Intuition as a Guiding Light for HSPs

How inner wisdom, emotional resilience, and aligned living can help HSPs find strength in sensitivity.

Hello to my fellow highly sensitive people, aka HSPs! And a very warm welcome to the first episode of The Happy HSP Podcast. My name is Kimberly Marshall, and I’ll be your host in this little corner of the world. I’m so glad you’re here as we dive into all the ways HSPs struggle and rise above our sensitivity, and even, I daresay, embrace it as the beautiful gift it truly is.

Today, I’m joined by Jess Kachelman of Sensitive Women Rising — she’s a coach and creative whose journey into discovering that she’s an HSP later in her life completely transformed not only how she shows up in the world, but also how she parents and helps her clients rediscover their identities and build their self-confidence.

In this conversation, Jess shares how she went from feeling far “too much” and hard to love, to embracing her sensitivity, intuition, and creativity as her greatest strengths. 

We talk about what it’s like to parent HSP children with empathy, how Jess uses social media as a space for uplifting others, and all the surprising ways that our intuition can lead us toward more aligned and meaningful choices in our lives.

So, if you’re an HSP who’s ever felt like your sensitivity makes you feel different or “not enough,” like so many of us have, this episode is for you. It’s a powerful reminder that your inner wisdom can be your greatest guide.

It’s heartfelt, it’s inspiring, and it’s full of gentle encouragement for anyone learning to live more authentically as an highly sensitive person.

Without further ado, here’s my conversation with Jess. I hope you enjoy it!

Kim: Hey, Jess. Welcome to the Happy HSP Podcast. First question I have for you, just to get a sense of your story and your journey of being a highly sensitive person. I’m curious how you found out you were an HSP and what that journey looked like for you.

Jess: Hi. I am so excited to be here. So, I did not learn that I was an HSP until just a few years ago. I don’t remember the exact moment. I follow lots of different accounts online that are kind of personal development and self-help and self-love, and I think I probably just stumbled upon it on social media, which I think is so cool. And one of the reasons why I just love having a presence on social media, but it wasn’t until my thirties, so I lived a good bit of my life not knowing that there was actually a term for what I was feeling, and that there’s other people that feel the same way.

And I knew for a long time…I remember even as a child just feeling so different, just feeling like, man, I cry really easily. I sometimes cry and don’t even know why I am crying. And it was just definitely something that I always knew like, oh, I’m a little different, but I think I’m the only one. So, it was definitely exciting to find out, oh, I’m not the only one, and there’s lots of support for me and tools for me out there.

Kim: Oh my gosh, yeah, I can so relate. It’s like you feel like you’re so different than everybody else, and then all of a sudden you’re like, wait, no, there’s a reason for this. There’s actually a thing that I have that I’m experiencing, and there’s a community out here that’s also kind of experiencing that.

Jess: Yeah, it’s so powerful and it’s just been transformative for me. So yeah, I’m so grateful that we can all connect now and know there’s this common ground between us.

Kim: How would you describe that transformation? What was that journey for you?

Jess: Well, so like I said, I always knew I was a little bit different, but I didn’t see it as a strength. I definitely saw it as a, I don’t know, maybe a weakness, and it made me so unique and misunderstood, and that was just really, really hard.

I remember as a kid just feeling like I wish I knew why I was this way so that I could fix it. I just thought that it was something that I had to fix. I had to be stronger. I had to be more just less sensitive because it made me not enough. It made me difficult. I felt like it made me difficult to love. And so I think for a long time I felt that, and then I oftentimes would feel just super embarrassed. I would be like, I need to hide this part of myself.

I need to apologize for making other people feel uncomfortable if I start crying, because I don’t know, it just didn’t feel like a positive thing for the longest time. And that was just really, really hard because I am very much, like I mentioned before, I’m very much into personal development and growth and just really learning how to go after my dreams and do the things that I want to do with my life’s purpose. But I felt like my sensitivity held me back from those things. I felt like it made me just too weak. And so I played that voice in my head for so long that, and I didn’t know how to fix it. I didn't know how to change it, and that was super frustrating for me. It was like, how can I be less sensitive? I mean, I just Googled that. How can I be less sensitive? Why do I cry so much?

It’s just one of those things that I thought I had to fix. So, when I finally realized that there were other people like me and that they were doing incredible things, they were going after their dreams, they were living lives that were full, but also not in a way that’s overwhelming.

They were able to handle it with grace, and they were able to just really do all the things that I was hoping I could do. I was so inspired and just that started the whole part of me saying, okay, maybe this isn’t a bad thing. How can I use this as a strength? How can I flip my inner voice to believing that this is something I can use to connect with other people on a deeper level and just really make a huge difference for others?

Kim: And thank God for that. It’s so funny you said something that really resonated with me, and it was this idea of how do I turn this off? I feel so weak. How do I change this about myself? And I just relate to that because I think, and what you were explaining with your childhood crying and having all these emotions and feeling like you’re too much, I feel like a lot of our journeys are about trying to fix it and not appear weak.

And I’ve gotten to the point where I even upset or angry when people talk about high sensitivity in terms of a weakness, especially in terms of their friend. Like, oh, I think my friend has high sensitivity. How does she turn it off? How does she, and it’s just like you don’t and you don’t want to.

It’s now that I have this understanding of what it is, I am kind of proud of it. Do you know what I mean? Have you found that you’ve gotten to that point, or are you still kind of grappling with it in some way?

Jess: Oh, no. I am so proud, and yeah, I wouldn’t change it about myself for a second. I think that it is absolutely just such a gift, and I’m so grateful that I feel that way now because actually raising two highly sensitive children, and so it’s so neat being able to instill that pride in them from a young age.

Kim: Yeah, I would love to hear about that experience for you. Did you have trouble in childhood? I know it’s so hard. Our parents don’t always know what to do with high sensitivity, and we have this idea of how we grew up and how we related to our family and now as parents, how we help our children. Is there a thread there for you, or kind of like a silver lining?

Jess: Oh, for sure. Yeah. I think I know my parents…I have amazing parents that were doing the best that they could with the tools that they had and the knowledge that they had at that time. And I since have realized my mom is very much a highly sensitive individual as well, and she was just doing the best that she could with four children and just getting overwhelmed and it’s hard.

Being a parent is absolutely the hardest job on the planet in my opinion, but it’s absolutely my favorite job and my favorite title and everything that I do. But yeah, just seeing now these behaviors, and especially in my daughter, my son’s still young, but just seeing the behaviors in her that I just feel so deeply connected to, because I remember doing it as a child and being able to approach her with gentleness and understanding has been so healing for my inner child because it just wasn’t understood. My parents did not understand it. They thought maybe I was being a little dramatic or just overreacting.

And they, since I think have realized a little bit better, hindsight is of course, 2020. And I’ve also been able to point it out in my children to them and say, Hey, remember when I used to do that? And so, it’s been a really great experience for us to learn together as a family that it’s not a bad thing, and it’s not something you can just turn off. It’s not disobedience or trying to be difficult. So, it can be challenging at times for sure. I tend to, especially if my children are overwhelmed, that can trigger overwhelm me, and then we’re just all like, what is…

Kim: One ball of overwhelm!

Jess: Yeah. Yes, yes. Oh, man. But it’s also kind of helpful that we can just kind of work through it together as best as we can. It’s messy sometimes, but it’s better. I would prefer it be messy and just a little bit of just learning through it then trying to shut it down.

Kim: Totally. And it’s almost like you going through it, and especially now that we know what it is, if we think about it, it hasn’t, how long ago did Elaine Aaron write her book or spearhead this movement? It was like 30 years ago? So, it’s not something we’ve known for a long time. And it’s just funny understanding where it comes from and how it’s genetic and what it’s meant for. It just helps us be better people in general. And parents.

Jess: Sure.

Kim: It’s the same thing. You’re not trying to stamp it out of your kids or say you need to be stronger, or it’s like, we can work with it. We can be gentle with it. We can bring the best parts of them out.

Jess: Absolutely.

Kim: Best we can in the moment. It’s easy to say. But yeah. So, what are some of the things that you celebrate about being highly sensitive? What do you love about this trait?

Jess: Yeah, so there’s so many things I think, and I’m still discovering them every day. I love that I can now approach myself just seeing things in a different light. How can I use this trait in me to just make my life better and actually just feel good about it?

