I thinking when I chose this week’s plan?? The week included 5 days of staying at the kids’ house taking care of the gkids (who were so good and helpful!), 2 dogs, 2 Russian tortoises and 1 cat while their mama got a much deserved break. There was a bit of a dust up between our dog and theirs which meant they had to be kept apart. Needless to say my self care turned out to really be working on getting a good night’s sleep and that was successful!

Week 2 Action Plan: I’m back home and having an action plan do-over this week! When I’m feeling drawn to food to cope, I will do self care instead.
Week 2 Musings: There was a lot to cope with this week. Being the week before my first Mother’s Day without my son brought up many powerful emotions that I needed to feel and be present with. My family was asking what I wanted to do on THE day and my first reaction was to just ignore the whole thing. I had been wanting to write a letter to my son expressing how I loved being his mom but hadn’t been able to do it. Wednesday while taking a long walk with the dog, thoughts were coming to me that I wanted to write down. Doing that was the best self care I could have done for myself. I was able to grieve and be grateful to have been his mom. I then had a wonderful, joyous, happy time with my family on Mother’s Day. This was a huge change for me; in the past I would always withdraw into myself. This time I did what I needed for me and then reached out to others for support. I think I graduated from baby steps this week into a giant one !! PS You can see the letter I wrote here.

Week 3 Action Step: Connect with another mother who lost her adult son to suicide.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey California has a program called Seafood Watch Program that’s been around since 1997. They started the program in response to visitors asking how to make better seafood choices.

There is lots of information on their site about seafood and your health with links to many other sites that are helpful depending on how much detail you are interested in.

One of the things that I use and recommend to clients is their printable seafood guide for each region of the United States where you are buying or eating fish. And they update the list every 3 months to keep up with what’s happening in the seafood world.

They list the Best, Good Alternative and Avoid choices with notations of which to limit eating due to concerns about mercury or other contaminants. They’ve even added a sushi guide!

Use the guide to check out all your favorites. Then use it to help you decide on a new fish to try and whether you want to ask the restaurant or store where a fish is from.

I keep my local list handy and when I travel, I get the list for that region.

Here’s the link to download your printable guide – just pick the region you’re interested in: Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide.

Now Seafood Watch Info at Your Fingertips on Your Mobile Devices!
Seafood Watch just added a free “App” for iPhone and iTouch that includes:

* Free, up-to-date recommendations at your fingertips
* Sushi guide lists fish by Japanese name as well as common market name
* Regional guides highlight the seafood that’s best in each area of the country”

Click here for their page where you can link to the download for your iPhone/iTouch and information on how to use the guide on other mobile devices.

PS I just loaded the App to my iTouch and it downloaded a complete copy of all the regions along with detailed info for each fish! It has a lot more detail than the printable page has room to provide. And once downloaded it doesn’t require being on the Internet to view it!

Now you’ll never be without everything you need!

Would you like to know more about the 7 Keys? Click here to receive your f*ree special report, the “7 Keys Every Woman Needs to Unlock Her Healthier, Happier Life™”. And for more support, you will receive the weekly Live Your HealthyLife newsletter with tips, helpful resources, and recipes.

When she first moved in she had a window air conditioner but she didn’t like not having fresh air around her so she removed it.She loved opening the windows and using a fan. And she was one of the most vibrant, healthy and thriving people I’d ever met!

I couldn’t help wondering how she could live like that. I was so used to having AC, so I just had to ask her, “It gets so hot in here in the summer, what do you do to keep cool?”.

She answered, “I eat watermelon”. I said, “But it gets REALLY hot in here. If you’re still hot what do you do next?”. She answered, “I eat some more.”.

Her answer at first surprised me. But when I thought about it, she was really connecting and listening to what her body needed. She was using food to help her body deal with the heat.

Before all the modern conveniences, people had to use what was available to keep cool. Food was one of the options. They used what was available and in season. Most foods were locally grown and were a perfect match for where they lived and the weather they were dealing with.

In the summer, many of the foods that are in season are “cooling” light foods. Fruits like her watermelon, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches and tomatoes are light, refreshing foods. So are the summer vegetables, the peppers, cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini. They’re juicy when ripe and help quench your thirst.

Instinctively, your body wants the foods that help it deal with the circumstances surrounding it. When it’s hot, it wants lighter, cooling, hydrating foods.

As you make your way through this summer of record setting temperatures, be sure to include the light summer fare that your body is craving! They are your answer to naturally keeping cool!

