Highly Sensitive, Happily Married Hannah Brooks

149   After 32 years of marriage, and the help of many different marriage counselors,  Kathy was looking at apartments and thinking of a future without her husband.

She just could hardly imagine being happy with him again. Nor did he seem interested in getting help for his side of the issue they had between them.

But,  after just a week or two of starting her work with me, not only did she start to feel really different, her husband started responding to her differently, too. 

And as she kept up her work on her side of the street, on how she was relating to him, guess what? He started to make bigger changes on his end, and even seek out support for himself.

So now they were both experiencing and building in more love between them and collaborating on creating a great future together, one where they are both getting their needs and wants met  harmoniously and happily.

How did Kathy do this? She tells us in this conversation where we discuss it all, as well as:
How she’d been through lots of other sessions with other professionals that didn't change things, but how pleasantly surprised she was when she started to focus on herself, on who she is, on her own thoughts, and what she wanted to bring to the relationship, that things really–and suddenly–changed.How she freed herself from long-held resentment and finally got her husband on board to follow through on a promise he made and help her achieve a life-long dream of hersWhy, after listening to the podcast without much change, working directly with me  made all the differenceWhat she did to get her hubby on board to improve things between them together.How developing better boundaries (of two types), and learning how to “insource her value” made her marriage and all sorts of relationships in her life betterWhat being part of a group coaching program was like for her as someone who is “not a group person”How no longer thinking of her sensitivity as something that was wrong with her, and learning how to honor the needs it brings, lead to just generally being happier and more carefree in her life. Kathy drops many bits of wisdom and insights for any HSP who is not as happy as they want to be in their relationship, and we cover quite a few universal issues and solutions for highly sensitive relationships, so listen in. 
This is such a great story for anyone wanting to not be alone in   working to improve your marriage, and  to understand what it takes to get your partner on board to collaborate on bettering your relationship together.

SHOW NOTES:
Learn about or enroll in Treasured, Hannah's marriage coaching program for highly sensitive women, here. 
ENJOYING THE SHOW?
 Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. Leave  a review in Apple Podcasts--we are SO grateful!Get the Podcast Map by becoming a Podcast Supporter, so you can quickly identify the episodes most helpful for your unique relationship, by supporting the podcast (for as little as $3) HERE.

148  If you're a woman between the ages of 35 and 55, you are going to want to catch this episode–and bring your spouse! Because this is a big transitional time for women and couples of this age range. And, even though the hormonal shifts that happen during this time have a bad rep, they actually bring along with them a big opportunity to grow the love, supportiveness, connection in your marriage, as well as start your “second spring” in life and love.

In this episode, I bring on Bria Gadd, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, holistic health coach, and personal trainer who specializes in female hormones, to talk about it all with me, and dish out her wisdom on how to use this time to benefit your marriage. 

Studies show that in 69% of divorces, it’s women who are the ones to initiate it. And often this is because in midlife, as hormones are shifting, many women start to feel like they want more, like they no longer want to settle for the same old same old in their relationship and life. If you don't understand what is happening, or how to support yourself in this time, like most women don't, (because the research is very new!), it can lead to a much harder time in your life and marriage!

But when you, and ideally your spouse, too , get educated about this perimenopausal time of life, it will allow you to work with yourself and your spouse to navigate this time in a way that can birth the best times of your marriage.

So listen in as Bria and I discuss all of that as well as:
What we tend to struggle with during this time (no, you are NOT alone!!) What is really going on for us women hormonally in these years, and how it affects us.How this time's a call to really self-educate and learn how to best support yourselfBria’s 4 pillars of what you need to thrive during this time and beyond, both physiologically and emotionally, How to start healing from  hormonal imbalances and the exact starting places for you to get going today to avoid hormonal chaos, such as impatience, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, weight gain, lowered libido, and more, that can negatively impact your relationship and whole life at this time, and begin to truly thrive like never before in your life. Although the most important thing during this time is YOUR OWN self-support in very specific ways, when your partner understands what's really going on during this time, too, they can help support you through it, so you can both LOVE this (long) period of time of your lives, and beyond. This episode is the beginning of that.
SHOW NOTES:
Last chance to get The Foundations Of Emotional Well-Being for HSPs for FREE ! Join Treasured, Hannah's marriage transforming program for HSPs,  by Sunday April 14th, 2024. Click here to learn more.

To Find Bria:
The Period Whisperer Podcast
Instagram @bria_period_whisperer
Bria’s Quiz: “Are Your Hormones Holding You Back?” 

If you are at all curious about or interested in what coaching can do for you and your relationship, or even what it IS, this bonus episode will help clarify that, and what my specific version of it, for highly sensitive people,  is all about. Since I have changed a few things over the years in what and how I offer marriage coaching, I wanted to update you about those changes as well as help answer some common questions about it all.

