Sensitive Stories

63: Nurturing Your (Inner) Highly Sensitive Child

• April Snow and Dr. Judith Orloff • Episode 63

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Are you parenting a highly sensitive child or healing your inner HSC? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Judith Orloff about the struggles and gifts of being a highly sensitive child and:  

• Ways to interrupt overwhelm and tend to you or your child’s sensitive nervous system  

• Ending the shame cycle for highly sensitive children 

• Supporting your highly sensitive child’s interests and needs 

• Nurturing your younger self who didn’t know why they were different 

Judith Orloff, MD is a New York Times bestselling author, a psychiatrist, and an empath. She is the author of the upcoming children’s book The Highly Sensitive Rabbit, which is about a caring cottontail who was shamed for her sensitivities but then learns to embrace them. Dr. Orloff's other books include The Genius of Empathy, The Empath’s Survival Guide, and Thriving as an Empath. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating highly sensitive people in her medical practice. Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, and USA Today. Dr. Orloff has spoken at Google-LA and TEDx. Explore more at www.drjudithorloff.com. 

Keep in touch with Judith:
• Website: https://drjudithorloff.com 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judith.orloff.md 
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/judithorloffmd 

Resources Mentioned:
• The Highly Sensitive Rabbit: https://bookshop.org/a/63892/9781649632876 
• Empath Support Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/G0dAyeY 
• Merlin Birdwatching App: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org  

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https://www.sensitivestories.com

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This episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment with a mental health or medical professional.

Some links are affiliate links. You are under no obligation to purchase any book, product or service. I am not responsible for the quality or satisfaction of any purchase.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

I bring my inner child everywhere. It's very important to me to have her with me. She knows she's safe, and that's a great thing. It's a simple, beautiful book that can make your heart happy and help you awaken the inner child within even more and let the inner child know that you're spending time with her.

April Snow:

Welcome to Sensitive Stories, the podcast for the people who live with hearts and eyes wide open. I'm your host, psychotherapist and author April Stowe. I invite you to join me as I deep dive into rich conversations with fellow highly sensitive people that will inspire you to live a more fulfilling life as an HSP without all the overwhelm. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Judith Orloff about the struggles and gifts of being a highly sensitive child, nurturing your younger self who didn't know why they were different, and bolstering your own children who may be HSPs. Judith is a New York Times bestselling author, psychiatrist, and empath. She wrote the children's book, The Highly Sensitive Rabbit, as well as The Genius of Empathy, The Empath Survival Guide, and Thriving as an Empath. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating highly sensitive people in her medical practice, and her work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and USA Today. She's also spoken at Google and TEDx. For more HSP resources and to see behind the scenes video from the podcast, join me on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube at Sensitive Strengths, or sign up for my email list. Links are in the show notes and at sensitivestories.com. And just a reminder that this episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment with a mental health or medical professional. Let's dive in the Judith. Thank you. I'm very excited to be here. Yes. Can you start off us by telling us your HSP discovery story? Do you remember how or when you realized that you're highly sensitive and an empath?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

I didn't have the verbiage to describe it as a little girl. So I didn't know what it was. And my parents, who were both doctors, said to me, You're overly sensitive, you don't have a thick enough skin. Why don't you toughen up? You're never going to survive in the world. You don't belong to this world, you know, just all these zingers that so many of us heard, children. And so I took it personally, of course. And I believed there was something wrong with me. So I held that inside of myself, you know, for a long time. Because I, you don't know. As children, your perceptions are different. You know, you don't think about well, how I mean, how could I change that? Let's say I could change it, but you don't want to change it. But that's what I was thinking. So it's very confusing if you don't get the proper guidance. As a child, that's why I wrote the highly sensitive rabbit to give children the proper guidance so they don't have to struggle like so many of us did, is trying to make sense of this beautiful trait. Yes, exactly. I couldn't make sense of it. So a lot of confusion for me growing up, a lot of loneliness. I was an only child, so I didn't have any brothers or sisters. But that might have made it even worse because you know, in the story, the Aurora, who's our heroine, who's a cottontail heroine, a rabbit, and in other words, she was bullied by her brothers. You know, she was called a crybaby and they didn't want to play with her, and she was off on her own and she didn't feel like she belonged. So sometimes having siblings hurts, you know, makes her worse. Sometimes it helps if you have a nice one.

