Emotional Hygiene for Empaths & Highly Sensitive People: Why it Matters More Than You Think

✨***Emotional Hygiene for Empaths & HSP's and Why it Matters More Than You Think***
Have you ever found yourself totally drained after spending time with someone—even if you weren’t the one going through something heavy? Maybe lately you’re feeling anxious, not sleeping well, or just not like yourself. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and this episode is for you.

Today, we’re talking about why self-care isn’t optional for empaths and highly sensitive people. We’ll dive into what happens when you ignore your needs, how your body starts to whisper (or scream) for help, and how your sensitivity—when supported—can become your superpower.

I’ll also be sharing 10 practical, powerful self-care tips to help you protect your energy, feel grounded, and get back to being your beautifully balanced self.

*What You’ll Learn in This Episode:*

✨Why self-care is a lifeline—not a luxury—for empaths and HSPs

✨How your body gives you warning signs (and what happens when you ignore them)

✨What energetic and emotional burnout really looks like

✨The difference between being “under-hydrated” and dehydrated

✨Why your sensitivity makes you more responsive to both burnout and healing

✨The energetic impact of processed food, sleep, and movement

✨How to recognize and honor your own energy boundaries

✨10 practical ways to nourish your body, mind, and spirit—starting today

***10 Self-Care Tips to Protect Your Energy as an Empath:***
*Eat High-Vibrational Foods*
Be intentional about what you eat. Choose foods that energize and nourish your body, and pay attention to how different foods make you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally.

*Stay Hydrated*
Don’t underestimate the power of water! Staying hydrated helps support emotional flow, nervous system regulation, and even anxiety reduction.

*Prioritize Sleep*
Your nervous system needs time to recharge. Get to know your optimal sleep needs—and honor them without guilt.

*Move Your Body Daily*
Movement isn’t just about physical health—it’s essential for clearing out stuck emotional and energetic blocks. Even 10 minutes can help reset your energy.

*Get Outside*
Nature is deeply regulating for the nervous system. Step into the sunlight, breathe fresh air, and let the Earth ground and calm you.

*Set Emotional and Energetic Boundaries*
Visualize a one-way mirror around your aura. You can see others clearly, but their energy doesn’t come in unless you allow it. Remember: holding space isn’t the same as over-owning someone else’s experience.

*Notice Who Drains You*
Pay attention to people, places, or situations that consistently leave you feeling depleted. Prepare your energy before engaging—or limit exposure when necessary.

*Practice Breathwork and Meditation*
Just 10 minutes a day can help you return to yourself. Use breathwork to call your energy back, calm your mind, and recenter your spirit.

*Journal and Reflect*
Regular journaling helps you process emotions and tune into your body’s messages. Ask: What do I need right now? What am I avoiding? What am I feeling?

*Challenge for the Week*
Choose one or two of the self-care tips from today’s episode and commit to practicing them daily for the next 7 days. Keep it simple. Check in with yourself each day and ask, What does my energy need today?

*Remember:* your well-being is not optional—it’s foundational.

*Work With Me*
If you’re ready to move from burnout to balance and want guidance personalized to your unique energy, I offer one-on-one coaching packages designed specifically for empaths, HSPs, and people-pleasers. Let's work together to reclaim your energy and rewrite your story.

