Research on HSPs and Chronic Illness
Are you a highly sensitive person or empath with one or more chronic illnesses or autoimmune disorders?
Having a more sensitive nervous system combined with physical challenges can be draining, overwhelming and disheartening. Did you know around 50% of sensitive people report having one or more chronic illnesses, compared to only 10-15% of the general population?
My colleague Bevin Niemann is also an HSP and empath who’s navigated fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and thyroiditis for the past decade. As she embarked on her healing journey, she could not locate any studies that specifically looked at the impact of chronic illness on highly sensitive people – so she decided to create her own.
This confidential, anonymous survey takes around 15 minutes to complete and at the end, you have the option to sign up to receive a PDF of the group results, once compiled. Thank you for sharing your experiences to help other sensitive people to thrive.
The world feels overwhelming for many of us right now. For highly sensitive and neurodivergent people, there can be additional layers of exhaustion. Julie Bjelland, LMFT, explores why feeling understood and connected matters, shares meaningful reflections from her Community, and offers a gentle practice for finding comfort and belonging.
Profound burnout, lower tolerance, and increased sensory sensitivity can intensify during hormonal changes. Learn what emerging research is showing in sensitive, autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD women.
Explore how the myth of the “default human” shapes neurodiversity, disability, race, gender, and belonging through the lens of nature and human diversity.
Learn how nervous system load builds over time, why overwhelm isn't usually caused by one event, and how to recognize early signs before reaching your limit.
Many autistic women spend decades feeling different without knowing why. They may appear functioning on the outside while internally managing sensory overwhelm, exhaustion, masking, deep processing, and constant self-monitoring. In this article, Julie Bjelland, LMFT, explores common patterns seen in adult-discovered autistic women and why so many have gone unseen for years.
Feeling like your work is draining or “off” somehow? Try these 4 tips for sensitive souls to make things better in your work situation sooner than later, and begin to answer the question of “should I stay or go?”
If you feel overwhelmed, irritable, or close to burnout, this guide helps sensitive and autistic adults understand nervous system capacity, reduce overload, and create more space for regulation and support.
Are you highly sensitive, autistic, or both? Learn how autism and high sensitivity can overlap, what makes them different, and why so many women are reconsidering their neurotype later in life.
Why autistic women have often been overlooked, the harm of misdiagnosis, and how a new clinical book aims to transform how clinicians understand autistic women.
Learn why an adult autism diagnosis can bring clarity, relief, and self-compassion, especially for late-discovered and high-masking autistic women.