April Snow:

That's true, exactly. But it you're right, it can be a lot to manage as a young person when you don't have the language, you don't understand why you're showing up differently in the world and why your parents are trying to get you to toughen up, especially if you're not seeing other people like you in the world. And maybe you are, you just don't realize it, but not with the same language. And so, yeah, we need these books so children can grow up realizing, oh, this is me, and it's okay. I'm okay just as I am, and there's actually good things about being highly sensitive because we often internalize the negatives.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Absolutely. And the one thing about this book that helps convey that point are the illustrations by Katie Tannis, because they're not only words saying you're okay, you've always been okay. It's the beautiful colors of the Sonoran Desert, which is where this takes place, but it reflects to your soul and it lets you see the colors of your soul, which is really what I wanted to do is to communicate visually with these kinds of picture books that you get to do that. You get you know have these visuals and the colors and the nature changes that go on can awaken you know your empath, HSP, HSE self too.

April Snow:

Yes, I know the illustrations I was sharing with you earlier that they're so vibrant and but in this soft, sensitive, friendly way. I really appreciate that you found that balance because I think little HSCs are gonna really resonate with that, right? There's so much texture and interest, but in a subtle way, it's just it's a great balance.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Yeah, so at my book signings, I've asked the little children who come, they sit there a lot of they're very quiet most of the months they come, right? But when I ask them, you know, what are they, it was their impression, what do they like? They say they like the colors. The colors calm them.

April Snow:

Yes, colors.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

They respond to the colors, I think perhaps more than the words, not sure. It's hard, hard to know, but that's what they remark on.

April Snow:

Yes, I can see that because it does draw you in, and there's a lot of nuance and texture there, which I think is interesting for a highly sensitive child. Uh-huh. Yeah. I'm wondering for listeners that are out there and thinking one of my children might be highly sensitive. What are some signs that would point them in that direction that they would know I have a highly sensitive child?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Well, highly sensitive kids are often very reactive to outer stimuli, noise, smells, sounds, excessive talking, crowds, video games, screaming, traffic noise, scratchy labels.

April Snow:

Yes.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Anything on the body that's uncomfortable, the body of a highly sensitive child is very attuned to what touches it. And so it's important not to have the scratchy labels. And if they cry or complain about that, just cut it up. Yeah. It's like a really easy fix for a problem. They're not being entitled or anything like that. Parents may misinterpret it. They just literally don't like the scratch. So help them with that. You know, help them with whatever they you can. They're not being entitled and you they're being authentic.

April Snow:

That's so true. You know, everything is a lot louder when you're highly sensitive, whether it's sensory information like the tags or the sounds or your emotions that you're feeling. And it can be very confusing when you're a little child. So I appreciate that you're saying, because some people might say, well, build resilience, make them tough it out. You know, I think a lot of us have had that experience. But you're saying, no, it's okay to help them feel more comfortable.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

And it doesn't mean they're not tough. They're gonna be tougher if they're not getting scratched all the time by the label. It's true.

April Snow:

It's so true. Like if we can bear with some of that noise, then they're able to pour that energy elsewhere. I think that's such a good reason.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Well, what would what would be toughening up with the label? It would be bearing the label. So you're irritated all day long. Exactly. And that's true for adults too. You know, just be kind to yourself. You don't like scratchy labels, so be it. No, fix the things that can be fixed without much problem, without doing some kind of a negative thought, you know, coming in and saying, Oh, you're too sensitive. You should be able to stand this label, or you should be able to stand this loud music. Why not? Look at all the other kids and you compare yourself to the other kids. So highly sensitive kids have particular sensitivities. What they love is not going to a baseball game at a stadium with millions of people, but they love taking a walk, maybe in the forest or by a creek or being with animals and seeing a little rabbit or a little animal jump by. And they love that, they get lots of joy from it. And so they love poetry and they love colors and pictures and staring into space. You know, that's not a bad thing. Don't worry about them if they stare into space. I always stare into space. Yeah, me too. Finally, the day's over, I can stare into space, you know. So exactly.

April Snow:

I know it's that the moment your brain can do its work.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

It's like, oh, I can catch up on just downloading everything and sifting through it, and doing nothing, and staring into space and not thinking about anything but looking up at the beautiful stars in the sky, which is what Aurora does, or this is Aurora to get a pick a sense of her eyes so pretty and what she looks like. And this is an example of the illustrations, but she loves looking at the moon. Yes, that's something I always loved to do as a child when I didn't relate to people that much. I would look up at the moon every night from my bed. I'd get under my covers and look out the window and see the moon rise. It's always made me feel connected.

