The Highly Sensitive Person’s Energy Toolkit
Valerie Burke
A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has a trait called high sensory processing sensitivity, which can involve deeper processing, stronger emotional responsiveness, easier overstimulation, and heightened awareness of subtle stimuli. HSP is not a diagnosis, but many HSPs find that nervous-system regulation, lower sensory load, time in nature, supportive nutrition, and personal grounding practices help them function with more ease.
Scientifically, this trait is understood as a survival strategy rooted in biology. Research shows it is present in over 100 species — from fruit flies to primates. It's linked to specific genes and measurable differences in brain areas related to awareness, empathy, and self-control. This means a Highly Sensitive Person's brain doesn't just feel more; it genuinely processes information more deeply and thoroughly than a non-HSP's brain.
If you are an HSP, you already know the standard survival advice: leave the party early, turn down the lights, set firm boundaries, and retreat to a quiet room to recharge.
For those not as familiar, the “highly sensitive” concept originated in the 1990s with Dr. Elaine Aron, who coined the term “Highly Sensitive Person” (HSP) to denote an individual possessing a trait called “High Sensory Processing Sensitivity” (HSPS).
This biological trait can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, depending on the day — or the moment, I suppose. It gives us a profound capacity for empathy, intuition, and creativity.
But there's a flip side.
It can result in irritability, social withdrawal, or a crushing sensory overload.
For three decades now, the conversation around HSPs has focused heavily on emotional empathy and physical sensory triggers like scratchy clothing or loud noises. But if you’re like many sensitive souls, you might find that the standard advice feels incomplete.
As a nurse who works with energetic wellness — and as a Highly Sensitive Person myself — I have noticed a massive missing piece from the HSP conversation: environmental and frequency overload. True sensitivity isn't just emotional. Our nervous systems are essentially highly tuned antennae — ones that are constantly picking up invisible static in today’s ever-buzzing world.
This article is intended to help fill in the gaps for those struggling to manage their sensory gifts.
When HSP is not viewed just as an emotional response but as an exquisitely sensitive energy antenna, everything changes. Your perceptions. Your experience. Your approach to life. With an expanded lens, you can move from passively hiding from the world to actively managing your energy, and harnessing this unique sensory ability as the gift it truly is — instead of as a curse.
Am I a Highly Sensitive Person?
The first step is to determine if you are indeed a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Dr. Elaine Aron listed four key HSP characteristics, with the acronym DOES:
| D – Deep Processing | Your brain pauses to reflect and process situations, information, and memories deeply before taking action. You tend to notice patterns and think things through |
| O – Overstimulation | Your nervous system takes in so much information that you get tired or overwhelmed faster in loud, crowded, or fast-paced environments. You need quiet downtime to recharge. |
| E – Emotional Responsiveness & Empathy | You feel both positive and negative emotions very intensely. You also have a strong ability to read and experience what other people are feeling. |
| S – Sensitivity to Subtle Stimuli | You notice tiny changes, faint noises, subtle smells, or shifts in a room's atmosphere that other people completely miss. |
Still not sure? Take this FREE scientifically validated online test →
The Science of a Double-Edged Sword: Differential Susceptibility
To understand the HSP experience, it is helpful to know about a concept called "differential susceptibility." This theory explains that because of their biology, HSPs are more affected by their environment—for better and for worse.
In a negative, stressful, or unsupportive environment (like a difficult or traumatic childhood), HSPs are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, or shyness. However, in a positive, nurturing, and supportive environment, HSPs are not just okay—they thrive, often demonstrating greater creativity, happiness, and resilience than non-HSPs.
Understanding this, it is easier to grasp how one HSP may view their sensitivity as a "blessing" whereas another may view it as a "curse."
Common Misperceptions About High Sensitivity
Several myths persist about HSPs that are important to clarify.
- Myth: All HSPs are introverts. This is not true. About 30% of HSPs are extroverts who enjoy socializing but may need more time to recover afterward due to sensory overstimulation.
- Myth: High sensitivity is a female trait. The trait is actually found equally in men and women. Men may feel culturally pressured to hide their sensitivity, but their nervous systems are just as likely to possess the trait.
- Myth: Sensitivity is a sign of weakness. In fact, the opposite is true. Processing information deeply gives HSPs high emotional intelligence, resilience and strong intuition. Many HSPs successfully occupy leadership roles.
How HSP Differs from Introversion, Autism, and ADHD
While there can be overlapping traits, high sensitivity is distinct from other conditions. Understanding the differences is key.
- HSP vs. Introversion: While about 70% of HSPs are introverts, a significant 30% are extroverts. The primary difference is the reason for needing downtime. Introverts are drained by social interaction itself, while HSPs (both introverted and extroverted) are drained by the sheer amount of sensory processing—lights, sounds, emotions—in a social environment.
- HSP vs. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Both can involve sensory sensitivities. However, a prime distinction lies in social cognition. HSPs are typically highly attuned to social cues and excel at reading nonverbal communication and emotional nuances. Individuals with ASD are often challenged by social-emotional reciprocity and interpretation of social cues.
- HSP vs. ADHD: Both can lead to feeling overwhelmed, but for different reasons. With ADHD, overwhelm often stems from challenges with executive functions like focus and organization. For HSPs, it results from overstimulation from the depth of sensory and emotional processing. An HSP might be highly organized and focused in a quiet environment but quickly becomes overwhelmed in a chaotic one.
The HSP Advantage: Your Special Superpowers
High sensitivity comes with a range of distinct advantages. Because HSPs process information so deeply, they often possess:
- Greater Empathy: A powerful ability to understand and share the feelings of others, making them excellent friends, partners, and leaders
- Heightened Intuition: A knack for "reading a room," noticing subtle cues that others miss, which leads to insightful observations and decisions
- Deep Appreciation for Beauty: An ability to experience profound joy and be moved by art, music, nature, and other subtle sensory experiences
- Increased Conscientiousness: A tendency to be thoughtful and diligent, considering the impact of their actions on others
Why do I feel exhausted in an office, even if I don't talk to anyone?
Electronics, mobile phones, Wi-Fi networks, artificial lighting and other electromagnetic sources overstimulate the highly sensitive nervous system by acting as persistent, low-grade biological background noise. Even without social interaction, these invisible energy fields require your brain and nervous system to expend constant energy to filter them out. This relentless influx of sensory data triggers a state of chronic sympathetic nervous system activation (fight-or-flight), preventing your body from achieving true neurological rest.
Is this my anxiety, or am I absorbing the room's energy?
The answer is, a little of both. The human biofield (energy field) acts like a biological antenna. The nervous system of a highly sensitive person absorbs environmental data so deeply that it can physically trigger anxiety. When you unconsciously absorb chaotic "room energy," your body misinterprets the intense sensory overload as a personal threat, activating your sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) and producing feelings of anxiety.
Do HSPs have more chronic health issues than other people?
The evidence for this is unclear, so that answer is a “definite maybe.” The true risk of increased chronic health issues is not from the trait itself but from stress — so if an HSP does not effectively manage their stress, then this is a setup for problems ahead. The relationship between stress and chronic disease is indisputable. If you are an HSP, it’s critical that you learn how to manage your stress around sensory triggers and overload.
Are HSPs more prone to depression?
Yes. Highly sensitive people tend to be more prone to depression (and anxiety) than people with lower sensitivity. A major study in 2025 analyzed data from 33 separate research projects, and the findings show a clear link between high sensitivity and higher rates of mental health challenges, including depression.
Are HSPs neurodivergent?
This is a matter of ongoing debate. Neurodivergence is a term for when a person's brain processes information differently than most. Like High Sensitivity, neurodivergence is not a disease, illness, or medical diagnosis but rather a natural variation in how one experiences the world. Give this, a strong case can be made that HSPs have a form of neurodivergence.
Beyond Emotions: The Unseen Triggers of Sensitivity
Mainstream articles talk extensively about bright lights and strong smells, but they almost completely ignore the impact of invisible frequencies.
If you’ve been visiting Shungite Queen for a while, you know that EMF sensitivity (e.g., sensitivity to electromagnetic frequencies) is something I often write about. The World Health Organization refers to this as Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance attributed to Electromagnetic Fields (IEI-EMF)... a real mouthful. Many in the wellness space know it simply as Electrohypersensitivity (EHS).
