190 I made you a special short quiz to determine the level of dysregulation in your unique nervous system. (This episode goes hand in hand with episode 189, so I highly recommend listening to it first, or after you take the quiz.)

Why should you take it? Because as highly sensitive people (and really, as just regular human beings on this planet in these modern times), our nervous systems are often chronically dysregulated.

And this has a major impact in a not-so-great way on our lives in general and especially on our relationships. So you need to understand if you have a nervous system that is dysregulated chronically or that tends to get easily dysregulated.

Unfortunately this can happen even more easily for us than non-HSPs.

When we are dysregulated, we react more strongly than we normally would, in one way or another, and that leads to much more drama, much more struggle in our relationships, and a lot less clear, effective communication, a lot less getting through to our spouses, and being able to really hear each other, a lot less open-heartedness and connection, and a lot less feeling the mutual supportiveness and sense of being on the same team.

So there really are many different ways that nervous system dysregulation can show up to the detriment of your relationship and to the detriment of your life in general.

And you do want to know if it is happening for you so that you can make the necessary changes. Because that's the really good news: you have so much sway over your nervous system regulation or dysregulation. It just can take a little bit of learning and attention to it.

Dive in now with pen and paper in hand.

SHOW NOTES:

Take the Dysregualtion quiz here in written format.

Learn all about Foundations of Emotional Well-Being Course; The Root Of A Better Relationship here. Doors close June 22nd, 2025 .

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.

189 (This episode goes hand in hand with episode 190) Being a highly sensitive person obviously means we are more sensitive than others. This has real ramifications in our love lives— both wonderful and challenging.

Listen in to this VERY revised (almost totally new) version of an older topic, where you will learn that, luckily, you can support your sensitive self in ways that amplify the best parts of your sensitivity, and make the challenges of it so much easier.

. . .and how this will involve caretaking your sensitive Mind Body Heart System, (starting with your nervous system) MORE deeply and consistently than non-HSPs (like it or not!).

In other words, even if you resist the idea, the truth is, in order to have an intimate relationship (and life) that feels deeply satisfying, nourishing, and fulfilling as an HSP, you need to attend more to your emotional well-being and nervous system regulation than non-HSPs.

In this episode you will hear my own story around this, and how, as I’ve accepted this, and learned how to caretake my sensitive nervous system (and sensitive mind, body, heart, and emotions), I’ve fallen in love with doing it. AND how doing so changed EVERYTHING for the better forever in my love life.

This can be true for you, too.

You’ll also learn:

• why love and marriage can be so hard as HSP without truly caretaking your sensitive system in the right ways
• why accepting your higher need for emotional caretaking can be difficult, and why it's more than worth it to do so
• the 4 simple but essential foundational steps to get started with right away to be able to truly caretake your sensitive system
• And the best way to truly regulate the most foundational aspect of your emotional well-being (your nervous system) so you can always be able to guide yourself back to that calm, steady, connected-to-your-heart-and-wisdom place from which you’ll best relate to your significant other in ways that lead to the deepest connection, love, and collaboration, and the most fulfilling intimacy.

Without this emotional tending, the kind of relationship you most want – full of love, lightheartedness, attraction, effective and connecting communication, and mutual supportiveness – is likely to remain elusive.

But with it? You set the stage for what can feel like magic to happen in your relationship. Dive in to begin.

SHOW NOTES:

Take the Dysregulation quiz in the next episode (190) via podcast (it's live!), or here in written format.

Learn all about Foundations of Emotional Well-Being Course; The Root Of A Better Relationship here. Doors close June 22nd, 2025 .

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.

188 Developing healthy boundaries is an absolutely essential part of having a great intimate relationship, especially as highly sensitive people.They are a way to take care of yourself, each other, and the relationship.

I teach 3 types of boundaries, and today we are diving into the 2 psychological, or energetic types of boundaries: Protection boundaries, and containment boundaries. (Please listen to episode 51 for Relationship Boundary Basics.)

When you use these kinds of boundaries skillfully, you will be able to create more closeness in your relationship, and leave beyond patterns and behaviors that create extra division, conflict, and animosity.