So, a big thing for me that I’ve been realizing is I have a really strong intuition, and that was something for a long time that I did not trust. I was scared to trust. I just didn’t have that self-trust to know I have good intentions, and I know my heart and I can trust my heart. And so just discovering that and really digging deep into it and being able to use that confidently to make decisions for myself and for my children has just been, it’s just been so good because for the longest time I thought I just needed to silence it and not listen to it.

And the more that I listen to it, the more I just begin to love myself and trust myself. So that’s been huge. Another thing that I love is, and this has been a newer development since I started my business in the last year, is my creativity. I always thought I’m not a creative person.

Kim: Really?

Jess: Time and time again, yeah, I would say I’m not a creative person. I think just the people I saw around me that I considered to be creative were creative in different ways than me. And I was like, I’m not artistic. I can’t draw a stick figure. I can’t really sing. I played piano for a little while, but it was really overwhelming for some reason. And so, I’m like, I just don’t have a creative bone in my body.

And so, the more that I have been able to redefine what that means, I have realized that I am a very creative person, and I love being creative. It doesn’t feel painful like it did because I was pushing it. I was trying to be creative in all the ways that everyone else was.

Kim: What’s your way of being creative? How do you relate to creativity now?

Jess: So, I see creativity as a way of connecting with other people. I think that whatever outlet you use is a way to connect on a deeper level than just sitting…I mean, you can sit and talk to someone in a creative way…but when I think of creativity, I often think of the arts and music, and I have been using my platform so much to connect on such a deep level with so many incredible people, and I would’ve never been able to do that, I don’t think, if I just don’t know, I see, each reel that I create, I see it as an expression of something deep inside of me, and it’s a whole experience between the visual and the words and the music…I love putting together something that will just touch the person seeing it deeply. And that’s just been such a good outlet for me because it’s just a way to express how I’m feeling in a way that other people will understand.

Kim: I can vouch for that, and maybe we can kind of explore this a little bit, because when I found your account, I was like, it’s just such a hug. It’s such a breath of fresh air. It’s such a calm and loving space. And to see that gentleness reflected, and I love the way you’re like, everything’s okay. This is who we are. It’s just very supportive.

So, what does that look like for you? Was it hard for you to get started? How did you grow in confidence? It seems like you just got it down by now, right?

Jess: Not necessarily, but I do.

Kim: Well, thank you for sharing that!

Jess: No, some days I’m like, I don’t even know what to say. And some days, honestly, I’m scared to say what’s on my heart because I don’t want to be rejected. I don’t want some mean person to come along and be like, you’re wrong.

Kim: Yeah, you’re dumb.

Jess: So, I try to show up in confidence, but it’s not always there. Sometimes it’s scary, shaky, just post it and then don’t think about it again.

Kim: Such great insight, because a lot of people see people like you and just assume it’s easy and just flowing.

Jess: I will say it has gotten a lot easier. So, I’ve been reflecting back a lot. I mean, I’m just a reflective person. And even just six months ago, I was terrified for my words to be seen by others. And I remember even telling my coach, I have a personal coach, and I was telling her, she was like, you need to start journaling, Jesse. I think that would be really good for you. And I was like, I am terrified that someone’s going to find my journal, and I don’t even know why, but it was like I didn’t trust my inner voice.

I didn’t trust myself to be the person that I want to be, if that makes any sense at all. I was scared of my words being seen even by myself. I didn’t even want to know what was going to come out because I think for so long, I just built such a distrust in myself and so much self-doubt and who I was and if that was enough. And so it has been a huge journey of just trusting that I am enough. What I say is enough. It may not be for everyone, and that’s okay. Not everyone will relate on the same level, and that’s okay.

But just showing that vulnerability. Thankfully, I’ve been met with so much kindness, very, very little hate, and I’m very appreciative of that because I mean, I am a sensitive soul. So that hate is just that much harder.

Kim: So much harder because the criticism lands for us deeply. What we share is so deep and meaningful and true to us. So, when there’s criticism about it, it hurts. We can’t help that. It takes time to get over that.