April Snow:

I know. Those are some of my favorite night parts, too, of just being quiet in the night and either the moon or the stars or hearing the little sounds outside, the crickets, whatever it was. It's so peaceful. And I appreciate that reminder to let sensitive kids be who they are, let them daydream a little bit, right? Let them immerse in what they love. You don't have to force them maybe to do all the things you think they should be doing.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Exactly. And if they say, Oh, I went out to sit with my tree who's my friend, just say great, as opposed to getting all alarmed that they think they have a friend that's a tree. They have friends that are trees. That's just what we do. Exactly. Maybe the mother or father might not understand that because they've never had a friend that's a tree. But if you read the highly sensitive rabbit, you'll see that's very common. And it's nothing to be concerned about. It's a form of creativity. If you look at the naturalist poets like Mary Oliver and, you know, you hear David White reciting his poetry. It's all about having friends that are trees. You know, it's all about connecting to nature in your own way and looking up at the sky in your own way and seeing reality in your own way, and not having somebody trying to tweak it or make it more acceptable. That's parents. You don't want to do that. You want to enjoy the creativity of your child, the intuitions of your child. You might child might have an intuition about somebody, they might really, really like somebody right away, saying I like that person. They might not like another person. They might say, I'm not gonna, I don't, I don't like this person. And instead of saying, as my parents did, what do you mean you don't even know this person? That's what they always say. Yeah, uh well, that's just what you know. I don't feel comfortable, you know, that you don't have the words when you're that young. This is young, and you don't have the words, but it's just no, you just get a and so if that's your child and you have a highly sensitive child, at least find out what they're feeling like. What is it about this person? Oh, they're so sad, mommy. They're so sad, you know, or or something, or they seem angry, you know. I whatever it is that they're feeling, you go, that's interesting. I'll think about that. Thank you for sharing that. Yes, trust them. Well, trust them, and also you don't know, maybe they're not accurate, you know, maybe they're having anxiety, but you want to give them the credibility of considering their point of view.

April Snow:

Yes, exactly, because they may be picking up, as you're saying, something that you don't see or feel because of their perceptive nature.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

That's right. And that's what I did as a child. I had very strong intuitions, and there was one friend who I picked up that he was gonna that he was very depressed and unhappy, although he was very vibrant and smiley on the outside, and then he ended up trying to kill himself. And so after that, my parents said never mention another one of these intuitions again at home, so I wasn't allowed to talk about it.

April Snow:

Wow. So it was completely cut off for you at home. Yep. And I think that's really common for HSPs because the parents don't understand what we're experiencing internally. It can be really hard. Did you find ways to express that elsewhere, or did you pull back from it yourself as well?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Oh gosh. Well, my story is that I got very heavily involved in drugs and to run from my abilities and shut them off. I didn't want to have anything to do with them. I wanted to go with my friends to parties and to shopping. I had had it with all this. And so I don't recommend this path, of course. But you know, I got the help I needed to see that in order for me to be whole, I had to integrate these abilities into my life. And that's realization that you can't not do it if you're an HSP. Yeah, you must embrace it. You can't fight it, you know, it'll cause a lot of problems.

April Snow:

Yeah, it does it's not because it's not going away, right? It's a trait we're born with. So it will always be there. And it sounds like you know, there were things your parents maybe didn't understand or pushed away. But I think it sounds like why you wrote this book, The Highly Sensitive Rabbit, is to create a different experience for kids that are highly sensitive, right? Create a dialogue and an understanding because so many kids are ashamed. We hear that constantly. You're too sensitive, you're too emotional, toughen up, get over it. But this book and can help create a different conversation, right?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Right, right, more acceptance, and help the parents understand the point of view of the child and the child to understand the point of view of the parent. But I just want to read you one part of it. Please. In the end of the book, there's all the pictures of the desert animals and who they are, actually, which is a quite I love that edition. I love that too. This is in the end of the book. This isn't giving it away. But the Aurora sat with her mother and watched the moon. The world can be overwhelming and hard things happen, her mother said, but it's also beautiful. Aurora nodded. Being sensitive did often make it harder being in the world, but it helped her see its wild and glorious beauty too.

April Snow:

I love that so much.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Oh, and there they are, mother and Aurora looking at the moon. Yes, together or she sometimes likes being alone. So one of the skills she learned from her animal friends is that she doesn't just because she has a friend, doesn't mean she has to sit with them watching the moon all the time. She could say, No, I'd rather be alone tonight. Or yes, let's go. So you have a choice, you don't have to say yes to everybody.

