If you need a place to open up and get stuff off your chest - with a view to moving through a tricky transition or "blip" in your life - why not have a chat at the virtual WellBEING Bench with Anne Brookes, the Canalside Life Coach

Read more HERE

OPT for

30 minute Life Coaching Mini Session at £35

Perfect if you’re new to coaching or want a quick boost. A focused 1-to-1 online coaching session to figure out what’s going on and what to do next.

OR

Sort out Life Coaching session at £70

Online personalised 1-1 coaching for an hour with Anne Brookes: What’s the ONE thing you wish you could figure out this week? 🤔 Whether it’s a life choice, habit, or confidence block — I can help you look at it with fresh eyes.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

The image shows a view of a colourful garden and a path towards a wooden garden seat, soft colours and foliage make it feel inviting and relaxing

The 4P Life RESET - DIY Coaching for Life transitions

The first P is for PAUSE:

Learn to relax and regulate your nervous system - use my Pausing Playlist on YouTube:

The 2nd is PROTECT:

Set boundaries that protect your values and manage your emotional energy

The third P is for PIVOT:

Using your DIY Life coaching tools, identify new directions

and finally PROJECT into your future:

Focus on outcomes and support your growth

Buy DIY LIfe Coaching with the 4P Framework by Anne Brookes to read and work through at your own pace:30% OFF Ebook

Have a look at how can I guide you through when you're ready for 1-1 personalised coaching with Anne HERE

ENJOY A PAUSE with nature with SHORTS on my Pausing Playlist on YouTube:

Why Being Highly Sensitive is a Modern Superpower

People with high Sensory processing sensitivity or SPS are often referred to as Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) - it’s a natural individual difference in how people process sensory information. The trait occurs in about 15–20% of the population and is considered part of normal personality variation.

Important characteristics often include:

• Depth of processing — thinking deeply about experiences

• Overstimulation — becoming easily overwhelmed by intense sensory input

• Emotional reactivity and empathy

• Sensitivity to subtleties in the environment

You may have heard this called HSP or Highly Sensitive Person.

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is:

✅ A biologically based personality trait

✅ Not a disorder or deficit

✅ Associated with deeper processing of stimuli and emotional richness

Recognise any of these?

✨ you have greater empathy and social insight

✨ you enyoy deep thinking and creativity

✨ you have acute perception of subtlety

✨ enhanced self-awareness and identity clarity

Positive Advantages & Strengths of SPS:

1. Deep Thinking and Insight

HSPs tend to process information more thoroughly, leading to careful reflection, thoughtful decision-making, and an ability to notice patterns and meanings others might miss.

2. Creativity and Aesthetics

Highly sensitive individuals often have enhanced aesthetic sensitivity — they may be deeply moved by music, art, and nature, and may express themselves creatively

3. Empathy and Social Understanding

Greater emotional sensitivity means HSPs tend to be more empathetic and attuned to others’ feelings, which can foster stronger relationships, excellent listening skills, and supportive social roles

4. Perceiving Subtleties

People high in SPS often detect subtle cues — like micro-expressions, nuanced emotional states, or slight changes in their environment — that others overlook, which can be an advantage in creative, interpersonal, or analytical work

5. Heightened Response to Positive Environments

Research suggests that HSPs benefit disproportionately from supportive, positive environments — flourishing more than less sensitive people when circumstances are nurturing.

6. Self-Knowledge and Growth

Identifying with SPS can boost self-esteem and self-understanding, especially for individuals who previously saw their sensitivity as a weakness

Watch the video: Beyond 'Too Sensitive'- turning deep feeling into superpower on my YouTube channel

DEFINITION of Sensory Processing Sensitivity

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a temperamental/personality trait characterized by: Heightened sensitivity of the central nervous system Deeper cognitive processing of physical, social, and emotional stimuli Greater awareness of subtle environmental cues and emotional signals

SOURCES:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_processing_sensitivity : Sensory Processing Sensitivity
2. Elaine Aron's book The Highly Sensitive Person was published in 1996.[13] In 1997 Elaine and Arthur Aron formally identified[4] sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) as the defining trait of highly sensitive persons (HSPs)
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8650839 Individual Differences and Susceptibility to Burnout Syndrome: Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Its Relation to Exhaustion and Disengagement

I'll be wrting soon about the "wisdom harvest" as we reach our sixties - watch this space!

I am a qualified and certified Life Coach, NLP Coach and Practitioner and professionally qualified to use Time Line Therapy® and Advanced Coaching techniques that include Transactional Analysis (TA).