Transcript

0:18

Well, hello and welcome back. Have you ever felt completely drained after spending time with certain people? Like maybe you absorbed every single ounce of their stress, their sadness, or their frustration? or maybe you've noticed you're feeling really exhausted and anxious lately, or really not eating well? Maybe you've also noticed that when you're feeling this way, it's a lot harder for you to set boundaries or to stay centered in your own energy and protect your own self. If so, then here is a hard truth is if you don't take care of yourself, your energy will attempt to take care of you by shutting you down and forcing you to rest. This means that you basically have two choices. First, you can slow down and take care of yourself now, or you can ignore your own needs until your body forces you to stop. Empaths and highly sensitive people it's really interesting because you might start to notice now that I've pointed out to you, that you'll get a sense that you're going to become sick before you even get sick. I confessed that one time. I honestly wondered if I was the one personally responsible for the Global Pandemic because I was. So burned out and in need of rest. I thought, oh no. What have I done? Now, I've brought this on myself and the whole world. So today I'm gonna be sending out a wake up call to all empaths and highly sensitive people that your personal wellbeing is not optional. And when you neglect your own self-care, your diet, your sleep, your movement, your boundaries, you don't just suffer physically, but you also suffer energetically. You are already a sponge for everybody's energy around you. But when you are the one feeling weak, depleted, or burned out, you become even more vulnerable to absorbing everyone else's emotions, making it nearly impossible to remain grounded and feel clear and energized. But here's the good news is because you are so sensitive, when you do start to take care of yourself, you're going to have a lot faster turnaround than a lot of people. You're going to feel the effects of those changes really quickly, possibly even faster than the rest of the population. This means that not only are you more sensitive to feeling drained, but you're also more sensitive to joy. You're sensitive to rest and you're sensitive to the rejuvenation that comes when you do start to give yourself that nourishment and take care of what it is that you need. You can restore your energy, regain your emotional balance, and feel more like yourself again. And that's exactly what we're gonna be talking about today. Today we're gonna be talking about why self-care is non-negotiable for empaths and highly sensitive people. And yes, you heard me, self-care is non-negotiable. I know that when you feel other people's feeling so deeply, you want to prioritize them, right? It's like, oh, I feel it so big, so this is a big deal and I need to prioritize that. But your own self-care is non-negotiable. We're also going to be talking about how your sensitivity is a gift, especially when you nurture it properly, and I'm gonna be sharing with you 10 self-care tips to help you to keep your energy strong and protected. So if you are a helper, a healer, an empath, a highly sensitive person, however it is that you identify for whatever reason that you came to this podcast, if you were someone who tends to give everything to others, but really struggles to prioritize yourself, then this is the episode for you. So first of all, why is self-care a non-negotiable for empaths and highly sensitive people? I mean, everybody needs self-care, right? But for empaths and highly sensitive people, it truly is a lifeline. When your energy is depleted, you don't just feel physically tired, but you feel everything that much more intensely. So these little stressors that would usually just be a little bit of a nuisance for you when you've neglected yourself for so long, they can feel extremely overwhelming. For example, other people's emotions, they might hit you like a ton of bricks or your ability to set and maintain boundaries might completely go out the window. Maybe you're unable to do things for yourself anymore. Certain people in your circles, they might become a little bit more aggravating and annoying for you. So I want you to think for a moment about a time when you were experiencing these things really intensely. What was that experience like for you? Maybe it was harder for you to say no, or state a boundary because you felt other people's emotions and their needs and wants so intensely. Maybe you noticed that your anxiety spikes were even more significant. Maybe you noticed that you were even more sensitive to caffeine and sugar, and you'd have big highs and lows with that. Notice how maybe a lack of sleep might make you feel really raw, unprotected, and exposed. This happens because your nervous system is wired just a little bit differently from other people. This means that what might seem like a minor issue for somebody else, like one poor night's sleep, or maybe one processed meal, it might seem like a really small thing, but for you, when you're feeling depleted, it could completely throw you off and you might be really confused about what just happened. That shouldn't be that big of a deal. It was just one night. It was just one meal. But when you've been depleted for so long, you're just more sensitive to everything. But I also want to remind you that on the flip side, something that is just as powerful is that