Healing Nutrition for Empaths & Highly Sensitive People

If you're identify as a Highly Sensitive Person or Empath, you know what it feels like to be feel deeply at peace near the water, in the forest, listening to moving music, or the sense of loving calm of being with grounded people that really get you. You also likely know what its like to feel the dissonance of too much external stimulation or being around aggressive, passive aggressive, or unkind energies. Sensitive people attune to and mirror resonant experiences in their bodies and dissonant experiences in their bodies...for better or worse.

When I'm working with HSPs or empaths in realm of eating psychology, I've found there are two simple areas that can, when practiced regularly, dramatically improve how a sensitive person feels.

Nutrition for HSPs and Empaths

1.) Eating high-quality food at regular intervals

"High-quality food" is not restricted to one particular dietary theory. You need not be vegan,

A healing diet can help highly sensitive people and empaths thrive

or paleo, keto, or macrobiotic. Though you are free to choose any of these. "High quality" means whole, minimally processed food. Fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, high-quality fats, eggs, meat, fish, etc. "Regular intervals" means at regular times throughout the day. For example, between 7-9am, between 11am-1pm, and between 5-7pm. Snacks are also helpful for those that feel the pangs of hunger before a meal. Read more here.

2.) Working with the two areas that contribute to binge eating and overeating: nervous system over-arousal/energetic over-arousal and shame

Binge eating habits and overeating habits not uncommon eating challenges that arise for sensitive people. Why? Because sensitive people are more apt to overwhelm. Without practices that help ground the body, many unwittingly employ eating (and sometimes eating a lot) to ground themselves. This alone can contribute to a tiring polarization: getting overwhelmed and overeating or binge eating, then feeling badly physically and emotionally and working hard to clean up the diet.

Many sensitive people are also working to heal a deeply held belief that, "something is wrong with me," they likely picked up in their youth of feeling so much, without support, resources, validation, or guidance. Shame built up in the system this way, can trigger self-soothing patterns that sometimes include overeating or binge eating.

Healed Eating is Nutritional, Energetic, & Psychological

When HSPs and empaths get eating support that honors the nutritional dimension, energetic dimension, and psychological dimension, eating transforms.

Here is the path: Learn to set up your healthy diet in a loving and sustainable way. Learn to protect your energetic needs. Work with any personality parts that still carry the burden that "something is wrong with me."

Clients see me in my Grand Rapids office here in West Michigan as well as remotely via Zoom or phone. Click here to check on availability or here to participate in Laura's home study program.

With love & respect,

Laura