Even me, I recently participated in a five-day challenge, and everyone was rallying around me, and then it came to certain posts, and it was crickets, and it was just like, Ugh. It’s just hard. I understand. It’s hard to put yourself out there, you say, especially when you’re sensitive, because everything, we do it with all our heart.

Jess: Yes. Yeah, we do. If we allow ourselves to, sometimes I think we try to put on a mask and protect ourselves, which is understandable. We have been hurt in the past, and it takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there again. But for the first couple of months of my business, I now call it, it was a brain-led business, and now I’m a heart-led business.

So, before it was, I can just tell you all these steps and you can do it now it’s this is directly from my heart. This is what I have done. And it is just a totally different approach, and it is a lot scarier, but it’s also allowed such deeper connection, which now I’m like, okay, I knew I needed to do this all along, but now that I’m doing it, it’s like this is my purpose. And it’s so much easier to be confident when it’s aligned with your heart’s desire and your purpose.

Kim: So, I was wondering if we could maybe circle back a little bit to the intuition piece. And I feel like that’s a good segue because when we’re aligned, it’s easier, at least in my experience, to have that intuition. But how would you describe that part of yourself? What does intuition to you, and when you say that you’re able to be more intuitive, what does that look like? How do you know what’s right for you? How do you recognize those things within yourself?

Jess: That’s a great question. Honestly, I’m still working through it. I’m still learning because I do think when you live a life for so long, having such a critical inner voice and so much, it is so hard to hear that quiet little voice in the background that’s like, you know what you’re supposed to do.

Kim: You know this is right for you. This isn’t right.

Jess: So, I still have to be very intentional about it, and maybe I always will. I do think society is always going to be saying, you’re not enough. You need to toughen up. This is making other people uncomfortable. That kind of message will probably never go away.

But a big thing for me has been journaling, which is honestly, when I find myself, I really don’t want to journal. I don’t really want to write this down, then I’m like, okay, this is a sign that I’m avoiding. I’m avoiding my intuition. I’m avoiding what I need to hear. And so sometimes I have to give myself grace and just be like, it’s okay. You’re just not ready yet.

But other times, if I can just, and sometimes it’s not just even writing it down. Sometimes I’ll do a voice memo to myself and just talk it through. And that oftentimes allows me to gain more clarity on what do I know for sure? What are the truths here and how do I want to move forward in this with whatever I’m facing in an aligned way? And another big, huge practice for me that I teach in my coaching is actually figuring out what you value. What are your values? Because if you know your values, then it’s so much easier to know if this voice

Is it actually your intuition or if it’s somebody else’s idea and somebody else’s thought about what you should be doing? So, knowing what I value just really helps clarify that for me, because I do think we as sensitive people just do have this knowing, and it’s hard to explain. It’s not like I have a vision or something. It’s just this core belief.

I don’t know. I can’t even truly explain it. I wish that I could. I know it might sound a little bit out there, but I feel like the more we as sensitive people are able to quiet that self-doubt and that critical voice, the more you’ll hear that, you’ll hear that just guiding light. That’s really what it is. It’s just a guiding light and showing you what you really want and what you really need.

Kim: You’re actually giving me chills right now because I use that with my career coaching so heavily and wholeheartedly, because a lot of times I feel when highly sensitive people enter the workforce, we’re so excited. Like, oh, I got this job. They chose me. I am an A player. I’m doing great. But we lose that connection with our intuition, and a lot of the work that we do is values based.

It’s that guiding light. It’s okay, this is my litmus test. This is what I believe. This is what I need. These are the values I hold. Does this job line up with this? It’s just like, I feel like we get into the most trouble with ourselves and lose ourselves most when we say yes to things that don’t align with those values.

Jess: Oh, for sure. Yeah. I definitely have seen that time and time in my life. Yeah.

Kim: Yeah. No, it’s such a huge thing. Values are big for us because again, they just affect us deeply.

Jess: Yeah, exactly.

Kim: Is there anything else that you wanted to share about what you love about high sensitivity or was that everything?

Jess: Also, I mean, I just love how we truly can connect with each other on a level that just other people don’t understand. I think that it truly is something that we need, and a lot of highly sensitive people don’t know that. They just feel very alone and afraid and misunderstood. And the fact that we can connect through the internet and can find these books on the bookshelf now that help us to better understand ourselves and connect with other people like that, it brings so much meaning to our lives.