April Snow:

I appreciated that modeling because I think a lot of sensitive kids, and I've heard this recently from folks that you know they're always encouraged to get outside, be social, you know, constantly. It's like, no, we need a balance. And it's like, yeah, you want to say yes sometimes, but sometimes you need to say no and set that limit. Right. Right. And it can be both. Both are healthy and important. Yeah.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Exactly right. And for the children to accept themselves is so important. And one thing I always heard as an HSP, and this drove me crazy, and as an adult, it's like really a button for me, where they say you're experiencing something. Let's say you have a pain in your ankle or something, and they say, We have never heard anybody else express this before. You're the only one. Right. It's like just I know it's so agitating.

April Snow:

Right. But I am experiencing it.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Right, right. But just as a warning to the moms and the kids and the dads, they might say that I've never heard anybody say that before.

April Snow:

Right. My whole life. Yes, I know. And but it doesn't make it any less valid.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Just because you haven't heard from my perspective, this is how it is. And there's no negotiating it. But for them to say, Well, I've never heard anything like that before. So I'm very careful, I'm a psychiatrist, and you know, with my patients. And if I see younger patients, to not do that to them, to not say, Well, I've never heard of that before. If they say, I'm taking this medication and I see purple, my whole world is turning purple, and it doesn't say that anywhere, I don't care. Right. I see fine, I understand. Your world is purple. Let's deal with it. Yes, exactly. Right. You take it seriously, you don't dismiss it. Yeah. It doesn't matter if no one else ever experienced it before. That's the whole point. Right.

April Snow:

How can you possibly capture every experience?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Right. It matters that you're experiencing it now. Yes. That's what matters.

April Snow:

Yes, exactly. And that's something you can say to your child. Yes. That matters.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

I hear you. That's right. I want to know what you're feeling. Yeah, right.

April Snow:

Be curious and open-minded about it.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Yeah, but don't overdo it either. I've seen some parents, yeah.

April Snow:

Oh, Charlie, don't I say the child doesn't want to do anything? That's true, too. I've seen that too, where there's overemphasis on the emotion to the point of overwhelm.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Right, right.

April Snow:

Yes. So maybe we could talk about that. You know, obviously, highly sensitive kids will get more easily overwhelmed. How can they start to work with that? I know you include some things in the book, but what are some go-tos that you recommend to parents?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Well, one thing that Aurora learned from one of her bird friends was that when she gets overwhelmed, she takes a breath immediately. She stops and takes a breath. She doesn't work it up in her mind. She this one is even good. And two if she wants to. But to get in the habit and program yourself to take a deep breath and relax if you're feeling overstimulated. That helps to calm it down. You know, and you can do this anywhere as people don't really notice what you're doing. No, or go in the bathroom. You know, I always go in the bathroom. Same.

April Snow:

Yeah, it's the refuge.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Yeah. So don't feel bad about going in the bathroom. Just go in, close the door, take a breath. You might want to put your hand over your heart because that's very calming and pat yourself like this. Mothers often do this. You think you just pat over the heart and you begin to calm yourself down. So that's good. And if you're at home and you're starting to feel it, you can go into your room or go into a room that's quiet. So you don't have continual talking. The excessive talking can trigger the children. If the talking it just gets crazy blurred together, you know, just we we can't process that many words at once. It is too many. And so just to know that, I think parents need to know that and slow it down a little bit, you know, slow it down, be calm and not trying to fit it in between all these other things. That won't work. I understand your impulse to do that because you're so busy. Work with the child, so you've got to weigh that.

April Snow:

Yes. Yeah, it's so important to slow things down. I think a lot of times parents want to process verbally, not realizing that A, that's overstimulating, and B, the child more than likely will respond more to a somatic or physical intervention than a verbal one.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Right.

April Snow:

So even just interrupting the cycle of overwhelm with that breath or changing locations, it makes a big difference.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Yes, give them a stuffed animal, uh, close the door if they want peace and quiet in a room and let them do whatever they're gonna do with the stuffed animal or the pillows or look out the window so they can find their center. You just want to remove them from the excessive stimulation. That's really important. And if you're upset, if the parents are upset, or if you're yelling or you're raising your voice or you're getting impatient, this is the time for you to take a time out, too. Good reminder, right? The parents also need a break. They do. Oh my God. It's a full-time job.

April Snow:

Yes, exactly. A lot of people say, Well, I don't know how I'll fit this in. Let's all do it together. The whole family could take a break.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

If you can get them together, yeah.

