Mel Collins

My thanks to @PsychologiesMag for featuring 7 affirmations from my new book ‘Positive Affirmations for Sensitive People’ (@welbeckpublish ) . The 7 mentioned are for managing or preventing overwhelm. #hsp #sensitivepeople #empaths #highlysensitivepeople

You'll want to be sitting down for this bit. Water companies are currently £82.7 billion in debt, have paid themselves £85 billion in dividends, leak over a trillion of litres of water per year, dump sewage for almost 4 million hours per year, have been convicted of over 1,200 criminal acts since 1989 and an average of 35% of your bill goes on nothing but paying more interest and yet more dividends. And not a single company has ever lost their operating licence. 👇

Dear parents, Most children do not read books anymore. If you get your child to read just ONE BOOK PER MONTH (canonical, classic) from age 10-18, they will be so far ahead of their peers by the time they reach college. Sincerely, A Teacher

"My name's Raymond. I'm 73. I work the parking lot at St. Joseph's Hospital. Minimum wage, orange vest, a whistle I barely use. Most people don't even look at me. I'm just the old man waving cars into spaces. But I see everything. Like the black sedan that circled the lot every morning at 6 a.m. for three weeks. Young man driving, grandmother in the passenger seat. Chemotherapy, I figured. He'd drop her at the entrance, then spend 20 minutes hunting for parking, missing her appointments. One morning, I stopped him. "What time tomorrow?" "6:15," he said, confused. "Space A-7 will be empty. I'll save it." He blinked. "You... you can do that?" "I can now," I said. Next morning, I stood in A-7, holding my ground as cars circled angrily. When his sedan pulled up, I moved. He rolled down his window, speechless. "Why?" "Because she needs you in there with her," I said. "Not out here stressing." He cried. Right there in the parking lot. Word spread quietly. A father with a sick baby asked if I could help. A woman visiting her dying husband. I started arriving at 5 a.m., notebook in hand, tracking who needed what. Saved spots became sacred. People stopped honking. They waited. Because they knew someone else was fighting something bigger than traffic. But here's what changed everything, A businessman in a Mercedes screamed at me one morning. "I'm not sick! I need that spot for a meeting!" "Then walk," I said calmly. "That space is for someone whose hands are shaking too hard to grip a steering wheel." He sped off, furious. But a woman behind him got out of her car and hugged me. "My son has leukemia," she sobbed. "Thank you for seeing us." The hospital tried to stop me. "Liability issues," they said. But then families started writing letters. Dozens. "Raymond made the worst days bearable." "He gave us one less thing to break over." Last month, they made it official. "Reserved Parking for Families in Crisis." Ten spots, marked with blue signs. And they asked me to manage it. But the best part? A man I'd helped two years ago, his mother survived, came back. He's a carpenter. Built a small wooden box, mounted it by the reserved spaces. Inside? Prayer cards, tissues, breath mints, and a note, "Take what you need. You're not alone. -Raymond & Friends" People leave things now. Granola bars. Phone chargers. Yesterday, someone left a hand-knitted blanket. I'm 73. I direct traffic in a hospital parking lot. But I've learned this: Healing doesn't just happen in operating rooms. Sometimes it starts in a parking space. When someone says, "I see your crisis. Let me carry this one small piece." So pay attention. At the grocery checkout, the coffee line, wherever you are. Someone's drowning in the little things while fighting the big ones. Hold a door. Save a spot. Carry the weight no one else sees. It's not glamorous. But it's everything." Let this story reach more hearts.... Credit: Mary Nelson

@StephenKing -as a fellow author, just to let you know that I think someone is pretending to be you on email - see attached. I can give you their email address if you message me

@dhkeith I can see you rolling your eyes like most prison officers would 😂

When you have a daughter that insists RPD Hood must have a flower for his Photo

Join the 3rd International Conference on Sensitivity Research—streaming live, May 23! The conference features the latest research on highly sensitive individuals. Register now for online access & post-event recordings (tickets are limited): store.surrey.ac.uk/conferences-an… #HSP

CHILLING 🤯 In 1913, this Swiss psychiatrist chose to break down his own mind. He spent 6 years in induced psychosis: • Living in visions • Drawing symbols • Decoding consciousness But, his discoveries were so dangerous, they were locked in a Swiss vault for 100 years: 🧵

@ArdenElizaJones @MollyJamieson @PuffinBooks Congratulations Arden. Fantastic news!

I love this

Free webinar on highly sensitive children! Join us on March 12 2-3pm GMT for a webinar on highly sensitive children in school. We will provide new research findings and present new resources for teachers and parents. Plese register: qmul-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/regist… #HSP #Highlysensitive

@thereadingpara @Lesleymay2021 @BexBookaholic 💖🫵😇

@Lesleymay2021 @BexBookaholic You should read The Handbook for Highly Sensitive People by @MelCollins444 - it’s the book that opened my eyes to who I am. It was a turning point for me.

Someone told me today that I'm too sensitive. I prefer to call it humanity. I'd rather be this way than behaving like the rest of the world right now, who seem to no longer give a fuck about anyone or anything.

We just launched new resources for teachers and parents to support highly sensitive children. Almost every third child is highly sensitive and sensitive children are more affected by the quality of their environment. sensitivityresearch.com/sensitive-chil…. #highlysensitive #HSP

@DC_PoliceDogs Camembert 😄

Ann. I can tell you that Ceara has definitely ruled out Cuthbert and we have been unable to come up with a decent name beginning with C and with Bert in the name. Im probably settling for Clive

@PuppiesIover Labradors

Post the most adorable dog breed, I’ll go first; Golden Retriever

@NiallHarbison Bless you for taking care of her 💖

What a difference 5 days can make. In contrast to yesterday Alba had a very good day today 💜 Some lovely moments for this very special girl… (1/4) 🧵

@MaraCobbWrites Thanks for offering this giveaway Mara. I’ve liked & followed. Happy new year 🥳

Who wants to ring in 2025 with a free critique giveaway? Your choice of: pb (under 1200 words) + query letter critique OR first 5 pages critique (any genre). To enter, like this post and follow me (because I'll be offering more soon!) #giveaway #writingcommunity #authorcommunity

@LornaByrne Happy new year Lorna x 😇

Happy New Year's Day! I wish you all so much love, hope and healing no matter where you are or who you are. I love you and I hope you remember that you're never alone. Your Guardian Angel is right there with you. Bless you, Lorna.