Standard medicine often labels these physical symptoms as psychosomatic or somatic symptom disorder, but for someone with High Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) the energetic overload is very real, pushing the sympathetic nervous system into a perpetual state of fight-or-flight.
A recent study in Frontiers in Public Health (2025) suggests a strong overlap between High Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Electrohypersensitivity. Individuals reporting EHS consistently scored higher on standard HSPS scales than the general population.
After years of working with EHS individuals, this came as no surprise to me!
When I was learning about EHS, the first thing I thought of was the concept of Highly Sensitive People!
Think of your nervous system as a bucket. For the Highly Sensitive Person, this bucket is already half-full just from processing the subtle emotional shifts, deep thoughts, and standard physical stimuli of daily life. When you add the ambient hum of electronics, Wi-Fi routers, 5G and dirty electricity, that bucket overflows. This is overstimulation on a massive scale for those of us with a more sensitive constitution.
The sensory overflow doesn't just cause anxiety—it causes physical symptoms like brain fog, unexplained fatigue, and a "wired but tired" feeling. You aren't just emotionally drained; you are experiencing energetic overload.
Rebuilding a Frayed Nervous System
What happens when your nervous system gets overstimulated?
Under stress, our nervous system is under Sympathetic control — meaning, in fight-or-flight mode. The goal is to shift it from Sympathetic into Parasympathetic — into rest-and-digest.
Your autonomic nervous system has two parts: Parasympathetic and Sympathetic. Each has its own purpose.
- Parasympathetic (rest-and-digest): This should be our predominant daily state as it’s the ideal state for carrying out normal daily activities, including sleeping and healing. Parasympathetic lowers the heart rate, stimulates digestion, and allows the body to rest and regenerate.
- Sympathetic (fight-or-flight): This is what we developed to serve us in times of emergency — to outrun that saber-toothed tiger. It speeds up heart rate, dilates airways, and releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to prepare your body for immediate physical action, or a perceived threat. It is also the state of the nervous system during sensory overstimulation — because the body perceives that situation as a threat.
Not all HSPs are chronically stressed, but many are. Perpetual sympathetic nervous system activation (aka “sympathetic dominance”) significantly increases your risk for heart attack and stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, chronic inflammation, digestive disorders, immune suppression, insomnia, mental disorders and numerous other health problems.
What you want, then, is to move away from living life in sympathetic mode. All of the HSP tools essentially share this goal.
Practical Strategies for Thriving as an HSP
Managing High Sensitivity involves creating a lifestyle that honors your nervous system. Here are some foundational strategies:
- Create a Sanctuary Space: Designate a room or corner in your home that is a low-stimulation zone. Use calming colors, soft lighting, and comfortable textures. This gives you a reliable place to retreat and recharge.
- Practice Strategic Socializing: You don't have to avoid social events. Instead, plan ahead. Arrive early before it gets crowded, identify a quiet spot you can escape to, and give yourself permission to leave when you feel your energy waning, not when you're completely drained.
- Set Clear Boundaries: Politely declining invitations or requests that you know will overstimulate you is not selfish—it's essential self-care. With practice, you will feel more at ease declining invitations without the urge to over-explain.
The Empath’s Mineral Toolkit for Active Shielding
The current narrative treats Highly Sensitive People as fragile, constantly telling us to retreat. But what if you want to participate in the world without feeling crushed by it? Is that even possible?
Yes! This is where active energetic shielding comes in.
Various stones and crystals can help stabilize your biofield (human energy field), thereby helping you take control of your energy. They can also help prevent you from absorbing other people’s energy — a huge benefit for empaths. Holding a stone also provides pleasant tactile stimulation, soothing the nervous system during times of stress.
HSPs typically have hyperactive upper chakras and underactive lower chakras. Their imagination and intuition are heightened but they are not at all grounded or anchored, easily thrown off balance. This opens the door to stress and overwhelm.
Many varieties of stones can be useful, but the first to consider is shungite.
Shungite: Master of Subtle Energies
Shungite is a carbon-based mineraloid with a unique molecular structure that allows it to work with the subtle energies of the body. It contains unique carbon nanostructures called fullerenes, also known as buckyballs.
