5 Healing Tips for a Highly Sensitive Body

Embarking on a healing journey with a highly sensitive body can feel defeating, especially when you experience multiple symptoms, including neurological issues, food sensitivities, chemical sensitivities, and limited resources and finances.

As an embarking Holistic Nutritionist and Women’s Health Specialist who battled chronic illness for years and then found healing, Sonja offers a few key takeaways, steps, and practical application techniques for getting started so that you, too, can begin to navigate through a challenging situation with a solid foundation.

Tips for Healing a Highly Sensitive Body

1. The nervous system doesn’t respond well to too much too soon.

A sensitive nervous system (inflamed or damaged nerves) can quickly become overwhelmed if introduced to too much at once. Go slow to go fast is a motto to live by if experiencing sensitivities. Eliminate troublemaker foods one at a time and introduce healing foods and tools at a tolerable and sustainable pace. Making one change you are likely to sustain is more important than introducing many changes to your daily routine all at once, which will not be accomplished due to overwhelming you and feeling too much for your capabilities in the present moment. Healing can happen even in imperfect scenarios. What’s most important is that you are actively working on crowding out unproductive foods and habits and bringing in more fruits, vegetables, wild foods, herbs, and spices, as these will help improve and lower symptoms over time.

I would never recommend pushing beyond your window of tolerance when it comes to incorporating new foods and dietary changes, new supplements, or lifestyle changes. If you are someone dealing with a very sensitive nervous system, small changes and staying within your limits can be extremely helpful in moving forward. Oftentimes, we can try to push ahead as we want to propel our healing or see results with the “perfect protocol,” but this can set someone back with an overload to the nervous system and the body’s inability to filter and sort through all of the tools at once. Not that solid protocols and specific tools create more issues, but a person with a sensitive body can feel much worse or flare with elevated neurotoxins in the body, landing on frayed nerves.

2. Start with a solid foundation.

Establishing foundational health protocols for your sensitive body is essential. As opposed to trying to apply everything all at once, focus on the basics to begin with. Once a foundation is mastered, you can dig deeper into your healing with a tailored supplement protocol. The basics include consuming enough calories throughout your day and eating consistently, working to improve your rest and sleep routine, drinking enough water and bringing in adequate hydration, getting in your greens if you can tolerate raw foods, incorporating nature therapy if you are able or using meditation and visualization to connect with nature to promote grounding in the body. And lastly, slowly work to remove unproductive dietary habits one by one so you can feel better over time.

3. Start with consuming fresh herbs and teas before tinctures and supplements.

Those who are sensitive generally cannot tolerate high amounts of tinctures or supplements initially or for long periods. Herbal teas are gentler as they are less concentrated than tinctures. If this is the case for you, start by consuming fresh herbs added to meals or teas first. Begin by adding dried or fresh herbs to cooked foods or salads and brewed into tea. The steep time can vary based on your needs; over time, you can begin to steep for longer as desired.

When you can tolerate fresh herbs and tea infusions, and if you feel ready for supplements, try bringing in one of Anthony’s foundational supplements, including B12, zinc, Vitamin C, and lemon balm. Remember always to introduce supplements one at a time, lower dosages when needed, and only increase as tolerated. You can move forward with dietary and lifestyle changes before introducing supplementation. For many with a sensitive body, this mindset around high-dosing supplementation can hold us back. It can also take 5 to 7 days for the body to adjust to a new supplement. We never want to push the body beyond its capacity, ever. Hibiscus, raspberry leaf, lemon balm tea, and tinctures and supplements, including zinc, lemon balm, propolis, and monolaurin, can be more easily tolerated by some. (Please remember these are NOT recommendations for items you should be taking. Speak with a skilled practitioner and doctor).

4. Being sensitive to one thing does not mean you are sensitive to everything.

Although sensitivity patterns exist in those who struggle with this issue, everyone is unique, and there are always exceptions to the rules. For example, if you are sensitive to one type of fruit, this doesn’t necessarily mean you will be sensitive to all fruit. Some fruits are more gentle and calming than others. This is where experimentation comes into play, considering we never consume foods we are actively allergic to. The same mindset applies to supplementation and herbal tinctures.

5. Keeping your blood sugar stable will allow for faster balancing of the body.

Skipping meals or going longer than 1.5-2 hours without eating causes your blood sugar levels to drop, forcing your body to run on corrosive adrenaline. Not only can this adrenaline damage the pancreas, but it is also very harsh on the nervous system. Someone with a sensitive nervous system will most likely feel these blood sugar drops more harshly than the average person, worsening symptoms. Oftentimes, we see individuals attribute new or worsening symptoms to “cleansing” when, in fact, they are related to blood sugar dips and struggling adrenals. Aim to eat frequently throughout the day and focus on consuming an adequate amount of fuel.

Sonja hopes anyone dealing with sensitivities and a sensitive body finds the above tips as helpful as she did on her healing journey. With her current position with Kimberly and her current focus on women’s health specifically, she is taking on 1-on-1 client sessions and priority bookings. Please note that Sonja is taking on single sessions and follow-ups focused on women’s health (not pregnancy), while Kimberly will continue to see all pregnant clients.

Get 1:1 support

If you want to learn more about moving forward with a healing journey in a highly sensitive body, The Empowered Wellness Membership will focus on starting a cleansing lifestyle tailored for sensitive bodies. Together, we’ll explore effective strategies, personalized approaches, and ongoing support to prioritize your health and well-being. Let’s embark on this journey together and empower your path towards optimal wellness.

You can find all our appointment and package details here.