Episodes

  • The HSP Brain and Holiday Loneliness

    The HSP Brain and Holiday Loneliness
    Dec 21 2025
    Loneliness during holidays gets weaponized by shame in highly sensitive people, turning togetherness expectations into daggers stabbing at your worth. That fullness of isolation doesn't mean you're alone - billions are yearning for connection just like you. The dangerous pattern happens when loneliness runs to your head and creates cutting stories: "You must be the only person alone on Christmas." Society has zero positive templates for loners, confusing solitude with dysfunction. The shift requires forcefully changing gears - actively looking for places you fit instead of cataloging everywhere you don't. Real connection might be two actions away. Affiliates and Sponsors: Brain FM Resources: PATTERNSCAPES DECK: https://getpatternscapes.com/ WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: EmotionalBadass.com/coaching 30 Days to Peace Course EmotionalBadass.com/peace THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter SUPPORT US ON PATREON Patreon.com/emotionalbadass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • True Confidence isn't Arrogance

    True Confidence isn't Arrogance
    Dec 14 2025
    Confidence doesn't arrive before you do the thing, it shows up after your feet hit the ground. Nikki and Chris break down how insecurity actually works and why sensitive people often avoid confidence because they're terrified of becoming the arrogant narcissist who hurt them. They reveal the specific moments that built their confidence, from food poisoning disasters to stage fright at 17, and explain why pretending confidence actually creates real confidence over time. Chris shares the Tony Robbins technique for triggering confident states on command, while Nikki explains why your brain needs to do scary things while feeling weak to actually get stronger. They tackle a listener question about a boyfriend who won't let his girlfriend join his D&D campaign because he thinks she's too dumb, and discuss why that's either terrible communication or genuine arrogance. SPONSORS & AFFILIATES: Brain FM: 30 Day Free Trial & 20% Off https://www.brain.fm/emotionalbadass CODE: EMOTIONALBADASS RESOURCES: PATTERNSCAPES DECK: https://getpatternscapes.com/ WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: EmotionalBadass.com/coaching 30 Days to Peace Course EmotionalBadass.com/peace THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter SUPPORT US ON PATREON Patreon.com/emotionalbadass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Sleep Meditation: The Winter Bear

    Sleep Meditation: The Winter Bear
    Dec 7 2025
    A cozy guided sleep meditation to help you relax, unwind, and get in touch with your sleepy grizzly side. Perfect for a cold winter night tucked beneath the covers of your warm bed. Resources: PATTERNSCAPES DECK: https://getpatternscapes.com/ WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: EmotionalBadass.com/coaching 30 Days to Peace Course EmotionalBadass.com/peace THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter SUPPORT US ON PATREON Patreon.com/emotionalbadass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 mins
  • This is What Confidence Looks Like

    This is What Confidence Looks Like
    Nov 30 2025
    Confidence isn't about being the loudest person in the room, it's about having faith in your own influence and ability. Using The Emotion Thesaurus as a guide, this exploration breaks down exactly what confidence looks like physically (strong posture, wide steps, relaxed muscles) and what it feels like internally (calm breathing, positive outlook, mental ease). Highly sensitive people often get their confidence knocked down by living in a world where 80-85% of people aren't wired like them, leading to constant feedback that they're "too much" or "wrong." The physical signs reveal patterns like choosing the middle seat instead of hiding in corners, steering conversations instead of shrinking back, and that interesting connection between confidence and a positive outlook. There's also the shadow side where confidence can escalate into smugness or contempt, plus suppressed confidence showing up as minimizing compliments, downplaying your own comfort to make others feel better, and changing topics to deflect spotlight. The reluctant leader phenomenon gets explored too, where HSPs have all the attributes of wonderful leaders but stay sheepish about stepping up, then risk becoming complainers when they don't like how things are run. Resources: PATTERNSCAPES DECK: https://getpatternscapes.com/ WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: EmotionalBadass.com/coaching 30 Days to Peace Course EmotionalBadass.com/peace THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter SUPPORT US ON PATREON Patreon.com/emotionalbadass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • How to Scare Away Human Predators: PART 2

    How to Scare Away Human Predators: PART 2
    Nov 23 2025
    Predators can detect trauma on highly sensitive people, and it on us to learn how to stop broadcasting vulnerability. Our body language, posture, and energy signals either invite predatory behavior or repel it, and you can shift this immediately. The signs are specific: shrinking to appear smaller, avoiding eye contact, over-apologizing, and moving through the world trying to be invisible. These patterns read as "easy target" to manipulators and abusers. The fix starts with practicing boundaries in low-stakes situations, trusting your gut even when it feels confusing, and understanding that when someone rushes intimacy or isolates you from support systems, your body knows something's wrong before your mind catches up. The goal isn't avoiding all predators but recognizing targeting fast, cutting off access immediately, and becoming so boundaried that manipulators pass you over like a house with a barking dog. Resources: WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: ⁠EmotionalBadass.com/coaching⁠ 30 Days to Peace Course ⁠EmotionalBadass.com/peace⁠ THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER ⁠EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter⁠ SUPPORT US ON PATREON ⁠Patreon.com/emotionalbadass⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • How to Scare Away Human Predators: PART 1