April Snow:

If you can do that, or going off into your having your separate time alone. But there sounds like you know, there needs to be maybe a little bit of disruption or shift in the chaos.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Yes, yes, and the child learning to make an inner shift that's simple. Yes, the hand on the heart, the breath. If you can go into the room, take some alone time and just play whatever you want to do. Look at a book, play, just sit there. Yes, talk to your imaginary friends, whatever makes you happy, just go do it. You know, follow your list.

April Snow:

Yeah, how life-changing to have those tools and that permission early on. That's not something I learned probably until my late 20s or 30s. Right, yeah, yes. So to instill that early on can really be life-changing.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Oh, yeah. Like if the child's getting worked up in the car and you have to go somewhere, you could just look at the child and say, honey, we have to go somewhere. Let's just take a minute, take a breath together. We could both calm down so we could be calm when we go. And so that will cut off the tantrum cycle if you can get it early on. Let's do this together. Let's stop. Let's stop the car. Let's stop. We're gonna breathe, we're gonna smile, and hold hands, whatever, and then continue on so we both could be in our best selves. Absolutely. Yeah, having some co-regulation, yeah. Co-regulation, yeah. You can talk to your child that way, even if you think they might not understand every word. So understand the tone. Right.

April Snow:

Exactly. Yeah, they'll match your energy or tone that will make a big difference, absolutely. That's right. So helping sensitive kids work with their nervous system, manage the overwhelm, how can we help them embrace their sensitive gifts?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Mm-hmm. By saying, you know, that's really interesting. And I wanted to pick that up. That's really tell me about it. Like just curiosity. You don't like too much of it. Now that I want to emphasize too, is like, oh, that's a wonderful, you're such a brilliant child. Don't say that. Right, too far. You you know, I can understand the enthusiasm, but you just want to be calm, go, honey. That's interesting. Tell me about it. You know, what is that? Why do you feel that way? Oh, you know, that's a good point of view. I'll think about it. So you just have you kind of treat them with respect. You treat their perceptions with respect. You leave room for them being right or them being wrong in terms of intuition. They don't have to be right all the time, but it's important that they're expressing their dreams and their intuition, you know, to you. And maybe sometimes it is an intuition, sometimes they're you know, just afraid to go to school or they feel bullied, and you need to know that. You need to know that so you can intervene and get the school authorities involved to help the child, they should never be left alone in that schoolyard with the bullies. That's right. Yeah, so that's I mean, even with the highly sensitive rabbits, she had the bullying brothers, but the parents didn't stop it. Right, the mother didn't stop it, they just thought it was normal play, right? And Aurora is crying all the time, and then they say she's a crybaby and don't want to play with her, and then she feels like she doesn't belong anywhere, so that's how it goes off alone. And luckily, though, in the story, the different animals find her and they see how upset she is, and they say, Well, when this happens to me, this is what I do.

April Snow:

Sometimes it's good just to talk to a like-minded friend, it is, and it's a good reminder to be curious and open about your child's experience. And as you said earlier, just because this might be normal play for one child or would have been for you, doesn't mean it is for your other child, your sensitive child. So really looking at their individual experience.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

That's good, that's good. And one thing I love growing up is sports because I love handball and I love the rings going on the rings and in a circle and anything with a ball. If I can get it in, you know, a hole, then that I was happy. Yeah. See if your child likes to play sports too, because that's a good outlet for them. It is, absolutely so they don't hold all the tension in and they could go and play. Um, even if they just go on their own, you know, they don't have to join a sports team. Right, something can get a little complicated. If they want to do it, that's fine. If they don't, that's fine too. They could just go and swing. Movement is really good for children.

April Snow:

It's key, yes. It's how they can work through their emotions, and as you said, work through that physical tension. So important. And it's a good reminder not to force them onto a team sport if that's not their choice, finding other alternatives, right? Looking outside the box a little bit.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Right, right, right, exactly. And and going with them and seeing what they like, they might tell you what they like. I mean, they might like bird watching, right? So you get bird watching books and you go out, you know, in the wild blue yonder with them and look around for birds and get bird songs and get Merlin, the Merlin app, which has all these bird songs on it that you can just, you know, wherever you are you're at, you can put the app up and it can identify the local birds there. Oh, I love that. I'm gonna write that down. Wonderful. Everybody should have Merlin. I mean, all so if you love birds. Well, I'm always curious about it, so I'm gonna give that up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you can do that with your child where you can go somewhere and say, What bird is that? And you listen for the songs, and then you look it up and they go, Oh, you know, it's a sparrow, or oh, it's a Robin Redbreast, or oh, right, you could know, and then they, oh, that's fun, you know, and so it's kind of a fun thing you could do with a nature-loving HSP child.