And that’s why I started my business, because I want other highly sensitive people to feel that too. I think it’s a true deep need that we have, and when you experience it, it’s unlike anything else. And I am just really grateful for it because I think life, I know life is very hard, and being able to have that deep level of connection just really adds so much purpose and joy and peace to your life. So yeah, that’s one thing that the more I embrace, the more I’m like, I’m just so grateful to have this. I’m just so grateful that, and it’s not hard. It’s not hard for me.

Kim: It’s pleasurable. It gives us energy, I feel like because we’re so, we think, well, we are unique in a certain way, but that need to have the depth, that need to have the genuine, the need to have just deeper conversation, and it’s just a need of ours. Our minds are going a mile a minute, and we need to really kind of dig through things. We love the complex, and not everyone can afford that to us, and it kind of makes us feel strange, but being able to do that in the way that we enjoy is just such a, you’re right. It’s easy.

Jess: Yeah. Well, I thought for so long that making friends was hard, and I’m not going to say it’s super easy all the time, but I was trying to connect with people that didn’t understand that level of connection, and I just kept feeling like, okay, something’s wrong with me.

Kim: But when you find the right people, you’re like, oh, got it. And maybe spend a little less time trying to make friends with that person, but this feels good for me.

Jess: Exactly.

Kim: Yeah. I hear you. What has been a struggle? What do you sometimes struggle with?

Jess: Yeah, so I definitely still can struggle from time to time with feeling overwhelmed. I think that that’s something, especially in our society, and so you can’t take time to think about this. You have to know right away. You have to be able to, I mean, even just going to the grocery store, I’m like, oh my goodness. The lights, the music, the beeping…

Kim: Pumping gas these days, you can’t even pump gas without TV playing and noises and music. It’s like, please stop.

Jess: Exactly. These activities that should not be so stimulating are because we’re constantly bombarded with messages. Do this, do that. Oh, it can be a lot. It can be to process and to find that space in your life to just kind of decompress. Especially being a mom, that can definitely add a unique struggle too. But I am thankful that I keep trying to look for tools and finding ways to give me that space, and I’m just kinder to myself.

I’m like, okay, if I’ve been at this family gathering all day today, tomorrow needs to have some space in it for me to just decompress and relax and get back centered. So yeah, I definitely struggle with that from time to time. I think, I mean, like I mentioned before, I still sometimes struggle with speaking my truth. I still will have moments where I’m like, ah, you can talk about this, but you cannot talk about that. That topic is going to be way too vulnerable.

Kim: It’s going to open a can of worms. Pick and choose those battles.

Jess: Exactly. So, I think sometimes that can be a struggle for me because I very much value authenticity…

Kim: I’m an over-sharer.

Jess: Yes, yes, yes. To a fault. Yes. But I think I also am realizing that setting those boundaries doesn’t mean that I’m not being authentic doesn’t mean that I’m not being, showing my true self. I, I can have some areas that are private. I can have some things that are just not something that I want to talk about.

Kim: You’re protecting your peace.

Jess: But that can be a struggle. Sometimes I’m like, I have to check myself and say, am I avoiding this out of just self-doubt and fear, and is this something I should push myself to do, or is this something that I can just keep private and know that it doesn’t affect my message?

Kim: It belongs to me. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I’ve been getting better about that too. I mentioned I overshare. Sometimes I overshare just because I’m just a really honest person and I like to share what’s on my heart. But I feel like as you age, you kind of understand there’s certain things that are just more sacred that you don’t have to share, and you get better at learning what those are.

It’s like you play with it, right? I shared that that was too much. That felt uncomfortable. Next time, I’m not going to share that much. It’s pretty powerful. It makes you feel like you’re more in control and kind of gives you that leverage.

Jess: Yeah. I think it is another step in learning to trust yourself and learning to know that it’s that intuition again. It’ll tell me, it will show me, does this align with my values? Or is this something that even with social media, I can sometimes be like, oh, I think I’ll get a lot of attention, a lot of views if I talk about this hot button issue.