Besides antioxidant properties, fullerenes allow shungite to physically alter the characteristics of manmade electromagnetic frequencies, making them more similar to the natural ones produced by the Earth and therefore less detrimental to our bodies. Besides being extraordinarily helpful for EHS, shungite’s benefits for sensitive folks include grounding, soothing the nervous system, and helping us stay centered in our true self.
Shungite is categorized into three types based on its carbon content, which dictates its appearance, properties, and best uses.
Type I (aka Elite, Noble, or Silver Shungite): This is the rarest and most potent form, containing 90-99% carbon. It has a shiny metallic silver appearance with many interesting facets, but it's very fragile so cannot be carved or polished. Due to its high fullerene content, Elite Shungite is the optimal choice for making shungite water.
Type II (Petrovsky Shungite): Containing 50-70% carbon, this type is rarely found today. It has a grayish-black color with a dull luster and can be polished and shaped into objects like pyramids and spheres, offering a balance between the potency of Elite and the durability of black shungite.
Type III (Regular Black Shungite): This is the most common type with a carbon content of 30-50%. It has a dark gray, non-shiny appearance. Its durability makes it ideal for carving into beads, jewelry, pyramids, spheres, bricks, phone plates, and other decorative and protective items.
When it comes to helpful stones, shungite is only one!
The table that follows is my crystal toolkit for Highly Sensitive People. You can read more about the properties of all the stones in my Gemstone Properties guide.
Just a reminder: make sure you cleanse your stones and crystals regularly so that they don’t collect unwanted energy.
|
Rock or Crystal |
Core Property |
HSP Benefit |
Suggested Use |
|
EMF Transformer |
Neutralizes manmade EMFs and tech static to relieve nervous system overload |
Wear as jewelry, carry in pocket, and place larger pieces near computers, Wi-Fi routers & other devices |
|
|
Black Tourmaline |
Negativity Defender |
Acts as barrier against heavy, negative emotions in crowded spaces; grounding; aligned with root chakra |
Carry in a pocket when around others, especially groups or crowds |
|
Hematite |
Boundary Setter |
Anchors the biofield and helps establish clear physical and energetic boundaries; grounding; aligned with root chakra |
Hold in your hands during grounding exercises |
|
Lepidolite |
Mood Stabilizer |
Provides gentle trace lithium to soothe panic, overwhelm and emotional highs and lows; quiets mind chatter |
Keep on a nightstand or desk for ambient calm |
|
Smokey Quartz |
Energy Cleanser |
Clears lower, harmful energy from the body and biofield; calms overstimulated nervous system; grounding |
Meditate with it at the end of the day to "wash off" accumulated energy |
|
Red Jasper |
Defense Builder |
Fortifies resilience and stamina; strengthens energetic defenses |
Wear or carry on demanding days that require extra social endurance |
|
Rose Quartz |
Emotional Healer |
Heart-centered compassion; fosters love and joy; helps process absorbed emotions to prevent overwhelm |
Place over the heart during meditation, EFT/tapping, or mindfulness exercises |
Supplements for Targeted Nutritional and Botanical Support
While certain stones and crystals excel at energetic shielding, you also need to support your physical body. A chronically overstimulated nervous system burns through nutrients at a rapid rate and spikes cortisol levels (a major stress hormone), so a clean nutrient-dense diet is essential to calm the nervous system.
If you are a Highly Sensitive Person who is often stressed out or feeling overwhelmed, certain supplements are worth considering. I have highlighted a few below that are clinically shown to help balance the nervous system under stress.
A caution about dosing: Because an HSP's nervous system is already prone to sensory overload, standard supplement doses are often too high, triggering a paradoxical reaction. There is no agreed-upon standard “HSP dose” but I would suggest starting out slowly. The goal is to gently and gradually shift the body from sympathetic dominance back to the parasympathetic state — not hit yourself over the head with a sledgehammer.