when you do take care of yourself, you will feel stronger, you will feel clearer, and you'll feel grounded faster than most people. the second thing I wanna touch on here is that your body will slow you down one way or the other, right? So you can either choose to slow things down and take care of yourself, or your body will compel you to slow down and force you to take care of yourself. Your body keeps the score. And it will always find ways to force you to rest if you keep neglecting your own needs. It's just a safety mechanism. You can't continue to run on empty, so your body will slow you down if you're trying to power through when you shouldn't. We have a lot of phrases that enter into our everyday vocabulary, so I want you to notice if these things are true for you. For example, maybe you're thinking, ah,"what a pain in the neck", and then you might notice that you literally have a pain in your neck. You might notice, oh,"there's really a lot on my shoulders right now", and that may result in upper back pain. Maybe you're thinking,"I feel like I'm bending over backwards" for everybody. That might result in true lower back pain. Maybe you feel like you're begging for scraps. In that case, you might feel like you have really achy knees or maybe a pain in your stomach. For me, there was a season where my back, it just went out. It quit. I was unable to walk for a while, and I was in excruciating pain. It really impacted me very significantly in a very physical way, and usually when that happens, you know, we might get those little energetic nudges that come ahead of time, which I did get, but didn't listen to where my body was saying, Hey, slow down a little bit, or, Hey, you're getting a little bit too tired here. Or, Hey, your body needs a little bit more nourishment here, or, this part of your body needs some strengthening. And because I didn't listen to those whispers, my body started to scream. And you might notice that for yourself too, that when you do not listen to the whispers of your body, your body will start to scream, and then at that point, you will no longer be able to ignore the messaging that it's giving you. So this might look like unexpected exhaustion that leaves you unable to function at all. Another common symptom is losing your voice. It's almost as if your body is saying, well, what? You weren't listening to me anyway, so what's the point? Why do you need a voice? And it can be really different and manifest differently for different people. But as you become more familiar with your own personal symptoms, it will allow you the ability to intervene as needed and give yourself that self-care so it doesn't lead to more significant problems in your physical body. Okay. A few more symptoms that you might be experiencing is feeling like you just can't do regular things anymore. Maybe you notice that you have more anxiety, especially social anxiety, maybe sounds just seem louder. Smells smell stronger, the lights are brighter, and everything just feels more intense and not necessarily in a good way. So instead of waiting for the burnout to just knock you off of your feet, I wanna share with you 10 ways that you can take care of yourself now so that you can stay more balanced, energized, and emotionally resilient. Now, before I jump into all of these, I wanna just remind you, just kind of listen to these and pick just one or two that really resonate with you. Okay? You don't need to remember all 10, but just pick out one or two that resonate with you and incorporate them into your day and see if it makes a difference for you. This is all about setting that intention to just do a little bit more for self every day. It's about taking a little bit of time to turn inward every now and then and say, okay, what is it that I need right now so that I can better maintain myself and continue to show up in the way that I would like to for other people as well. Okay, so here's my top 10. Are you ready? All right. Number one is eat high vibrational foods. Food is energy. So I want you to really notice what it is that you're putting into your body. Make sure that you're putting in things that will really make you feel good. So yeah, that chocolate cake, it might taste really good in the moment, but maybe an hour or so later you're not feeling so hot. And additionally, maybe like a few peanut m and m. Those are kinda my favorite are the peanut butter m and ms. Oh my goodness, they're so good. So maybe a few. Peanut butter m and ms are really great for you in the moment, but eating the whole bag is going to actually be counterproductive for you and make you feel pretty awful. And so just kind of notice what is going to strengthen my energy and what is weakening my energy over time and be conscientious of that. Ask yourself, what is going to give me that sustained energy? What could I do to increase the vibration of this snack or of this meal just a little bit. So maybe it's adding in a salad to your meal or having an apple with your snack. Maybe it's adjusting the portions in your meal, but pick one little thing that you could do to increase the vibration of your next meal. Intentionally asking yourself these questions. It turns on the higher mind, it turns on the prefrontal cortex, and it pushes our higher mind to make better decisions for us. When we're feeling stressed, our primitive mind is what is running the show. Our primitive mind is going to want whatever's gonna make it feel good in the immediate moment. That's