But then I’m like, is that actually aligned with my values? Is that actually something that I want to speak on and that I need to speak on? Or is it something that I can let other people do? And so just finding that balance is definitely still a process. I think it always will be to some extent, but especially as I’m embracing my truth and knowing that I’m enough, it’s been something that I just have to be very aware of every day.

Kim: It’s an everyday thing for sure. So funny how that could be simple but complex because like you said, am I doing this for views and likes and to get attention, or is this coming from my heart? Constantly have to ask ourselves that. But the main thing that comes to me is we care about that. A lot of people don’t, but we care about doing it right.

Jess: Oh, for sure. For sure. Which I think unfortunately is what holds a lot of highly sensitive people back. I think that they maybe overthink it because it’s possible to swing to the other extreme and let that self-doubt and kind of talk yourself out of it. So, you have to build that deep trust to know it’s safe for me to do this, and I need to do this. I want to do this. It might be a little scary, it might be a little hard, but it’s a step in the right direction towards my values and living out my purpose.

The more I talk to other highly sensitive people, I’m like, the world needs you. The world needs you.

Kim: I feel the same.

Jess: Your voice, yeah, speak your truth, be seen. It’s so scary. It’s not always easy. But seriously, I am the happiest I’ve ever been, and I have been doing the scariest things.

So fear is not always bad. Fear is not always a sign that something’s wrong. It could just be pushing yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone and distrusting that this is the right thing. But yeah, I think we’ve got to elevate more sensitive people’s voices because we’ve stayed hidden for way too long.

Kim: Way too long. And it's one reason that a lot of HSPs get stuck in bad career choices is, and this is from personal experience, I had a really hard time in my career, and it’s just that we get so stuck in our self-worth and not realizing we’re worth so much more than this, and there’s so much more work we can do, and we lose our confidence. And it’s really standing with your values and making sure that you’re making the right choices for you and the intention, right? It’s making sure the intention of what we’re going for is aligned with ourselves.

Jess: Exactly. Yeah. I think for so long I lived in fear. Well, I lived for other people’s validation. I felt like I had to have that to know I was on the right track.

Kim: I’m strong…I’m not weak. I’m great. I’m good. I’m what you want me to be. Right?

Jess: And sometimes this road can be a little lonely and not always having that validation immediately, especially in the beginning. And you may doubt yourself a lot. You may feel like, this can’t be right. No one’s saying that this is right. You have to learn how to just reassure yourself and know, Nope, this is what I’m supposed to do. It might be, that’s the thing I have found too.

I am receiving validation in different ways than I sought out before, and it’s not always what I’m looking for. But the more that I just look at the truths and I see, I don’t know. I’m able to see that I am connecting with others and that I am making a difference. And it’s just been a huge journey. And I mean, I’m really proud of myself, which six months ago, I could have never said that even six months ago. If you want to push yourself, become an entrepreneur, it definitely is challenging, even for not sensitive people.

Kim: It forces you to go internal in ways that I don’t think you can prepare yourself for, but in ways that grow you way more than you could imagine.

Jess: Oh, for sure. Yeah, it’s well worth it, but it’s definitely not always easy. But yeah, just the fact that I can now say I’m proud of myself, I can’t believe, I think for so long I would’ve thought, oh, that’s me being, I don’t know, selfish or self-centered, or, I don’t know. I saw that as such a bad thing to say positive. And so the fact that I can say that and truly believe it and know that that’s not, I mean, lots of not sensitive people are very proud of themselves, and they should be, but they don’t feel that way about it.

They’re fine with saying that they know that that’s okay to say. For some reason, a lot of highly sensitive people that I have met feel the same way. I can’t say those good things about myself, or someone will think something bad about me. And I think, yeah, it’s my goal to get as many highly sensitive women saying that as I can, because it changes everything.

Kim: What a beautiful goal. Thank you for sharing that. And what advice would you have for HSPs who are struggling with their happiness, finding meaning purpose in their life? What can you share with them to inspire, lift their spirits?

Jess: So, the biggest thing that I recommend is checking in with how you speak to yourself. What is your inner voice saying to yourself? And it can be really sneaky. It can be, you may think, I thought I was a pretty kind person to myself for a long time, but the more that I looked into and was introspective on what I was actually telling myself about, what I was capable of, about my sensitivity and what that meant about me, about what other people were thinking about me, I realized that I had a very critical inner voice. And so, I think just allowing yourself to, it’s scary. It’s very scary. Like I said, I didn’t even want to write down my thoughts because I afraid of what would come out.