April Snow:

Right. You get that movement, but you also get the educational piece and the curiosity and the shared experience together. It's beautiful all around.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

There's enforcing socializing, right?

April Snow:

Exactly.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

And even if you go with another child or another family, you all might be looking at the Merlin app together. So you have a common task which isn't overwhelming.

April Snow:

Right, right. It could be a little bit more like parallel play, it's not so overstimulating that you're still together. That's right. Yeah, I love that just being able to think about different ways that your child can express and engage in what they're interested in. It's a yeah, it that's a good reminder. Like, let's see where they're drawn and follow their lead.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Right. Yeah. Many times HSP children are drawn to animals or bugs or moving things, living things. They love that fish. Yes. So you could just go for a walk wherever there are fish or take them to an aquarium, yeah, which can be a bit overwhelming, you know, because there's so many lights, but you'd be aware of that, just see how much time they want to stay in there, or if they start getting tantrum and they need a little break to go out. There's a lot of stimulation in the aquarium, but there's a lot of amazing visuals that the child can connect to the creatures.

April Snow:

There absolutely is. Yes. Well, do as we start to wrap up, I'm wondering if there's a final message for parents that are listening, they're parenting your highly sensitive child, or let's say you're working with your inner child. Is there any last thoughts you would have?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Yes. You know, people are coming to my book signings for the highly sensitive rabbit who are adults and bringing their inner child because they want their inner child nurtured. And that's so beautiful. I bring my inner child everywhere. It's very important to me to have her with me. She doesn't rule my life, however, you know, but she's with me. And she knows she's not going to be hurt and she's safe. And that's a great thing. And so reading this book, you can just let your inner child be happy.

April Snow:

Yes.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

It's simple. It's simple. Don't make it a complex thing. It's a simple, beautiful book that can make your heart happy and help you awaken the inner child within even more and let the inner child know that you're spending time with her and that this is for you and her or him.

April Snow:

I love that. Yeah, you can just sh do that with intention.

Dr. Judith Orloff:

Yeah. Yes. Have it had be a day out, you know, looking at the book or I put the book on my bed. So I do that with books I love. I don't entirely know what I'm doing, but I put it there because I like it near me when I sleep because I'm a good dreamer and I remember my dreams. So I just like it. So you could do whatever you want with the book. Put the book somewhere unusual or you know, near you. I mean, some one child just liked it near her. Near her.

April Snow:

I think the size and the imagery is very comforting. So I could see having it on my altar or having it on display by the bedside. And it is it's reassuring for that inner child that may that didn't have these books when we were growing up. Right, I know. Right. And so now how lucky are we to have a resource like this that we can then read to her, him, or them? I just love that so much. Well, Judah, thank you for everything that you shared today. I know parents and our inner childs are going to be very just soothed by it. And I'll be sure to share your resources in the show notes, including the book. Is there anything else that we should know about the highly sensitive rabbit that we haven't touched on already?

Dr. Judith Orloff:

This book is about Aurora's journey. And oh, by the way, Aurora is me. Mine is Aurora, like in my adult life. Um people call me Aurora. Oh, I wondered. Yes. Yeah, yeah. So this is my childhood. I'm Aurora the. Thank you for sharing that. As you are too. You're you could be Aurora. Everybody. We all could be, yes. I love that. Well, thank you, Judith. Yes, and I also want to say I have an empath support newsletter on my website. Great. Which is at drjudithorlofforf.com. Perfect. And I just send out helpful tips and tricks and how to be a successful, highly sensitive person and happiness and you know what are the what to do in this crazy world that we're living in being centered and still having a good time and still connecting with love to everyone, regardless of a lot of the distractions.

April Snow:

That's what I'm focusing on too. How can we find bits of joy and levity in all of the chaos? Yep, absolutely. Yeah, I'll make sure I include that too in your resources. Thank you for that. Thanks so much for joining me and Judith for today's conversation. I hope you'll feel inspired to welcome in your own inner child and or celebrate your highly sensitive little ones. Get started with Judith's new book, The Highly Sensitive Rabbit, which you can find anywhere you get your books. Links are also in the show notes. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the Sensitive Stories podcast so you don't miss our upcoming conversations. Reviews and ratings are also helpful and appreciated. For behind the scenes content and more HSB resources, you can sign up for my email list or follow Sensitive Strengths on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Check out the show notes or sensitivestories.com for all the resources from today's episode. Thanks for listening.