While fall invites us to shed, winter beckons rest, and spring brings awakening, summer is a season of energetic abundance. Think: family-filled parks, vacations and roadtrips, picnics, dinner parties, beach days, dancing. Play. For some, this sounds exhilarating – you can’t wait to be a part of the vibrant energy. For others, this might bring anxiety, overstimulation, and a feeling of overwhelm – you wish things would slow down. If you’re anything like me, it’s both.
Read MoreAttachment injuries refer to emotional wounds that occur when a trusted individual fails to provide you with support, care, or protection during a time of need. Attachment injuries often arise from experiences of betrayal, abandonment, rejection, or neglect by your parents, caregivers, or romantic partners. In my experience, we all have an attachment wound, albeit of varying degrees, because no childhood is perfect. But when these wounds disrupt your sense of safety, trust, and connection that are foundational to healthy relationships, they can often develop an insecure attachment.
Read MoreIn our fast-paced world, feeling overwhelmed is, unfortunately, the norm and is even seen as a point of pride in certain circles; it's as if our tendency to work harder than our capacity is proof of our worth. But this so often leads to burnout for many and can even progress to more significant experiences of anxiety and depression when not addressed. One powerful tool that has gained significant attention in recent years is mindfulness
Read MoreHighly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) experience the world in a uniquely intense way due to processing information more deeply, becoming easily stressed by overstimulation, having increased emotional reactivity, and heightened perception of subtleties in their surroundings. While this heightened sensitivity can be a gift, it also means that HSPs may look for some relief through substance use - and sometimes this can lead to addiction.
Read MoreWhat happens when you experience emotional overwhelm? That moment where your natural and helpful attunement to others’ emotions feels like it’s taking on a bit too much. This can lead to compassion fatigue and a need to shut down. It might bring up a part of you that feels panicked, urgently trying to find ways to “keep it all together.” Sometimes, emotional overwhelm can bring up a self-critical mindset, where you begin to berate yourself for not feeling in control. This is where Therapy for Empaths in Los Angeles, CA comes in.
Read MoreAs an empath or highly sensitive person, your sensitivities to others and your ability to attune to yourself and the outside world can be overwhelming. This may lead you to adjust your communication style. This is done to shield others from what you sense as a vulnerability. By absorbing these fragile states in others, it makes sense for your interpersonal relationships to pose specific challenges. You may find difficulty around boundary setting or staying within a boundary.
Read MoreYou love your child so deeply, but more days than not, you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by this tiny human who seems to bring out the worst in you. You’ve read all the books and asked all the questions in your parenting communities. Yet somehow you’re still struggling to understand how to care for your child in a way that doesn’t feel so hard all of the time. You find yourself getting stuck in the guilt and shame cycle because you feel you “should” know better, but what you’re doing just isn’t working. And, at the end of the day, it’s not just your kid who’s had the meltdown, but you’re having them too.
Read MoreCompassion fatigue often used interchangeably with secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma, refers to a specific type of burnout. One that can occur when one is experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress. This is a result of overexposure to other people’s suffering. It is common in people working in helping professions. But it can happen to anyone who is operating in any sort of caregiving role, whether it’s emotional, physical, or spiritual. Therapy for Empaths in Los Angeles, CA with Therapy on Fig, provides specialized support to help individuals navigate the unique challenges of compassion fatigue. All While developing coping strategies to protect their emotional well-being.
Read MoreLife transitions, whether by choice or circumstance, are commonly followed by conflicting feelings. Moving to a new city may bring joy and sorrow. Advancing in one’s career can bring fear and excitement. Entering a new decade of life can unearth gratitude and worry. Divorce or a breakup can be followed by relief and sadness.
In addition to conflicting feelings, another common thread amongst all life transitions is change. For Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP), change may result in feeling shaken up and overstimulated. This is due to being highly attuned to the shifts in one’s environment. What once may have felt familiar and secure begins to feel unstable and chaotic. For HSPs going through life transitions, it is possible to be in a relationship with one’s sensitivity through change — one that feels less distressing and overwhelming.
Read MoreAs we close out January 2024, you may reflect on this first month of a new year. As an HSP or Empath, you may be keenly aware of the passing of time. Settling into a new year then brings up different emotions. Maybe this brings up feelings of being behind, grief, or anxiety about the future. It may even bring up joy and expectation, or a million things in between.
Read MoreAs an empath or a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), you possess a unique and valuable trait that presents challenges and opportunities. One area where you may face distinct considerations is your career choices. In this blog post, we will delve into how being an empath or HSP can impact your career decisions. We will also talk about how Therapy for Empaths in Los Angeles, CA can provide guidance on finding a fulfilling and balanced professional path.
Read MoreAn empath is someone who possesses extraordinary sensitivity and attunement to the emotions and inner states of those around them. This awareness also makes it more likely that empaths spend time and energy in service of helping others. But, this sensitivity can lead to porous boundaries between self and others. This, in turn, can negatively affect mental and emotional health. In Therapy for Empaths in Los Angeles, CA, empaths can learn how this quality impacts their mental/emotional health and relationships.
Read MoreAs a deep feeler and thinker, you find yourself overthinking and worrying about being a burden, often people-pleasing, in hopes of preventing that. These fears aren’t new; maybe they have become constant companions from growing up hearing things like, “Just get over it” and “Stop being so sensitive.” Finding yourself stuck in these cycles has brought resentment and feeling at odds with yourself.
Read MoreOftentimes, clients come to therapy with a general awareness of their pain points, triggers, and tendencies/patterns. In the early stages of therapy, I often will conduct an informal assessment to determine if a new client’s observations of themselves may align with traits of a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). In this blog, from us here at Therapy on Fig, we will explore the idea of an HSP and how HSP therapy in Los Angeles, CA can help.
Read MoreAfter exploring podcasts, books, talking with friends, and past therapy experiences, you're realizing that being highly sensitive and an empath is a big part of who you are. It affects almost every part of your life. You may have picked a profession that aligns with your ability to pick up on subtleties and nuances, such as a therapist. You could also find yourself in a highly driven, high-pressure tech company where high performance and its optics are prioritized and valued. In both situations, you've learned how to access and leverage your natural strengths in different places. It's been tough, and you're looking for an HSP therapist who understands what it's like to be highly sensitive and can help you even more. This is where Therapy for Empaths and HSPs in Los Angeles, CA with Therapy on Fig can help you!
Read MoreWe don’t discuss it as often as we should, but friendships can be challenging. Especially for those who identify as highly sensitive persons (HSPs), friendship dynamics can sometimes feel stressful and overwhelming. HSPs have a high level of depth and attunement to our emotions and the emotions of others, are often sensitive to our environment and sensory output, and may become overstimulated more easily.
Read MoreAs an HSP, you bring many gifts into your friendships. Some of these are a sense of attunement, conscientiousness, and empathy, allowing you to connect in rich, powerful ways with those in your life. These qualities that allow for deep connections may also be factors in those overthinking spirals that can feel tough to escape.
Read MoreAs the holiday season approaches, it can feel like life starts moving quicker, and there doesn’t seem to be as much breathing room. Around this time, I hear clients share how overwhelmed they feel going into the holidays and their struggles to balance time resting and connecting with others.
Read More“I don’t feel like myself right now.”
“Am I making the right decision?”
“The old me would be able to get through this easily. Why can’t I be that person right now?”
These are some statements and questions I often hear working with clients who are going through life transitions, experiencing change, or who feel lost and wonder what direction their lives are going.
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