when you're gonna find yourself binging on those peanut butter m and ms, right? That is the primitive mind running the show, but it's not going to create that long-term health and vitality. Yes, you might get an immediate dopamine hit, but overall you're not going to be feeling very good. Your primitive mind is going to want to reach for those lower vibrational foods. It's going to want to hit the easy button. It's going to want a quick dopamine hit rather than sustained health and vitality. It wants to seek out convenience over what is actually good for you, so be very intentional about"how is it that I wanna fuel my body today?" And really think about it and notice how it is that you feel after eating different foods. A lot of highly sensitive people are also highly sensitive to foods, so see if you can slow down your eating enough to really notice how do I feel when I'm partaking of this food? And also notice your own mental clarity around this, your own emotional stability. See how these different things might be impacting your health and wellness. All right, number two, stay hydrated. This is such a big one you guys. I know it sounds super basic, but if you want your emotions to flow, if you want to be able to flush out things that are no longer serving you, you must drink water. You must remain hydrated. This doesn't only help your physical body, but it helps your energetic body as well and your emotional body. When one of my children went to see the cardiologist, they were looking at her heart and the doctor actually stopped and said, have you been feeling anxious lately? And my daughter admitted that,"well, yeah, I have actually been feeling anxious lately," and I didn't know how we could possibly know that by looking at her heart. But then we were informed that, oh, it's because she's under- hydrated, and I said, under hydrated, do you mean dehydrated? They said, no, no, no. She's just under hydrated, which is different from dehydration. She's not quite dehydrated, but she's under hydrated, and when the body is under hydrated, then the heart has to work a lot harder, and that can lead to a racing heart, which can also cause anxiety. And they said, I think you're gonna notice as you drink more water, you're going to feel less anxious. Now, I'm not saying that drinking water is going to be the cure for everyone's anxiety, but it can't hurt and it might help, right? So if you find yourself feeling particularly anxious, take some time to hydrate yourself and see if it helps. All right. Number three, prioritize sleep. Sleep is so important, especially for this audience. I know that for myself, when I get tired, I don't just get sleepy or a little bit foggy brained, but I get physically ill. I get tired stomach aches, I get tired headaches. Sometimes I start to wonder if I'm getting sick and I have to remind myself, no, this is just because you've pushed yourself a little bit too hard, and this is the fatigue telling you to slow down so that you don't get sick. Right. And I have learned over the years that if I do power through, I do get sick. But if I notice those first symptoms and I take the time to rest, if I take the time to nourish self, then I don't get sick like I would otherwise. A lack of sleep can also make you more emotionally reactive, and we don't want to be emotionally reactive. We want to be active in our emotions and be mindful of them and process our emotions actively. But we don't want to get to the point where we are reacting emotionally to our own experience or to the experiences of others. That's when we're starting to slide into emotional immaturity, right? Our prefrontal cortex is offline. We're reacting instead of acting. So if you notice that, get some sleep and figure out how much sleep it is that you need. I find a lot of my audience, we just need a little bit more sleep. For me personally, I find about nine hours of sleep is kind of the sweet spot for me. Other people require more, other people require less, but figure out what it is that your body needs. And trust it. Not everyone is going to need the same amount of sleep, so figure out what it is that you need and trust it. All right. Tip number four, move your body daily. Exercise isn't just about fitness. It's about clearing out that stuck energy. So go for a run, do some yoga, spend some time in nature, just move your body. For me, when I'm feeling especially stuck emotionally, I'll jump on my vibration plate and it kind of helps me to flush out those trapped emotions. And it also helps me to flush out that lymphatic system. I just feel so much better after I've created a little bit of movement, right? So even if I'm feeling too tired to do a workout, or too tired to be out and about, I can just spend a few minutes on my vibration plate and it makes a huge difference. So whatever your personal level of movement is right now, I encourage you to just increase it by 10 minutes a day. Take a walk on your lunch break, stretch in between your clients. Find some way to add just a little bit more movement into your day, because movement is amazing when it comes to resetting your energy. All right, number six, set emotional and energetic boundaries. So first, let's address the emotional boundaries. Emotional boundaries is really knowing the limits that you have on your own time and your own energy. It's practicing telling people, Hey, I'm sorry. I have another obligation during that time. They don't need to know that your other obligation is that you