Would you like to know more about the 7 Keys? Click here to sign up for your f*ree special report, the “7 Keys Every Woman Needs to Unlock Her Healthier, Happier Life™”. And for even more support, you will receive the weekly Live Your Healthy Life newsletter with tips, helpful resources, and recipes.

KEY ~ Create Your Supportive Environment

Here are some ideas to try and to see what works for you, your family and home. Start today to live greener at home!

PLEASE NOTE: Be sure to consider your surfaces before using these ideas. For example, vinegar is NOT a good choice for granite and marble!

Cleaning:
Two great products to try are white vinegar and baking soda. You can buy huge jugs of white vinegar and large bags of baking soda at warehouse club stores. It makes it easy to always have them on hand and they are so inexpensive compared to all the products you buy now.

Dilute vinegar and water (1 to 5) in a spray bottle to clean everything in the kitchen. Countertops, quick floor cleanup, refrigerator etc. And any odor from the vinegar goes away very quickly.

You can also use this in the bathroom for sinks and countertops. You can also use the spray to clean glass and mirrors – including windows.

To remove odors (even many doggie smells!) from carpets, lightly sprinkle dry baking soda before sweeping. It works by absorbing odors instead of covering them up and does it without using chemicals and fragrance.

In the Laundry:
Add baking soda to the washing machine with detergent (fragrance free) because it makes the soap work better and you can use less.

Try permanent dryer sheets made out of fabric to eliminate buying throw away dryer sheets and fabric softener.

Outdoors:
We live in the woods with no grass where we raise a hardy crop of poison ivy, dandelions and weeds! I use vinegar full strength to kill these as they start to come up. My experience is that vinegar will kill anything. So use care around grass, flowers and anything you want to keep.

For Cooking/Food Prep/Storage:
~Unbleached paper towels if using with food prep (like draining or drying)
~Unbleached natural waxed paper if covering will touch the food
~Unbleached parchment paper under everything that goes in the oven – this really cuts down on cleanup!
~Replace plastic containers with glass jars for food storage. Try inexpensive canning jars in different sizes with plastic lids for refrigerator/pantry storage and regular metal lids for the freezer

Recycling:
Many of us have been recycling for years. As you eat less processed foods, you’ll find you have less to recycle.

Try taking one small step at a time! It won’t take you long to live greener at home!

Depending on where you live, you may have hibernated during the winter months eating heavy foods to feel warm, resting more than usual, and getting less physical activity.

Now that spring is here, do you want to feel lighter and have more energy
for whatever fun is in store? Check out spring vegetables that are in season.

These vegetables have absorbed energy from the sun and nutrients from the soil which they will graciously share with you. They will help you lighten up!

Some of the many spring vegetables include asparagus, cabbage, collards, peas, snap beans, and spinach. Check your local farmers market or grocery store’s local selection for other vegetables available in your area.

Let’s take a closer look at one of the spring veggies, asparagus.

According to the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board:
Asparagus is one of the most nutritionally well-balanced vegetables in existence. It leads nearly all produce items in the wide array of nutrients it supplies in significant amounts for a healthy diet.

Asparagus is the leading supplier among vegetables of folic acid. A 5.3 ounce serving provides 60% of the recommended daily allowance for folacin which is necessary for blood cell formation, growth, and prevention of liver disease. Folacin has been shown to play a significant role in the prevention of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, that cause paralysis and death in 2,500 babies each year.

Asparagus is:
* Low in calories, only 20 per 5.3 oz. serving, less than 4 calories per spear
* Contains no fat or cholesterol
* Very low in sodium
* A good source of potassium
* A source of fiber (3 grams per 5.3 oz. serving)
* An excellent source of folacin
* A significant source of thiamin
* A significant source of vitamin B6
* One of the richest sources of rutin, a compound which strengthens capillary walls
* Contains glutathione (GSH) one of the most potent anticarcinogens and antioxidants found within the body

Its wealth of nutrients, fiber and very low sodium and calorie content make asparagus a nutritionally wise choice. Be sure tocheck their site for additional information and recipes.

So the next time you’re food shopping, pick up that handful of asparagus and try the easy recipe below! Don’t you feel lighter already?

Just so you know.
In case you’ve never eaten asparagus before, some people do experience unusual smelling urine shortly after eating. It is harmless and passes quickly and if you’re interested in learning more about this, google “asparagus urine”.

