Inner Work With MaryAnn Walker: Life Coach for Empaths, Highly Sensitive People & People Pleasers
Welcome to Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker! This podcast is here to support the empaths and the highly sensitive. I understand the struggles of these roles because I've been there, too. I've experienced the exhaustion, burnout, compassion fatigue, and self-doubt that can come from prioritizing others' emotions over my own. It is possible to deepen your own level of empathic sensitivity in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling drained or burned out, and I can show you how. In this podcast, we will discuss how to set boundaries, deepen your connection to self and others in a way that doesn't leave you feeling drained, learn how to process our thoughts and emotions, and so much more. Life coaching can be particularly beneficial for the highly sensitive. As a coach, I can provide personalized strategies to manage overwhelming feelings, help you develop personal resilience, and teach you how to maintain your emotional well-being all while helping you to better understand how your sensitivity is impacting you. Through life coaching, you can learn to harness your sensitivity as a strength, enabling you to navigate life's challenges with greater ease and confidence. Join me each week as we explore ways to meet your own needs and set clear boundaries in a way that honors your heart and also increases connection. Subscribe now!
Episodes
In this heartfelt episode, we explore the transformative idea of dedicating 2025 as a "love letter to yourself." This means nurturing, affirming, and showing up for yourself with love and care. Discover how shifting from a critical mindset to one of self-compassion can create space for joy, playfulness, and growth. We also touch on how self-love supports resilience during challenging times, including support...
It can be hard to feel unsupported in your goals. Especially if you're someone who is traditionally very supportive of others. When I asked my audience of highly sensitive recovering people pleasers what was holding them back from achieving their goals, the number one answer was feeling unsupported.
This week I share 3 tips for how to maintain resolve when you're feeling unsupported.
What...
How Your Identity Shapes Your New Year’s Resolutions
Have you ever found yourself setting the same New Year’s resolutions year after year, only to fall back into old habits? It’s not just about willpower—your identity plays a pivotal role in your success. In this first episode of 2025, we’re diving into how self-identity impacts your decision-making and resolve, and how even small shifts can create big changes. Inspire...
What emotional flashbacks are, how they can obscure your progress, and actionable strategies to ground yourself in the reality of your growth and resilience. Discover how to shift your perspective and embrace how far you’ve come.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
-What emotional flashbacks are and why they happen.
-How emotional flashbacks can distort your perception of personal growth.
-Pra...
Do you struggle with saying no, even when it’s at your own expense? Today we’re diving into the hidden struggles of two types of people pleasers, their unique challenges, the emotional toll of always saying yes, and the ways these patterns can lead to burnout and strained relationships. Most importantly, we’ll discuss how managing emotions and setting boundaries can not only minimize burnout but also increase authenti...
Do you ever find yourself stuck in a cycle of overthinking, rehashing past conversations, or regretting decisions? You’re not alone. While rumination is common, it can lead to feelings of guilt and shame—especially when you feel you should know better. In this episode, we’ll explore the purpose rumination serves, what it might reveal about your values, and five actionable strategies to help you break free and move for...
Have you ever found yourself left wanting in a relationship, holding on to hope that someone will change, only to be disappointed when they don’t? If so, good news! There is a simple way to know when it is time to set a boundary or move on from a relationship.
In today’s episode, we’ll explore:
-Why actions speak louder than words.
-How to recognize when someone is making genuine efforts to change—o...
Our brains are wired with a negativity bias, constantly scanning for threats and challenges to keep us safe. While this survival mechanism has its benefits, in modern life, it can trap us in a cycle of focusing on what feels hard or overwhelming.
So how can we break free from this loop and cultivate gratitude? The key lies in radically accepting the WHOLE truth of our experience.
In this episode, we’ll explore how to ac...
With family gatherings just around the corner, it’s not uncommon to feel anxious about conversations with loved ones who may hold opposing views.
MaryAnn offers 10 actionable tips to help you maintain connection and navigate these interactions with grace, empathy, and self-awareness. Whether you’re striving to preserve a meaningful relationship despite differences or seeking ways to set boundaries, this episo...
Personal growth often uncovers more work than expected. Through tears, challenges, and breakthroughs, MaryAnn offers guidance on how to approach the overwhelming process of healing with grace and patience.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why emotional baggage often requires deeper attention than expected.
- The importance of allowing yourself to feel overwhelmed, but still trusting the process of healing.
- The value of ta...
How do you navigate it when you invest a lot into other, but they are unwilling or unable to fulfill your very valid needs? Many empaths and highly sensitive people find themselves struggling with anger and resentment due to these relationship imbalances, but there is hope.
Join me as we discuss:
- Empathetic Struggles: Highly sensitive individuals tend to give freely but often face unmet needs in return, leading to ...
Exploring the often misunderstood overlap between covert narcissists, who often masquerade as empaths, and truly empathetic highly sensitive people:
Covert narcissists use their heightened sensitivity for others emotions to manipulate and control. If you are a highly sensitive person in a toxic or radically imbalanced relationship, you are not alone. These relationships can leave you feeling drained and take...
Today we explore how to build healthy relationships as a highly sensitive person. Join me and fellow coach, Kellyn Legath, as we explore both the challenges and the strengths of building relationships for this population.
Main ideas:
Discovery of Sensitivity: When you're a highly sensitive person, personal emotional regulation is key when it come to creating healthy and balanced relationships.
Unde...
Are you living according to YOUR value system? Or someone else's? Join MaryAnn as she walks you through how to identify and prioritize what truly matters in your life and take practical steps toward living more intentionally.
Key Takeaways:
- When Everything is Important, Nothing is Important: Learn how to identify what is truly valuable in your life and distinguish between what matters and what is simply taking...
Managing Sensitivity in a Chaotic World: Empowering Empaths
As empaths and highly sensitive people, external events such as wars, political unrest, natural disasters, and even the emotional energy of others can easily overwhelm us. In this episode, MaryAnn takes us on a deep dive into understanding the four types of empaths—physical, emotional, earth, and geographical—and how each is impacted by the world’s chaos in un...
Focusing on how to define success based on your actions rather than external outcomes can help to minimize people pleasing and placating others while also increasing self confidence and self worth. By creating measurable goals for yourself, you can foster a sense of self-worth and empowerment that enables you to navigate life's challenges with confidence.
What You Will Learn:
- The importance of redefining succes...
When both you and your partner are feeling overwhelmed it can be a challenge to know what to do.
This week you will learn:
- The difference between cognitive empathy and the emotional experience of highly sensitive people.
- Why other people cannot make you upset without your consent.
- How to distinguish between your emotions and others' emotions to avoid emotional overwhelm.
- The importance of processing emotions in t...
In this episode, we sit down with Kellyn Leggath, a relationship coach and close friend, to explore how imbalances in relationships can affect highly sensitive people and empaths. Together, we discuss how crucial it is to recognize these imbalances and take responsibility for our part in maintaining healthy connections. If you’ve ever felt drained or overwhelmed in your relationships, this conversation will help you ...
The "Empath Abyss" is the emotional state where empaths and highly sensitive people feel disoriented, overwhelmed, and overly accommodating due to heightened emotions and reactions from others.
This episode is essential for empaths and highly sensitive people who often find themselves overwhelmed and disoriented by the emotions of others. Here's what we'll cover:
- Understanding the Empa...
Sometimes we think using more words and more context will get our point across. But many times our message is lost in the story. Here are some practical tips on how to communicate more effectively and clearly to ensure your needs are understood.
What You Will Learn:
- How overexplaining can create confusion rather than clarity in communication.
- Strategies for simplifying your message to ensure it’s received and underst...
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