The thing is, many HSPs are a bit weak in these particular boundaries. So let’s change that starting now!

Dive in to hear what these two types of boundaries are, whether or not you need to strengthen them for yourself, and how and when to implement them.

For each type, you will hear 2 or 3 tips to grow stronger boundaries (including two visualizations you can use over and over again), so you can feel less pain, resentment, and regret, and be more skillful at communicating and connecting with your partner.

Listen in.

SHOW NOTES:

CHECK OUT THE COURSES MENTIONED:

• Stop Taking It So Personally
• Coaching Privately with Hannah

ENJOYING THE PODCAST?

• Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. ALWAYS CHECK THAT YOU ARE STILL RECEIVING DOWNLOADS (if not click arrow in upper righthand corner).
• Get the HSHM Podcast Map, so you can quickly identify the episodes most helpful for your unique relationship-- AND support the podcast for as little as $3) HERE.
• Hop on Hannah's Email list for more direct support for your relationship right into your inbox.

187 If you want a great–or even just good– marriage, you of course want to feel close and connected to your spouse. When you and your partner have that going for you, it’s one of the best feelings ever! But even if you're not feeling that way these days, there is a LOT you can do to receive and deepen the connection and closeness in your relationship (in almost all cases).

It can take a little effort and a bit of know-how. So today I want to give you 2 principles to set you up to be able to make that connection the best it can be.

Once you understand these, you’ll be able to use them in 4 primary categories that are proven to help bring alive much more emotional intimacy and connection in a relationship.

So listen in to hear what these main areas, or categories, to focus on are. I'll also give you some examples and ideas for each of the categories, so you can make some shifts TODAY in the quality of connection and love you feel between you and your partner.

You’ll also hear about the best simple way I know to quickly amp up the closeness and connection in your marriage, and an opportunity to really apply all I share here in this episode for real lasting change in the quality of your marriage. Listen in!

SHOW NOTES:

Join the live version (the only one this year!) of CLOSER TO YOUR HUSBAND IN 7 DAYS CHALLENGE for $37, which runs May 4th-10th, 2025. I will be there guiding you through the whole wonderful week of building connection and deeper love between you and your honey--and even answering your very own questions. Learn more and join now here.

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

• Get the HSHM 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!

Get More Free Support, Courses and Coaching HERE.

186 In this episode, you will learn about one very powerful, but simple, way to generate emotional connection and strengthen all realms of your relationship.

Words and great verbal communication can really add to the closeness you feel in your relationship, but they are absolutely not the only way to deepen connection.

In fact, there is plenty of research that shows the power of physical touch to create the kind of closeness and intimacy so many of us want in our relationships.

So dive in to hear why cuddling is so important and how its ripple effect can transform your whole relationship, from the amount of affection there is, to how great your sex life is, to the sense of safety and emotional intimacy there is between you and your spouse…

You’ll also learn how to do it well and what to do if you just don't feel like it. Dive in!

SHOW NOTES:

Join the live version (the only one this year!) of CLOSER TO YOUR HUSBAND IN 7 DAYS CHALLENGE for $37, which runs May 4th-10th. I will be there guiding you through the whole wonderful week of building connection and deeper love between you and your honey--and even answering your very own questions. Learn more and enroll now here.

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

• Get the HSHM 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!

Get More Free Support, Courses and Coaching HERE.

185 Every marriage needs a foundation of respect to thrive. Yet, in so many marriages, there’s a lack of respect. Studies show that men, especially, feel its lack, which tends to take a big toll on the sense of love and connection in that relationship.

Why is this so common? Well, for one, it does not always come naturally to be respectful. And, as women, we may sometimes shy away from giving our respect to our spouse because we have a misunderstanding of what it looks like when it comes to intimate relationships. Or we wait for them to be more loving first.

