Work stress and nervous system support for highly sensitive women
Science-based guidance to help you break free from overwhelm and harness your sensitive strengths at work
Hi I’m Dr. Mariel Hjelle.
I studied stress for years, earned a PhD in it, lived through my own seasons of overwhelm, and built Gentle Brain to help highly sensitive women befriend their sensitivity.
As a young and ambitious woman, I believed that achievement came from getting out of my comfort zone, pushing through, and ignoring negative emotions and fatigue. I wore busyness like a badge of honor. And for a while, it seemed to work.
But underneath the productivity, something was wrong. My body was tired in ways sleep didn’t fix. My mind couldn’t truly rest, even in the moments that were supposed to feel good. And my immune system was stretched thin and slow to recover after every illness. I always felt overwhelmed by life.
It took a PhD in stress regulation and a slow cup of tea every morning, to show me how wrong I’d been about all of it. The more I learned about sensitivity and stress, the more I understood that the strategies I had been using to "manage" stress were actually making it worse. What changed everything wasn't a productivity hack or a new fitness routine, it was working with my brain and nervous system instead of against it. Today, I have more focus and energy than I ever did in my striving years.
Around 20% of the population has the sensitive trait, yet so few of us are taught how to take care of ourselves and harness the power of our sensitivity. I created The Gentle Brain Method to change that, offering you a gentle but effective way to work with stress and overstimulation, so you can break free from overwhelm and start showing up with energy, focus and joy.
Are you a highly sensitive woman?
High sensitivity, or sensory processing sensitivity, is a trait found in 15-30% of the population. It is not a diagnosis, but a normal trait, meaning you’re biologically wired to process external stimuli more deeply. This shows up as deep empathy, a rich inner life, and an ability to notice what others miss, but it also makes you more prone to overstimulation. Common characteristics you might recognize yourself in as a highly sensitive woman are:
having an active mind and thinking deeply
feeling emotions strongly, including empathy for others
being easily affected by bright lights, loud noises, strong smells, or busy environments
feeling overwhelmed after a lot of activity or input, and needing quiet time to recover
picking up on small details or changes in tone that others might overlook
Why work can be extra challenging for you
The modern workplace, with open-plan offices, constant notifications, back-to-back meetings, and unpredictable interruptions, adds up to a level of sensory input that can push a sensitive nervous system into overdrive. Research on high sensitivity shows that highly sensitive people's brains simply do more background work, picking up on subtleties that others miss. This deeper processing can lead to overstimulation far sooner than it would for someone who is not highly sensitive, even when the workload is identical.
Not surprisingly, research shows that highly sensitive people are more prone to work stress and burnout, highlighting the importance of stress awareness and healthy coping strategies. The good news is: when you work with your sensitive nature and learn to nourish and regulate your nervous system, work becomes less overwhelming and exhausting. This allows you to tap into your natural strengths, such as noticing details, anticipating problems, and connecting with others in ways that add real value to organisations and teams.
Imagine
✓ Feeling calmer and more grounded in situations that used to feel overwhelming
✓ Being able to set boundaries around workload and communication at work
✓ Structuring your workday in a way that works with your sensitive nature, so you can tap into your strengths
✓ Having more energy left over for the activities and people you care about
Im here to help you make that happen.
1:1 Support Sessions
There's something powerful about having a space that's just yours.
If you're ready for personal guidance that meets you where you are, I offer 1:1 sessions where we move through the Gentle Brain Method together.
We work at a pace that fits your life.
The Gentle Path program
The Gentle Path is a 3-month online program specifically tailored for highly sensitive women who long for more energy, focus and joy in their lives, but don't know where to start.
You will learn how to relieve stress, reduce overthinking and value your sensitivity through short video formats, quizzes, somatic practices, and monthly Q&A sessions.
A heart for students ♡
Having earned two master's degrees and a PhD, I understand the weight students carry. What I wish I'd known sooner is that learning to regulate stress isn't just about surviving your studies, it's about building a foundation of resilience that shapes the rest of your life. That's a gift I want everyone to have access to, which is why I offer 40% student discounts for college and PhD students on The Gentle Path program.
What people say about Mariel: