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Do you ever feel like you just… can’t let things go?

Like something happens and other people move on—but you’re still thinking about it days, weeks, or even years later?

If that’s you, this episode is going to change how you see yourself.

Because it’s not that you’re overreacting.

And it’s not that you’re too sensitive.

It’s that your brain and body are trying to process past hurt—and no one has ever shown you how.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what trauma actually is (and why it’s not always what you think), how a sensitive brain stores and replays emotional pain, and why trying to “think your way out of it” will never work.

1. What trauma really is (and why it’s different for everyone)
2. Why you don’t get to choose what your brain labels as traumatic
3. How past hurt shows up in everyday moments (conversations, tone, silence, looks)
4. Why you replay conversations and overanalyze what you said
5. The real reason you assume “I did something wrong”
6. How your brain uses the past to try to create safety in the present
7. Why this is NOT a logic problem—it’s a feelings problem
8. Why trying to change your thoughts first keeps you stuck
9. What’s actually happening when you feel anxious, triggered, or reactive
10. Why suppressing or “shrinking” your emotions makes everything worse
11. The cycle of overthinking → reacting → reinforcing fear
12. Why your brain is working exactly as it’s designed to
13. The truth about trauma: it doesn’t disappear—and it doesn’t need to
14. Why willpower, discipline, and “just calming down” don’t work long-term
15. What it actually takes to stop looping and start feeling steady

You’re not holding onto things because you’re weak.

You’re holding onto them because your brain is trying to protect you.

This isn’t a logic problem—it’s a feelings problem.

And until you learn how to process what you feel,

your mind will keep trying to solve it… over and over again.

You don’t need to think better.

You need to learn how to work with your nervous system and your emotions.

I’m teaching a brand new free class on April 16:

Sensitive, Not Fragile

If you’re done overthinking everything,

replaying conversations,

and feeling like you can’t fully relax in your life…

I’m going to show you a completely different way to work with yourself.

Inside this class, I’ll teach you how to:

1. Stop the overthinking loop
2. Work with your emotions instead of against them
3. Regulate your nervous system in real time
4. Feel more steady, even when life feels hard

👉 Register here: joinamanda.ca

If this episode resonated, I’d love to hear from you.

Send me a message on Instagram: @theamandahess

If you’ve been told your whole life that you’re “too sensitive”…

and somewhere along the way you started believing that meant you’re fragile…

This episode is for you.

Because sensitivity is not the problem.

But not understanding how to work with it?

That’s where things start to break.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what sensitivity actually is (hint: it’s not just crying), why so many women feel like they’re one step away from falling apart, and what’s really going on beneath the anxiety, overthinking, and emotional overwhelm.

1. What sensitivity actually means (and why it’s so misunderstood)
2. Why a “sensitive nervous system” doesn’t always look emotional on the outside
3. How childhood conditioning teaches you that who you are is a problem
4. Why masking, performing, and shape-shifting become your default
5. How confidence decreases as life gets more complex
6. Why anxiety, second-guessing, and overwhelm start to increase over time
7. The real reason you feel like you might “break”
8. Why nothing has gone wrong — you’ve just never been taught how to work with yourself
9. The difference between being sensitive and being fragile
10. What actually creates stability, confidence, and emotional strength

You are not too sensitive.

You are under-supported.

Sensitivity without the right tools will feel like overwhelm.

But sensitivity with support, self-trust, and nervous system regulation?

That’s power.

I’m hosting a brand new free class:

Sensitive, Not Fragile

If you’re done feeling like you’re one emotion away from falling apart,

this is where you start.

I’ll teach you how to:

1. Feel your emotions without collapsing
2. Regulate your nervous system
3. Build real self-trust
4. Create a life that actually feels good

👉 Register here: joinamanda.ca

If this episode resonated, I’d love to hear from you.

Send me a message on Instagram: @theamandahess

What if the reason you feel invisible… isn’t actually about other people?

In this episode, I’m sharing something that came up in a coaching session — and it hit deeper than I expected.

Because while most of us wouldn’t say “I feel irrelevant,” we feel it in subtle ways:

1. When someone doesn’t listen to us
2. When we don’t feel validated
3. When we feel overlooked in conversations
4. When our reactions feel bigger than the moment

And what I realized is this:

You only feel irrelevant when you treat yourself like you are.

In this episode, I break down how this shows up, why it triggers such strong emotional reactions, and how to take your power back — without needing anyone else to change.

1. Why “feeling invisible” is more common than you think
2. The hidden belief underneath emotional reactions
3. How quickly we internalize other people’s behavior
4. The difference between external validation and internal relevance
5. Why you don’t need permission to matter
6. How to stop fighting for relevance — and start owning it
7. The pattern that keeps repeating in relationships (and how to break it)
8. Why reactivity keeps you stuck — and curiosity moves you forward
9. How to get your needs met without escalating conflict

You are not relevant because other people validate you.

You are relevant because you decide you are.

When you stop outsourcing your worth and start leading yourself from that place — everything changes:

Your reactions.

Your relationships.

Your confidence.

If this episode resonated, I’d love to hear from you.

Send me a message on Instagram: @theamandahess

Or visit www.amandahess.ca to learn more about working together.