So, in this episode, let’s:

• Clear up the misconceptions about what respect looks like
• Clarify exactly what many women do that leads men to feeling disrespected (it can be less obvious than you may think)
• Discover why, if your partner is feeling disrespected, it is hurting your whole relationship and making it harder for you to feel loved, too
• Learn about why it matters so much to cultivate respect–especially if you are married to a man.
• And get 10 specific things to do and ways to communicate to build more mutual respect– and ultimately love– into your marriage.

If you want to feel more loved, and even like a treasured queen, you want to start leading more respect into your relationship. It’s like an aphrodisiac to most men–and will create a positive snowball effect in your marriage as you build it into your daily life together. Listen in.

SHOW NOTES:

Join the live version (the only one this year!) of CLOSER TO YOUR HUSBAND IN 7 DAYS CHALLENGE for $37, which runs early in May. I will be there guiding you through the whole wonderful week of building connection and deeper love between you and your honey--and even answering your very own questions. Learn more and enroll now here.

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

• Get the HSHM 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!

Get More Free Support, Courses and Coaching HERE.

This episode is one of the -- if not THE-- #1 most essential episode of this podcast, if you want to have a loving, connected lasting marriage. SO important I'm updating and re-publishing it so you can listen again--or for the first time.

Most of us limit ourselves (unconsciously, of course!) from feeling as much love as we could in our marriages. We therefore not only miss out on all the love available, but we also miss out on the benefits it brings to our marriages, and to our own selves–of which there are SO many, especially for you as a highly sensitive person.

Now, you may want to feel more love, but you may also feel like it’s not really up to you. That how much love you feel is contingent on how loving your spouse is. You may tend to only experience feeling love when it’s easy to do so, and not so much when your husband does things that make it hard to love.

Today, my friend, we begin to change all of this. Because love is always available to you, and you can even love what is hard to love (only if you want to, of course!). But it is a skill you may need to learn, so it can become habit–or simply natural to you.

When you make a habit of loving without conditions, only good can come of it.

Listen in to this episode to find out what I mean, how it can bring out the gift of your sensitivity, and how you can be empowered to have so much more love in your marriage and life–no matter what your husband is or isn’t doing– by no longer withholding love unconsciously, and instead making unrestricted love a regular and deeply nurturing part of your life.

SHOW NOTES:

ACCESS THE COURSES MENTIONED:

• Stop Taking It So Personally
• Closer To Your Husband in 7 Days

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

• Get the HSHM 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!

Get More Free Support, Courses and Coaching HERE.

183 This episode is for everyone in an intimate relationship —especially if reactivity is ever an issue, or if you ever find yourself in sticky, difficult, or heated interactions with your spouse– or you just want to communicate and relate even better!

You will learn one of the most essential skills you can develop to make your relationship strong and loving: The Pause.

Being able to pause is immensely powerful when it comes to communication and navigating conflict is a graceful way– and even avoiding conflict and reactivity altogether. I would go so far as to say being able to Pause, in the way I describe in this episode, is a sacred skill.

It gives you the ability to respond skillfully, instead of reacting in a way that makes things worse.

But, as simple as the idea of pausing is, it is HARD to actually do. This episode will change that!

So listen in to hear:

• What the pause actually is,
• Why it’s so key to success in love
• Why it is so hard to do (without the key I will teach you)
• They 1 major key to being able to successfully do it
• And the practical and simple practice that will make you a pro at the Pause in a matter of weeks

Once you’ve tuned in and done as I suggest in this episode, you will be so much further ahead of most people in your ability to respond to your spouse, no matter the situation, in a way that invites peace, understanding, connection, and even collaboration, and you’ll be well positioned to preserve and deepen the integrity and strength of your relationship for the long haul.

SHOW NOTES:

CHECK OUT THE COURSES MENTIONED:

• Stop Taking It So Personally
• Closer To Your Husband in 7 Days

ENJOYING THE PODCAST?

• Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. ALWAYS CHECK THAT YOU ARE STILL RECEIVING DOWNLOADS (if not click arrow in upper righthand corner).
• Get the HSHM Podcast Map, so you can quickly identify the episodes most helpful for your unique relationship-- AND support the podcast for as little as $3) HERE.
• Hop on Hannah's Email list for more direct support for your relationship right into your inbox.