I couldn’t stop using the word “fascinating” in all of my reactions to what Dr. Aimie Apigian teaches us today!
If you have a highly sensitive kid, the kind who struggles with loud noises, bright lights, scratchy tags, squishy food OR is just emotionally reactive – some might say “over dramatic” – this is a MUST listen.
Dr. Aimie will tell us about:
- The complexities of sensitive people, inside and out
- Why sensitive kids misbehave, have trouble setting down their screens, and might be more at risk for addictive behavior
- The beautiful benefits of being highly sensitive too! (We couldn’t let that last one happen without balancing it with the positive.)
- Why and how we need to support our kids’ sensitive systems, not just try to “fix” them
- On the other hand – we get into some detailed lab testing and supplement options that might feel like trying to “fix” a child’s sensitivity…well worth it!
- Why we want our kids to “eat the blueberries” and then go much further
This conversation was so eye-opening for me and will likely make some big changes in my own family, and it’s my hope that YOU need precisely this information as well!
Can’t see the video? Watch Inside Your Highly Sensitive Child here on YouTube!
No time for the video? Here are the notes!
Inside Your Highly Sensitive Child
- 0:29: I invited Dr. Aimie on the Healthy Parenting Connector because I wanted more content on highly sensitive kids.
- 3:58: Dr. Aimie shares her story with us and how she became an expert on the biology of trauma.
- 10:35: We define what a highly sensitive person is. The most sensitive people Dr. Aimie has encountered are people who struggle with addiction. Highly sensitive people feel sensory experiences and emotions more strongly than the average person so they’re at higher risk for addiction, picky eating, and sensory disorders.
- 13:40: Many people link “sensitive” to emotional processing, but it’s helpful to look at highly sensitive through the lens of what’s happening in the body.
- 15:45: Dr. Aimie shares some benefits of being highly sensitive.
Supporting Highly Sensitive Kids
- 17:35: The biology of highly sensitive kids is different. Do we look at this as something to “fix” or something to support and work with?
- 19:59: Let’s get practical about how we walk alongside our sensitive kids. Parents can buffer the incoming signals by supporting their biology so that they aren’t also dealing with a lack of sleep or low blood sugar which will make sensory input or making transitions more difficult for them.
- 22:16: For a sensitive child, connection with parents or other caregivers is very important. They will feel a lack of connection more strongly. Be a detective and find out what specific circumstances trigger a strong response for your child and see what support you can put in place to make that easier for them.
Supplements for Highly Sensitive People
- 24:17: There are several common imbalances that lead to heightened sensitivity. A deficiency in zinc and B6, which are two necessary nutrients to stabilize the nervous system is common.
- 27:48: An increase of oxidative stress in our cells can cause huge health problems down the road. Antioxidants can help clear out oxidative stress. Vitamins A, E, and C are also important here. Here’s one of my favorite supplement companies.
- 30:02: Another common imbalance is copper imbalance. Either there’s excess free copper in the blood or the copper/zinc ratio is off. Kids who are really moody and struggle with anger often have a copper imbalance.
Copper makes the system way more reactive. -Dr. Aimie Apigian
- 33:00: There’s also a methylation imbalance that can impact sensitivity. Under methylators are often the most driven and competitive, whereas over methylators are more artistic, and could care less about school.
- 36:35: Dr. Aimie looks back at her childhood and can see signs of her sensitivity all throughout her childhood that were never recognized. Now she takes very intentional steps to support her body to calm stress signals so that she doesn’t deplete and exhaust her body.
Stay safe in the sun, with reef-safe sunscreens
Over the last decade+, I’ve personally tested over 120 natural mineral sunscreens, my standards are very high, and nothing I recommend is considered dangerous to coral reefs.
My top recommended tier with only around a dozen winners is where you really should be spending your time. These formulas are held to the highest standard with rigorous government testing.
Ingredients refined to perfection that most of the time you could practically eat and efficacy and performance tested by the Kimball family in the field.
Find all my reviews of safe sunscreen that works here!
If you’re looking for the best reef-safe sunscreen, simply start there. Here’s a list of some of my ultimate favorites.
- Kōkua Suncare with tons of antioxidants and my kids’ favorite scent and application
- 3rd Rock Essentials rubs in well and reliably prevents burns in our tests (use the code KITCHENSTEW for 20% off!)
- Raw Elements for so many reasons, including their tinted stick for adult faces (all styles, use KS10 for 10% off!)
- Maelove, which I call the best “transition” sunscreen when moving away from chemical ‘screens
- Others that make the top-recommended cut: Badger, ThinkBaby, Kabana
If you’re worried about the white cast on your skin from zinc oxide sunscreen, check out my video on how to apply mineral sunscreen correctly to minimize it.
- 38:54: If you have your child tested and they have these deficiencies what’s the next step? Here’s the metabolic panel test that Dr. Aimie mentioned, and here is a list of her health coaches.
- 41:22: Dr. Aimie has a 21-Day Journey somatic experience program for adults.
- 43:14: Highly sensitive kids are more likely to feel unsafe, even if they have great parents and a wonderful childhood. They experience the whole world more intensely and feel like they have to guard themselves from the world of input.
- 44:30: We leave you with one step you can take today.
Resources We Mention for Highly Sensitive Children
- Find Dr. Aimie online
- Join the 21-Day Journey
- More on addiction, picky eating, and sensory disorders
- Posts about lack of sleep or low blood sugar
- A clean source for supplementing zinc and B6
- Here’s one of my favorite supplement companies to find more of the supplements Dr. Aimie mentioned
- The metabolic panel test that Dr. Aimie mentioned
- The list of her health coaches
Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH is the leading medical expert on how life experiences get stored in the body and restoring the body to its best state of health through her signature model and methodology, The Biology of Trauma™. She is a double board-certified medical physician in Preventive Medicine and Addiction Medicine. In addition to her medical training, she is also a Certified Functional Medicine physician and has training and certifications specifically in neuro-autoimmunity, nutrition, and genetics for addictions, mental health, and mood and behavioral disorders. She has several certifications in various trauma therapies including the Instinctual Trauma Response Model (an art trauma therapy), Somatic Experiencing (developed by Dr. Peter Levine), and NeuroAffective Touch (Dr. Aline LaPierre).
Dr. Aimie’s personal life experiences lead her into trauma therapy training, first for her adopted son, and then for herself. A unique lens for understanding trauma has come out of it, joining the two worlds of neuroscience and trauma therapy uniquely. Dr. Aimie is the founder and CEO of Trauma Healing Accelerated, offering her foundational online course: “The 21 Day Journey to Calm Aliveness”, which is an experiential journey into the nervous system that is open to all as well as her 8 module certification course for practitioners, “Biology of Trauma” that teaches the protocols of addressing The Biology of Trauma on the different systems of the body.
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About Katie Kimball
Katie Kimball, CSME, creator of Kids Cook Real Food™ and CEO of Kitchen Stewardship®, LLC, is passionate about connecting families around healthy food. As a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks, she’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine and contributes periodically on the FOX Network.
Since 2009, busy moms have looked to Katie as a trusted authority and advocate for children’s health, and she often partners with health experts and medical practitioners to stay on the cutting edge. In 2016 she created the Wall Street Journal recommended best online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food™, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook. She is actively masterminding the Kids’ Meal Revolution, with a goal of every child learning to cook.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is also a Certified Stress Mastery Educator, member of the American Institute of Stress and trained speaker through Bo Eason’s Personal Story Power.