desperately need a nap. Okay? They don't need to know that. You can just tell'em you have another obligation. Honor your own energy levels. As for energetic boundaries, I'll put a link in the show notes to my episode on Energetic Boundaries. It is hands down the most popular episode here on the podcast with about three times the downloads of any other episode, so go and check that episode out. I have several helps for you in that episode, but today I'm just gonna share with you my favorite tip for setting energetic boundaries. I know I share this one all the time, but I love it and everybody tends to need a reminder. And so my favorite tip is just imagining that my aura is a one-way mirror. This allows me to see other people clearly, but if they're projecting out an emotion or a belief onto me, then it just kind of reflects back to them so that they can digest that so that they can learn how to navigate that. Sometimes we think it's the kind thing to do to over own someone else's experience because we believe that they need us to fix it. But when we do this, when we're over owning someone else's experience, then oftentimes we're actually robbing them of having the experience that they need so that they can learn how to navigate things on their own, which means we're essentially limiting their personal growth. So I just wanna remind you, it is okay to reflect back to them, Hey, that sounds really hard. How do you think might be the best way to navigate this? You can just reflect that back to them. And this can be done either verbally or just energetically, but it's essentially just returning it back to them with love and a belief that they can navigate it. And so maybe in your heart, you're just telling them,"Hey, I get it. You're having a really hard time with this right now. I love you and I trust that you're going to learn how to navigate this. You're stronger than you think." Another thought on boundaries is notice if there are people, spaces, or places that drain you more than others so that you can energetically prepare yourself before going into those spaces. Maybe this is with the one way aura mirror, right? And so just kind of notice, okay, do I need to prepare a little bit more before going into this space? For example, many empaths and highly sensitive people, they struggle with thrift stores. This is mostly because there are so many energies in there, right? There's not only the energies of all of the people that are in there shopping, but there's also the energies of thousands of discarded items, which can be a lot of weight for empaths and highly sensitive people to know how to navigate. But knowing that it can be a challenge, it doesn't mean that you have to avoid thrift stores altogether. But remember that as you work to maintain yourself, as you work on your own self-care and maintain your own personal energy, it's going to make it a lot easier for you to go into those spaces without being drained. It's gonna make it a lot easier to go into those conversations without being drained. For me now, when I go thrifting, I am not only just emotionally okay, but I'm actually super excited about all of the amazing things that I can find for such an amazing deal in there. And so just notice for yourself, okay, this is just about shifting the energy as I take care of me. It is so much more empowering and I can go and do all of the things that I'd like to do. All right. Tip number eight, practice breath work and meditation. Again, just start with 10 minutes a day and see how things shift for you. With breath work, take a little bit of time to really come into your body. Breath work is amazing for coming into the body. You're noticing and observing the breath. You're being consistent with it. It's really hard to do breath work and allow your mind to wander because you're really kind of in it, right? And so maybe you want to take that time when you're doing your breath work to essentially call your energy back. Empathic energy, it tends to wander. It tends to reach out and check in on everybody. I will absolutely be doing an episode on what empathic energy looks like and how to call it back. So make sure that you're subscribed here to the podcast if you're interested in that. But when you find yourself feeling depleted, it can be incredibly powerful to just take a moment to tune into your body and call your energy back to you, and just notice how that feels for you. Notice any sensations that are coming up in your body and just be fully present in your own body. It will help you to bring all of your energy back to you. Now with mindfulness and meditation, this is really powerful because it can help you to be in the present moment, and it can also help you to determine what is the most important thing right now? It can help you to prioritize your focus and your intention for the day. So during your meditation, try asking your higher self, what is the most important thing for me to be doing right now? Where should my focus be? What is holding me back from being my best self? What small thing can I do today to better my mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual self? Taking the time to really meditate can be an amazing opportunity for you to prioritize what it is that you really want and need in that moment, and help you to live more in accordance with your true value system. So take that time to call your energy back to you and then focus on what is the most important thing for right now. And maybe as you have