Delicious food from every corner of the world.

Dozens of languages being spoken on the streets — music to my ears.

A functional, 24/7 public transport system that zips me from art galleries to comedy shows to hot pot with friends.

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👆🏽 These are some of the things that make New York City one of my favorite places to visit.

By the way — you know what’s one of the most overwhelming places I’ve ever visited? Also NYC.

Yes, you read that right. NYC is one of those rare destinations that makes me excited to be human — even as it pokes at every sensory sensitivity imaginable & makes my nervous system scream internally (sometimes).

I recently visited the city, and it reminded me what it means to embrace the range of my nervous system. Whether you call NYC home, or have only ever seen it in movies, I bet this concept might resonate with you, too.

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For many of us highly sensitive & neurodivergent folks, everything in life — sensations, emotions, memories — seems to hit harder. We feel intensely, the good and the bad. I liken it to living with your nervous system outside your body, rather than inside.

And here’s the thing: just as we feel discomfort in intense ways, we may also feel positive experiences (like joy, hope, and pleasure) in equally intense ways. That is the RANGE of a nervous system. The lows are low, but the highs are high. 🎹

As far as sensory overwhelm can stretch in one direction, so too can sensory joy expand in the other.

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Case in point:

The feeling of being squeezed like sardines in the NYC subway during rush hour — catching whiffs of urine, & going from standing to almost falling into a stranger’s lap when the train screeched to a halt? A sensory nightmare. 🫨

Meanwhile, the first bite of a mouth-watering meal at a restaurant with calm lighting & peaceful music? A heavenly experience.👌

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Our nervous systems are designed to experience their whole range — whether that range is 0-10, 0-100, or whatever scale makes sense to you.

For me, embracing the range of my nervous system means:

• I appreciate pleasant experiences deeply because I’m aware how things can so easily flip in the other direction.
• When overwhelm hits, I ride the waves, knowing that no nervous system lasts forever.

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As I reminisce on my fave hot pot in NYC (and recover from the chaos of traveling cross-country amid nationwide flight delays — a story for another day), I’ll leave you with a few questions to reflect on.

• What do you notice about your nervous system range?
• What experiences move your nervous system in the direction of joy? Pleasure? Ease?
• How can you bring more experiences like this into your life?

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Talk soon,

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P.S. If you're feeling overwhelmed & burnt out, and need help taking care of your nervous system, I'd love to support you. I offer ​Nervous System Healing Intensives​ — three 90-minute sessions, using brain-body modalities (Brainspotting, IFS, EMDR) that go deeper than talk therapy & help you feel better, sooner.

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Intensives are a type of short-term, accelerated therapy — for folks who are looking for something different than weekly therapy; who need longer than 50-min sessions to go deep & get to the root of the issue.

👉🏽 If you want to get an Intensive on the books, click here to book an intro call.

​ P.P.S. Know someone who needs to hear this? Forward it along. New readers can subscribe ​HERE​.

I help highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults heal their nervous systems & connect with their authentic selves.

💗 Need a nervous system reset? —> Join me for a Calm Place meditation.
📚 Curious to learn about neurodiversity + holistic healing? —> Peek at my blog.
🗞️ Want to catch up on old newsletters? —> Check out the archive.

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