But if you can be courageous and do that, and then look at it and say, is this actually true? And how can I reframe this to something that empowers me instead?

I think it truly has the power to change every single part of your life. I know it has for me. And I think that for too long, we’ve let other people’s voices play in our head time and time again believing that that is truth. And that can never be changed. And that’s just not the case. We have so much more power than we believe. We can absolutely use our sensitivity as a strength, and it just takes us starting to believe in ourselves and trust ourselves.

Kim: Jess, that’s beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that. And for people who are listening who want to follow along with your story or journey, where can they find you?

Jess: Yeah, so I’m on Instagram. It’s @sensitivewomenrising, and I also have a website, sensitivewomenrising.com. And I would love for anyone to reach out. I love to speak directly to people through DMs and yeah, just make so many beautiful connections.

Kim: Just build connections, right? That’s what we’re in here for.   

Jess: Absolutely.

Kim: Perfect. All right. Thank you so much for sharing your story.   

Thank you so much to Jess for joining me today and for sharing such an honest and beautiful conversation about our high sensitivity — and thank you too for listening.

I hope this episode reminded you that your sensitivity is not something to fix — it’s something to embrace and allow to unfold as a natural part of yourself. Whether it’s your creativity, your intuition, or just the way you care so deeply… it’s all part of your strength.

If something in this episode resonated with you, I’d love to hear about it. Come say hi over on Instagram @happyhsppodcast and share what you took away from this episode. And by the way, I’m always looking for my next guest, so if you’re an HSP or you know one who has a story to share about your journey, I’d love to hear from you again at @happyhsppodcast on Instagram or kmarshall@happyhspcoaching.com.

Also, if you’re an HSP who’s feeling anxious or overwhelmed in your career, and you’re unsure how to move forward in a way that honors your needs, that’s the work I do. I offer coaching for HSPs who are looking to build more gentle and nurturing careers that bring them lots of purpose, meaning, and joy — so if you’d like to learn about my coaching services or download your free copy of my Career Clarity Guidebook, you can find more information at happyhspcoaching.com.

If you enjoyed this show, I’d be grateful if you could subscribe or leave a quick review — this helps more HSPs like you find this space.

Take such good care of yourself today. And please remember, your sensitivity is not too much — it is a gift this world needs to see and experience far more of. So please keep that in mind as you go about your day. And I will see you next time. Take care!

About Jess Kachelman:

Jess is a personal development coach and the creator of Sensitive Women Rising. She specializes in helping highly sensitive women rediscover their identity, build self-confidence, and create lives filled with purpose and fulfillment. Drawing from her own journey of transforming sensitivity from a challenge into a strength, Jess has developed powerful tools and methods, like her R.I.S.E. method, to guide women toward inner peace and self-acceptance. She’s here to share her insights on finding happiness and embracing sensitivity as the beautiful gift that it is.

Follow along with Jess’s journey:

Website:           sensitivewomenrising.com

Instagram:        @sensitivewomenrising

Let’s Connect:

🤍 Loved this episode? Share your biggest takeaway or follow us on Instagram @happyhsppodcast — we’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review to help more HSPs find this space: thehappyhsppodcast.buzzsprout.com

📩 Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out to Kimberly at: kmarshall@happyhspcoaching.com

📖 Learn about Kimberly’s work or grab your free Career Clarity Guidebook: happyhspcoaching.com

About Kimberly:

After 20 years in the publishing industry working for companies like Time Inc., Monster.com, and W. W. Norton, Kimberly Marshall left her corporate work to create a gentler and more nurturing career that better suited her as an HSP. After repeatedly struggling with burnout and low confidence in the workplace, she now helps HSPs create careers that bring them lots of purpose, meaning, and joy. With the Happy HSP Podcast, Kimberly hopes to shed more light on the reality of living with high sensitivity and inspire more HSPs to embrace their empathetic, generous, and loving natures.

• Hosted/produced by Kimberly Marshall

• Edited by Fonzie Try Media

• Artwork by Tara Corola