So listen in to here the answers to these questions (I recommend listening to the full episode, but you can also pick and choose which question you want to hear the answer for by jumping to that time in the episode, noted by each question):
What is marriage/relationship coaching and Hannah’s program, Treasured? (@ 4 mins)Who is it for? (@ 7 mins 10 seconds)Why is Treasured different and will it work if other things haven't? (@10 mins 15 seconds)Can my partner and our relationship really change if it’s only me working on my end of things? (@18 mins 25 secs) Why a group program for such a personal thing? Will I be helped as much as I would be in 1:1? (@ 22 mins 51 secs)What are the specifics of how it works? (29:45)Why would I do a coaching program, instead of just doing it on my own, like from the podcast? (33:48)How do I enroll? (36:09)Can I talk to you before committing? (37:11)If you want a happier, more fulfilling, loving dynamic between you and your spouse, you’ve got to find out how coaching can help. Listen in.

SHOW NOTES:
Treasured description and info page
Treasured FAQ
To get started, fill out The Great Mutual Fit Form here.

147  Gina, a client who worked with me in Treasured, had been totally disconnected from her husband and lonely in her marriage for 20+ years. The connected intimacy we love as sensitive people? There wasn’t any of it.

She wasn’t sure she could change things much after all those years, or how totally disconnected they were,  but she was clear she didn't want her life to feel that way forever, and so she dove into the work.
Low and behold, as you’ll hear, nowadays she and her husband are really connected and even quite affectionate with each other (they started to be just several weeks into our work together). And as she led the way in reconnecting, her husband started joining her in building more and more intimacy between them, so now building and enjoying more and more connection is a totally mutual thing for both of them.

How did she do it? Listen in and she will tell you!

In our conversation, Gina opens up about what things were like with her husband for so long, why and how she completely – and quite quickly – changed things between them, and what the biggest keys were for her that made all of this possible.

Listen in to get a dose of hope and inspiration, and hear some great marriage and emotional well-being wisdom from this highly sensitive connection maestro!

SHOW NOTES:

Learn about or enroll in Treasured, Hannah's marriage coaching program for highly sensitive women, here.

ENJOYING THE SHOW?
Get the Podcast Map , so you can quickly identify the episodes most helpful for your unique relationship, by supporting the podcast (for as little as $3) HERE.
 
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. Leave  a review in Apple Podcasts--we are SO grateful!

146  What can you realistically expect to feel in a good and healthy relationship? In this episode I spill the beans.

Listen in to hear one potent bit of clarifying medicine to help you lean away from all the painful worry and doubt that comes up around your relationship, to relieve you from all the questioning you may be doing about whether this marriage can be improved or not, and help you lean into improving what’s realistic to improve between you and your partner.

If you've ever felt something was wrong with your relationship because you find yourself unhappy, or upset, or having a hard time emotionally about things with your spouse…

Or if you’ve ever been at all unsure if this is the right relationship for you, or compared your marriage to someone else's (with yours coming up short)...

…You've got to listen to what I share in this episode.

Because I lay it out bluntly: what you can really measure a good relationship by (or a poor one!).  No more wondering needed!

You will walk away relieved and also motivated to spend your time improving what CAN be improved, instead of wasting your energy on what cannot. Listen in.

SHOW NOTES:
Bring Back The Attraction, the new on-demand 45 minute course to that gives you 7 keys to spark more of the magical appeal you used to feel is now available here.
Find out how Hannah can help you more over at her website.

ENJOYING THE SHOW?
Get the Podcast Map by becoming a Podcast Supporter, so you can quickly identify the episodes most helpful for your unique relationship, by supporting the podcast (for as little as $3) HERE.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. Leave  a review in Apple Podcasts--we are SO grateful!

145  If you sometimes (or often) can't quite feel love for your significant other, I totally get it. I have felt that, too, many a-time, and I know it DOESN'T feel so good . Because, of course you want to feel love for and connection to the person you spend your life with, right? So I want to share a personal story with you that will help.

Dive into today's episode to hear about one of the times I felt deeply cut off from my love for my hubby, and how I got myself back to that sweetness of feeling connected and loving towards him again–so you can do it, too!

How I did that is a reliable process I still use in those times I feel cut off from my heart–because it really can happen rather easily as HSP’s in our busy overstimulating modern lives (and because relationships can bring up a lot of stuff that makes it all too easy to shut down our hearts–even when we have big ones!).

I also share what can get in the way of feeling that steady love for our significant other, and how there may well be different routes to access it again for you, depending on what's going on for you. 

And I give you the most basic key to figuring out how to guide yourself back to feeling more in your big heart  again, so you can feel better AND inspire more connection, fun, and even passion with your spouse. Dive in!
SHOW NOTES:
Get the Podcast Map by becoming a Podcast Supporter, so you can quickly identify the episodes most helpful for your unique relationship, by supporting the podcast (for as little as $3) HERE. 
Learn about or enroll in Treasured, Hannah's marriage coaching program for highly sensitive women, here. 
ENJOYING THE SHOW?
 Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. Leave  a review in Apple Podcasts--we are SO grateful!