Would you like to know more about the 7 Keys? Click here to sign up for your f*ree special report, the “7 Keys Every Woman Needs to Unlock Her Healthier, Happier Life™”. And for even more support, you will receive the weekly Live Your Healthy Life newsletter with tips, helpful resources, and recipes.

All you know for sure is that you have made the decision to buy healthier foods for you and your family. Then when you’re at the grocery store you are not sure what to buy. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a quick and easy way to help you decide?

Now there is and it’s called NuVal™.

NuVal™ is a way of ranking the nutritional value of foods from 1-100, with 100 being the highest. And it’s not just for packaged, processed foods but also fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and dairy. And the great thing is, this system was developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts.

To make it easy to use NuVal™, the symbol ranking a food is on the price label. This makes it super easy to compare one item to another, like two cereals, to see which has more nutritional benefits and fits within your budget.

By using this great resource you can shop healthier, quicker and feel comfortable about the decisions you make. And it’s a great way for your kids to learn about all the different foods too!

Also be sure to visit the NuVal™ websitefor lots of great information.

The site has things like “Trading Up Tips” with examples of foods and the benefits of the higher rated ones. There’s also a way to check to see if you have a storeclose to you that is using NuVal™, and if there isn’t, their site has ways for you to let your store know you would like for them to add NuVal™.

And don’t miss the great game called “Nutrition by the Numbers” . Play it to find out how nutritionally informed you are. What you learn may surprise you!
Would you like to know more about the 7 Keys? Click here to sign up for your f*ree special report, the “7 Keys Every Woman Needs to Unlock Her Healthier, Happier Life™”. And for even more support, you will receive the weekly Live Your HealthyLife newsletter with tips, helpful resources, and recipes.

I have decided to share a lifelong personal struggle with you.

I know my life would have turned around much sooner if I had been aware  that being highly sensitive was just another way of being. By sharing this I am hoping that at least one person discovers more understanding about themselves or someone they love.

Becoming aware of this has truly changed my life. Please share this with anyone you feel needs this information.They may find the missing piece to live their happier, healthier life!

Are You Highly Sensitive?

Have you ever been told you were too sensitive or shy – especially as a child?
Have you been told that you need to toughen up?
Do you cry easily but try not to because someone makes fun of you?
Does watching something violent make you more uncomfortable than it does other people?
Do you avoid going to a great movie that has violent parts even if it means not going with friends? Or do you go and then wish you didn’t?

Is it hard for you to be in large crowds – and to you large can be just a few people?
Do you start to feel overwhelmed and thinking about how to escape and finding
someplace quiet to recover? And does the recovery sometime takes days?

Are you very aware of sounds, smells, colors, flavors and how things feel?
Are you very moved just seeing something or hearing music?
Have you mentioned something you noticed and other people didn’t even know what you were talking about?

These are a few of the things that I experienced for 59 years and wondered “What is wrong with me?”.

Early in life I started to keep my thoughts and feelings to myself.
I began to feel that who I was wasn’t “normal”. I learned to protect myself.
My self esteem kept shrinking and I turned to food to comfort myself and help
relieve the anxiety I constantly felt.

My husband understood a little better about how I experienced things when one day I told him the water in the shower he had turned on was now hot – while I was 20 ft away. He asked how I knew and I said the sound of the running water had changed. He checked and the water was hot.

At the age of 59 I became aware of something called HSP – a Highly Sensitive Person. It turns out that 20-30% of people are HSPs. It is not a disease, not an affliction, not something to be ashamed of. About the same percentage appears in animals. It’s just part of Mother Nature’s plan.

If the above describes you (or someone you know), you may be a Highly Sensitive Person. When I started reading about HSP I recognized myself and finally understood why my senses seemed different than other peoples. I am extremely grateful that I am now aware and have found ways to use this gift to enhance my life and the lives of others.

At an event right after I became aware of HSP I wrote about the experience and at the end listed the things that I learned and how things were different:

In the past, I did not want to go to anything that might be a possible trigger …
THIS TIME I TRIED
In the past, I stayed in situations that were causing me physical and mental pain
that required days of solitude and rest to recover…
THIS TIME I DID NOT
In the past, I did not ask for help…
THE NEXT TIME I WILL
At the time, I did what I needed to do…
I TOOK CARE OF MYSELF
At the time, I was hard on myself…
I’VE SINCE TOLD MYSELF “GREAT JOB”

For myself I’ve renamed HSP to Happily Super Powered!

If you think you are HSP, have a spouse who might be, are raising a child you suspect may be, look here are some books that myself and others have found helpful.