Vanessa Hannah Bright, L.Ac., L.P.

Working with Empaths and Highly Sensitive People (Amazon link, I am not an affiliate) is one of my specialties.  They often have qualities such as:

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• Introspective

• Deep thinkers and feelers

• Have a vivid imagination and rich dreams

• Deeply attuned to the needs and feelings of others

• Overwhelmed by too much noise and other stimuli

• Sometimes told they are "too sensitive" and "too emotional"

• Often shy

• Often creative

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Frequent issues faced by these people are:

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• Past trauma in childhood and adulthood

• Anxiety in new situations

• Tendency to please people by hiding one's true feelings and needs

• Tendency to avoid people due to overwhelm

• Challenges in relationships

• Depression due to having felt unseen and misunderstood all of one's life

• Finding ways to numb out with TV, internet, alcohol, or recreational drugs

• Holding oneself back in life, fear of both failure and success

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Being sensitive and attuned to the needs of others is an amazing gift that can be honed - and this requires processing the past traumas and realizing that your feelings have always been natural and beautiful. Those around you who shamed or shunned you for them were uncomfortable with your feelings because of their own issues, not because there was anything wrong with you. However, processing this takes time and requires a deep, safe, empathic environment. This is why psychoanalytic psychotherapy is an ideal fit for someone who is an empath or an HSP.

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