been listening, then you've already been getting ideas about what's the most important thing that you can do right now for you. Maybe you want to start meal prepping so that you can have high vibrational foods on demand. Maybe you want to catch up with an old friend that always lights you up. Maybe you want to intentionally spend some time in nature alone. Just ask yourself, what is it that I need right now? And if you aren't sure what it is that you need right now, meditate on it for 10 minutes and see what it is that your body has to tell you. You are a magnifier. This means that when you are experiencing someone else's emotions, it can feel magnified and really loud. When you're feeling your own emotions, it's easy to magnify your own emotions as well and make it so loud that it's hard to see anything outside of you. Guess what? Not only are you magnifying the negative emotions, but you also have the ability to magnify your joy. That's that thermostat energy that we've talked about here on the podcast. Before you get to set the tone for the space, you get to determine the frequency of the spaces that you go into. You get to bring in your energy and magnify it to the whole space. You can tap into that joy and people will feel it when you walk into a room. It can really shift not only your energy, but the energy of the people and the places around you as well. It's really a beautiful thing. So ask yourself, what is one thing that would really bring me joy right now? And asking yourself, what is one thing that would bring me joy right now is such a different question than how can I make the pain stop? Isn't it? It is such a different question. I know that sometimes, especially if somebody that I'm working with is trying to numb their emotions, they might find themselves turning to things like YouTube or social media. They're trying to do something to numb out their emotions, and this does serve a purpose for a lot of people, so I'm not gonna shame anybody for that, but it's a very different experience when you can get to the point where rather than intentionally numbing out, you're able to intentionally seek out something that brings you joy. It can be so empowering. For me right now, I find joy in watching all the little spring flowers coming up in my yard. It is spring here. This is our first spring in our new home, and I don't really know what all is planted here yet, so it's been a lot of fun for me to just wander the yard and see what's poking its cute little head up. It brings me so much joy. I also thoroughly enjoy music. I have started piano lessons at 44 years old, and it has been so much fun. I'm loving it. I also enjoy singing and playing the ukulele, or even just dancing in my kitchen. It brings me a lot of joy and it raises my personal vibration. It helps me to feel stronger and more resilient. When I do those things. So think about something that brings you joy and incorporate that into your day-to-day life. Again, just 10 minutes a day can make a significant difference in how you feel. All right. And number 10, listen to your body. Your body is trying to speak to you. It is trying to give you information, so take the time to listen. Notice that sometimes we as humans, we tend to turn the volume down on our own needs and we turn the volume up on other people's needs. So I want you to look at your dials, okay? Imagine those volume dials right in front of you, and tune in with yourself to see where your own personal volume dial is at, and see if you can adjust your dials to make them at least the same volume. Your needs are at least as valid as the next persons and so adjust those dials accordingly. It'll make a huge difference in how it is that you feel. When you tune into your body and ask it what it needs, you can prevent a lot of stress. You can prevent a lot of pain. You can prevent a lot of injuries. You can prevent a lot of illness simply by taking that time to tune into your body and ask what it is that it needs. So your challenge for this week is to pick one self-care, practice, and implement it. Maybe this means drinking more water. Maybe it means going to bed earlier. Maybe it means saying no to something that's draining you, or maybe it's intentionally saying yes to something that brings you joy. Whatever it is, prioritize your own wellbeing this week. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and you'll be better able to love and serve those around you when you take that time to care for yourself. If you are an empath or a highly sensitive person who is ready to break free of burnout, if you want to start feeling more energized, more clear, and feel stronger in your boundaries, both physically and energetically, let's work together. My coaching is designed to help you specifically to create a life that feels really, really good without the overwhelm. So if you're interested in coaching with me, check out the show notes. I have a link in there where you can come and have a free consultation call with me. This is just 20 minutes where I can answer any questions that you have. We can get a feel for each other, or I can just coach you for free for 20 minutes. There is zero obligation. It's completely free. So check out the show notes and come and sign up for that free consultation call. Thank you so much for being here. Take care of you, will you. You are somebody who is worthy of all of the goodness that this life has to offer. All right, I hope you have a great week, and let's talk soon. Bye now.