🌱 Magnesium (Glycinate or L-threonate)
Magnesium is the ultimate nervous system relaxant, calming over-firing nerve synapses and lowering stress hormones. The L-threonate form easily crosses the blood-brain barrier, therefore is the optimal form for sleep and cognitive health. Magnesium glycinate is well absorbed, gentle on the gut, and raises overall magnesium levels nicely with a better price point than L-threonate.
🌱 Methylated B Vitamins
B-vitamins are critical for producing calming neurotransmitters like GABA, but between 40% and 60% of the population has trouble with methylation due to MTHFR gene variations. Methylation is required for your body to B vitamins. By taking pre-methylated forms, you bypass this problem so that your body doesn't have to do the conversion.
🌱 L-Theanine
L-theanine is a unique amino acid from green tea leaves known for its relaxing and anti-anxiety effects. Reduces cortisol, enhances GABA (for calmness and relaxation), and even stimulates the brain to make alpha waves (meditative state). Excellent at bedtime for sleep; has immediate effects.
🌱 Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids lower cortisol levels during stressful events, as well as reducing anxiety, lowering inflammation, reducing cardiac reactivity, reducing oxidative stress in the brain and boosting BDNF (a brain repair mechanism); may also reduce accelerated aging and depression risk.
🌱 Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
An adaptogenic herb frequently used in Ayurvedic medicine, ashwagandha has been clinically shown to reduce chronic stress in adults by lowering cortisol levels, with sedative effects, when taken over time. Standard dose: 500 to 1,000 milligrams daily; HSPs should start their dosing conservatively.
🌱 Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea)
Rhodiola is an adaptogenic herb clinically shown to improve the body’s stress response. Improves cognitive function, fatigue, mental and physical performance, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular and other stress-induced effects.
Explore Supportive Supplements
Browse the supplements mentioned in this article in my Fullscript dispensary →
Top 5 Energy Protecting Strategies
To summarize, HSPs need to a combined approach that incorporates strategies for emotional coping as well as energetic and environmental resilience.
1. Emotional Wellness
Thoughts have energy and drive our emotions; retraining our thinking literally restructures our neural pathways. Many tools exist for identifying and eliminating “stinking thinking.”
- True Inner Freedom Podcast: Todd Smith has a podcast three days a week to help HSPs find effective ways of coping with stress and negative emotions
- Byron Katie (The Work): A time-honored “self-inquiry” program designed to assist one in seeing things differently, which can reduce stress and increase unhappiness
- Triple Flame App: My favorite mindfulness app for training the mind to stay present and learning the art of contemplation. Involves pausing for 3 minutes every 3 hours (or so). Developed by Richard Rudd, creator of Gene Keys
- Meditation, mindfulness, yoga and tai chi: Great mind-body practices for overall wellness and stress reduction.
2. Tapping or Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Tapping/EFT bridges the gap between emotional heath and the nervous system. I became certified back in 2012 after experiencing tapping/EFT as the most powerful tool I’d ever seen for managing stress and resolving trauma. You can learn tapping on your own, which is a huge advantage. However, if you have a history of major trauma, I recommend seeking the help of a qualified EFT practitioner.
3. Unplug from Tech & Connect with Nature
Taking a “tech break” is one of the best ways to allow your body and mind to rest and rejuvenate. Get out in Nature, and your body will do the rest! When you can’t escape the computer, earthing tools are the next best thing.
I love my earthing huaraches from Earthing Harmony!
4. Stone & Crystal Energy
Shungite and other rocks can help ground you, anchor your biofield, recalibrate your chakras, and act as a negative energy shield. (Refer to earlier section)
5. Nutritional Supplements
HSPs are particularly susceptible to reactions from chemicals and food additives, so eating a clean, healthy diet is imperative. Certain nutritional supplements can further boost your uniquely sensitive body and brain. (Refer to earlier section)
Stop Hiding, Start Shielding
Being a Highly Sensitive Person is a profound gift. It allows you to experience art, love, and intuition on a level many people will never understand. But you cannot share that gift if you are constantly hiding in a dark room to recover from a trip to the grocery store or a friend’s birthday brunch.
By combining the clinical support of targeted supplements with the active energetic shielding of shungite and other supportive stones, you don't have to shrink your life to suit your sensitivity. You can once again step out into the world—protected, grounded, and in full command of your energetic needs.