This episode is a little different.

It’s actually a practice I shared with my private clients this week while I’m in Hawaii — and I wanted to bring it here because it’s something you can use in real time when you feel anxious, overwhelmed, or stuck in your head.

This is about what I call planting yourself in the moment.

So many of us live in our thoughts — spinning, analyzing, anticipating — and it pulls us out of our bodies and away from ourselves.

This practice is a simple way to come back.

It helps you move out of your mind and into your body using your senses, your breath, and a few grounding thoughts that remind you: you’re safe, nothing has gone wrong, and you can be with yourself here.

The more you practice this, the easier it becomes to regulate your nervous system and support yourself through hard moments.

In This Episode We Talk About

• What it means to “plant yourself in the moment”

• How to use your senses to ground yourself anywhere

• A simple breathing pattern to calm your body

• The role of safety-based thoughts in nervous system regulation

• Why getting out of your head and into your body changes everything

• How to be present with yourself even when you’re experiencing discomfort

Key Takeaway

You can feel grounded and safe even in the middle of a difficult emotion.

When you learn to bring yourself back into the present moment — instead of getting lost in your thoughts — your nervous system settles, your body softens, and you reconnect with yourself.

Nothing has gone wrong.

This is just a feeling.

And you can be with yourself through it.

Ready to Go Deeper?

If this resonated and you want support applying this work in your own life, I’d love to help.

You can book a discovery call with me and we’ll talk about what’s going on for you and whether coaching together is a good fit.

Book here:

amandahess.ca/bookacall

In episode 302, I shared the first 10 lessons I’ve learned from living 50 years with a sensitive nervous system.

Today we’re continuing with the next 10.

These lessons are about something I think many sensitive women struggle with: emotional adulthood.

Many of us are technically adults, but we’re still letting the hurt version of us, the teenage version of us, or the people-pleasing version of us lead our lives. And when that happens, we end up exhausted, resentful, and disconnected from ourselves.

Learning emotional responsibility changes everything.

It means recognizing that your feelings are yours to care for. It means setting boundaries instead of quietly crossing them and then feeling resentful. It means advocating for yourself even when it’s uncomfortable.

These are lessons I learned the hard way — through relationships, mistakes, and a lot of personal growth. My hope is that by sharing them with you, you might learn them a little more gently.

If you’ve ever struggled with resentment, over-explaining yourself, feeling responsible for everyone else’s emotions, or performing in order to be accepted, this episode will help you see those patterns more clearly.

And once you see them, you can start choosing something different.

• Why other people are not responsible for your feelings

• How resentment often means you’re crossing your own boundaries

• Why over-explaining is usually fear of rejection

• Why advocating for yourself might make people uncomfortable — and why that’s okay

• How you can disappoint someone and still be a good person

• Why being “low maintenance” is often conditioning, not a personality trait

• The difference between being needed and being valued

• Why you don’t need to be relevant — you need to be important to yourself

• How to recognize when you’re performing instead of living

• Why you will almost never regret choosing yourself

Emotional adulthood begins the moment you stop trying to manage everyone else’s feelings and start taking responsibility for your own.

When you learn to set boundaries, validate yourself, and choose what actually matters to you, your life becomes more peaceful, more powerful, and far more fulfilling.

Choosing yourself isn’t selfish.

It’s how you stop leaking your energy everywhere and start building a life that actually feels good to live.

If you want support implementing this work in your own life, you can book a discovery call with me.

We’ll talk about what’s going on for you and whether coaching together would be a good fit.

Book here:

amandahess.ca/bookacall

I turned 50 this week.

And I’ll be honest — this birthday feels different.

There’s awareness.

There’s fear.

There’s grief.

And there’s a level of self-trust I would have begged for in my twenties.

In this episode, I’m starting a 5-part series sharing 50 things I know at 50 about being a sensitive woman in 2026 — not just how to survive, but how to thrive.

Today, I’m giving you the first 10.

These are the foundational lessons — the ones about your nervous system, your emotions, your responsibility, and your capacity.

Because if you don’t understand how you’re wired, you will misunderstand your entire life.

1. Why sensitivity is not a flaw (even if it’s been treated like one)
2. How your nervous system drives your reactions
3. Why emotions are messengers — not problems
4. The difference between regulation and suppression
5. Why other people are not responsible for your feelings
6. How to stop fucking yourself over
7. Why joy must be cultivated
8. How to move with fear instead of shrinking from it
9. Why friendship takes work (especially at midlife)
10. What loving yourself actually requires
11. Why focusing on what you want MORE of changes everything

Being a sensitive woman in 2026 is not about hardening yourself.

It’s about building emotional capacity.

It’s about regulating your nervous system instead of reacting from it.

It’s about becoming unwilling to betray yourself.

Turning 50 hasn’t made me less sensitive.

It’s made me more skilled.

And skill changes everything.

This is Part 1 of a 5-part birthday series:

50 Things I Know at 50 About Being a Sensitive Woman in 2026

Stay tuned for Part 2 next week.

If this episode resonated, I’d love to hear from you.

Send me a message on Instagram: @theamandahess

Or visit www.amandahess.ca to learn more about working together.