    How to Scare Away Human Predators: PART 1
    Nov 16 2025
    Predators identify trauma survivors in seconds flat just by watching how you walk into a room. A hunched posture, downward eyes, constantly saying "I'm sorry"... This is a neon sign that screams easy target. Fawning and tiptoeing around people's moods tells manipulators exactly what they want to know: you won't fight back. Predators smell that shift in the air and know they can rewrite reality on you. Love bombing feels like the meal you've been starving for your whole life, but it's just intermittent reinforcement working you like a casino slot machine. When chaos registers as normal for you, and calm feels dangerously boring, your threat detection system is backwards. Time to rewire from prey to predator-proof. Resources: WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: EmotionalBadass.com/coaching 30 Days to Peace Course EmotionalBadass.com/peace THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter SUPPORT US ON PATREON Patreon.com/emotionalbadass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • Your Social Media Algorithm is Harming your Nervous System

    Your Social Media Algorithm is Harming your Nervous System
    Nov 9 2025
    Rage bait pulls your strings and your nervous system pays the price. Social media algorithms thrive on making you angry, fearful, and activated because those emotions keep you scrolling longer, but most people can't spot when they're being manipulated. The internet runs on manufactured outrage that tricks your brain into thinking extreme opinions are everywhere when they're actually held by tiny fractions of people. Your caveman survival instincts make you hyper-focus on threats and problems instead of solutions, which is exactly what content creators exploit for engagement. Dead internet theory reveals most online traffic isn't even human anymore, it's bot farms flooding comments to sway opinions and create artificial division. Learning your personal "tells" when rage bait hooks you, like forming an angry response or that frustrated sigh, gives you the pause needed to respond from wisdom instead of activated emotions. Time boxing your apps, curating ruthlessly by blocking anything that activates you, and the 48-hour rule help protect your nervous system from being puppet-mastered by algorithms designed to keep you in fight-or-flight mode. Resources: WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: EmotionalBadass.com/coaching THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter SUPPORT US ON PATREON Patreon.com/emotionalbadass 30 Days to Peace Course EmotionalBadass.com/peace 00:00 How social media algorithms manipulate your emotions 00:55 What is rage bait and why it works 03:15 Why content creators use fear-based engagement tactics 06:40 How to recognize when you're being rage baited 09:55 The psychology behind doom scrolling and hypervigilance 12:10 Why being informed online actually manipulates you 17:00 How fear makes you seek more fearful content 18:40 Stoic perspective on staying informed versus powerless 20:50 Why information addiction feels like a drug hit 22:50 The parasocial outrage cycle explained for HSPs 25:10 How extreme opinions appear more popular online 27:45 Dead internet theory and bot farm manipulation 30:35 Recognizing bot farms in your own content 32:20 How to protect your nervous system online 34:20 Time boxing apps to maintain digital boundaries 35:20 Curating ruthlessly by blocking rage inducing content 36:45 The 48 hour rule for manufactured outrage 38:20 Physical boundaries to stop mindless phone checking 40:30 Replacing scrolling with healthier activities instead 41:35 Dear Internet relationship advice loyalty test drama 47:35 George Orwell's 1984 book recommendation 51:05 Finding beauty in your plan B life Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    59 mins
  • What if You're Taught PTSD? How Fences Couldn't Protect Me as a Highly Sensitive Child

    What if You're Taught PTSD? How Fences Couldn't Protect Me as a Highly Sensitive Child
    Nov 2 2025
    Your brain splits off traumatic memories to protect you, but healing means discovering layers you didn't know were buried. A child taught to watch for kidnapping at school can't feel safe even behind fences while other kids play freely, and recording that memory decades later reveals the mind buried the worst part until feeling safe enough to remember. Real-time inner child work demonstrates how placing your hand on your heart and speaking directly to that frightened part creates the relief you've been craving. Abuse survivors feel frustrated when "new" memories surface, but it means you're finally safe enough to handle them, and your sensitivity isn't a flaw but the exact quality that sustains human connection. Resources: WORK WITH NIKKI 1:1: EmotionalBadass.com/coaching THE BI-WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWSLETTER EmotionalBadass.com/newsletter SUPPORT US ON PATREON Patreon.com/emotionalbadass 30 Days to Peace Course EmotionalBadass.com/peace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 mins