The Living Deeply Podcast with Markieta Carter

Why Dating Feels So Hard for HSPs

In this episode, I talk about why dating feels so exhausting as a highly sensitive person—not just because I feel deeply, but because I’ve been stuck in a pattern of trying to fix people and make them happy. I share how I used to take responsibility for other people’s emotions, confuse love with overgiving, and stay in relationships longer than I should because I saw potential instead of reality. This led to burnout, one-sided connections, and abandoning my own needs. I also break down how this pattern forms for highly sensitive people and what I had to change—learning to stop fixing, set boundaries, choose mutual relationships, and prioritize peace over potential. This episode is a reminder that it’s not my job to heal or carry anyone, and that real love doesn’t require me to lose myself to keep it. Connect with me at www.hspthrive.com.

Addicted to Trauma: How I Learned to Choose Peace

Markieta shares how she realized her nervous system had become "addicted" to trauma—preferring chaos and emotional intensity because it felt familiar—and how that shaped her relationships and reactions. She describes practical steps she used to retrain her body and mind: accepting that peace is safe, noticing patterns without judgment, sitting with calm, choosing stability over intensity, and using body-regulation practices to build lasting safety. Connect with Markieta at www.heycoachmj.com [http://www.heycoachmj.com].

From Weight to Why: Turning Heaviness into Purpose

In this episode, Markieta, a coach for highly sensitive people, explores the quiet, persistent heaviness many of us carry and reframes it as a source of information and purpose. She guides listeners through practical steps—acknowledging the weight, identifying its source, translating its message, and creating from it—to transform pain and overwhelm into aligned action and meaning. Through compassionate insight and actionable questions, Markieta encourages listeners to stop carrying heaviness alone, listen to what it’s teaching them, and use it to redirect their lives toward clarity, alignment, and purpose. Work with Markieta at www.hspthrive.com [http://www.hspthrive.com] or www.heycoachmj.com [http://www.heycoachmj.com].

Why Being Single as a Highly Sensitive Person is Not a Problem to Fix

Coach MJ explores why being single can be the healthiest, most aligned choice for highly sensitive people (HSPs), challenging the idea that relationships are the ultimate proof of worth. The episode explains how HSPs process emotions and sensory input deeply, how relationships can overstimulate the nervous system, and how solitude can provide restoration, clarity, and self-connection. This is not an argument against loving relationships, but an invitation to honor peace, be discerning, and recognize that solitude can be a form of thriving rather than lack. Connect with MJ at www.hspthrive.com.

Navigating Light Sensitivity in Relationships

Coach MJ explains how light sensitivity affects highly sensitive people and the relationships around them — from headaches and overwhelm to feeling misunderstood by partners. The episode covers real examples of conflict (bright restaurants, overhead lights, screens at night), simple regulation strategies (warm bulbs, dimmers, lamps, lower screen brightness), and how small adjustments can create emotional safety and deeper connection. Visit www.hspthrive.com [http://www.hspthrive.com] for free access to sensitivity quizzes, guides, training videos, groups, and articles. MJ also offers private coaching to helps HSPs thrive.