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Have you ever been told you’re too quiet, too sensitive, or too emotional?
Do you freeze, go blank, or people-please when you try to speak up?

In this episode, psychotherapist Esther Kane, MSW shares a compassionate, body-aware approach to finding your voice as a highly sensitive person (HSP)—without forcing yourself to be louder, more assertive, or more extroverted.

With nearly 30 years of experience working with highly sensitive people, Esther explains why many quiet, sensitive, and introverted individuals struggle to speak up—and why there is nothing wrong with you. Your silence is not a flaw; it is often a protective nervous system response shaped by early family conditioning, trauma, and socialization.

You’ll learn:

✨ Why having a voice is not a personality trait
✨ How trauma and the nervous system impact your ability to speak
✨ Why quiet does not mean weak or powerless
✨ A 4-step process to safely find and use your voice
✨ A gentle, trauma-informed voice reclamation exercise for HSPs who freeze, go blank, or people-please

This video is especially supportive for:

• Highly sensitive people (HSPs)
• Introverts and quiet individuals
• Women navigating menopause and increased emotional sensitivity
• People healing from relational trauma
• Anyone who wants to speak their truth without abandoning themselves

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Finding Your Voice as a Highly Sensitive Person
Why quiet, sensitive people struggle to speak and why nothing is wrong with you

01:30 – You Are Not Broken (Your Voice Adapted for Safety)
Trauma, nervous system protection, and silence as survival

03:10 – Why Confidence Is Not a Personality Trait
The truth about assertiveness, introversion, and self-trust

04:50 – Trauma, the Nervous System & Going Quiet
Why your throat tightens, your mind goes blank, or you freeze when speaking

06:45 – Quiet Does NOT Mean Weak
Gender socialization, people-pleasing, and quiet leadership

08:45 – How to Find Your Voice: A 4-Step Process
Building confidence, self-esteem, and emotional safety

10:45 – Bonus Exercise: Gently Reclaim Your Voice
A trauma-informed practice for highly sensitive people

12:20 – Your Quiet Voice Matters
Why the world needs you truer, not louder

Your voice doesn’t need to be louder.
It needs to feel safe, trusted, and honored.

💛 Stay until the end for a simple nervous-system-friendly exercise you can use right away to begin reclaiming your voice.

If this video resonates, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may need this message today.

#highlysensitiveperson #hsp #empaths

Links

To watch episodes on Esther's YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@compassionateconversations441

www.estherkane.com

Subscribe to my newsletter to receive either of these for FREE:10 Tips for Getting Rid of Relationships That Drain Your Energy or the 6-part audio program, Making Peace With Food and Our Bodies:

https://www.estherkane.com/#newsletter

Instagram:

@estherkanemsw

Facebook:

Esther Kane, MSW, RCC

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Are GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro helping—or harming—people with food addiction and emotional eating?

In this powerful and deeply nuanced conversation, psychotherapist Esther Kane, MSW sits down with Dr. Vera Tarman, world-renowned food addiction expert and author of Food Junkies, to explore the real impact of GLP-1 medications on the body, brain, emotions, and long-term recovery.

We go far beyond weight loss and ask the hard questions:

• What happens to food addiction when appetite is chemically suppressed?
• Why do cravings often return stronger when the medication stops?
• Are GLP-1 drugs creating emotional blunting, depression, or anhedonia?
• Who truly benefits from these medications—and who is being left behind?
• Are there ethical, limited situations where GLP-1s can be helpful?

This episode is especially important for anyone who:

• Struggles with food addiction or emotional eating
• Has a history of trauma, anxiety, or depression
• Feels conflicted about taking weight loss medications
• Wants root-cause healing, not just symptom management

💛 This is a compassionate, trauma-informed conversation about choice, awareness, and true recovery—not shame or quick fixes.

⏱️ Timestamps & Chapters

00:00 – Introduction: Why this conversation matters now
01:00 – Who is Dr. Vera Tarman & her work in food addiction
02:10 – Why GLP-1 drugs are being prescribed “like candy”
03:30 – The antidepressant parallel: are we repeating history?
05:00 – Who profits from weight loss drugs? (Let’s get political)
08:10 – Side effects doctors aren’t talking about
09:25 – Polypharmacy & medication stacking concerns
11:40 – How the food industry benefits from GLP-1s
12:45 – Are addictive foods still the real problem?
14:20 – When GLP-1s might be life-saving
16:05 – Why food addiction doesn’t disappear on medication
18:30 – Emotional blunting, anhedonia & loss of joy
20:15 – Mental health risks for people already struggling
22:05 – What to focus on instead of weight loss drugs
23:50 – Food addiction recovery vs. quick fixes
25:40 – Muscle loss, bone density & long-term health risks
28:10 – Why discomfort is part of healing
31:45 – Trauma, the body, and the capacity to heal
34:35 – Emotional eating as communication, not failure
36:45 – What cravings are really asking for
38:55 – Root-cause healing vs. symptom suppression
41:25 – Resilience, recovery, and real freedom from food addiction
42:30 – Final thoughts & resources

📚 Resources Mentioned

📘 Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction – Dr. Vera Tarman
🎧 Food Junkies Podcast
👥 Facebook Group: I’m Sweet Enough: Sugar-Free for Life

Links

To watch episodes on Esther's YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@compassionateconversations441

www.estherkane.com

Subscribe to my newsletter to receive either of these for FREE:10 Tips for Getting Rid of Relationships That Drain Your Energy or the 6-part audio program, Making Peace With Food and Our Bodies:

https://www.estherkane.com/#newsletter

Instagram:

@estherkanemsw

Facebook:

Esther Kane, MSW, RCC

Send us a text

Are you a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) who feels overwhelmed, exhausted, or misunderstood? In this therapeutic deep dive, seasoned psychotherapist, Esther Kane, shares the top secrets to thriving as a Highly Sensitive Person—based on more almost three decades of specializing in HSPs.

You’ll learn:

✨ What it really means to be highly sensitive
✨ How your nervous system works
✨ Why you get overstimulated
✨ How to regulate big emotions
✨ Tools to protect your energy
✨ How to set boundaries without guilt
✨ How to build a sensitivity-friendly lifestyle
✨ The hidden gifts of being an HSP
✨ Real client-style examples that show what thriving truly looks like

Chapters

00:01:39 Understanding the Highly Sensitive Trait
00:04:05 Overstimulation and Energy Management
00:07:34 Emotional Regulation for HSPs
00:10:26 Boundaries and Relationships
00:12:22 Thriving, Not Just Surviving
00:14:31 The Secret Gifts of High Sensitivity

Links

To watch episodes on Esther's YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@compassionateconversations441

www.estherkane.com

Subscribe to my newsletter to receive either of these for FREE:10 Tips for Getting Rid of Relationships That Drain Your Energy or the 6-part audio program, Making Peace With Food and Our Bodies:

https://www.estherkane.com/#newsletter

Instagram:

@estherkanemsw

Facebook:

Esther Kane, MSW, RCC